Large Plantations and Large Farms

Fertilizer problems or soil fertility have always been the main topic or discussion for a large plantation business. This is very reasonable because maintaining productivity of crops can only be done by maintaining soil fertility or providing adequate fertilizer. For this reason, the budget for the supply of fertilizer is always a large portion of the plantation business. Then the condition leads to the question of how to make efficiency or save the fertilizer budget? Of course many techniques can be used for this purpose, but basically the selection or use of fertilizer that is appropriate and the effectiveness or absorption of fertilizer for plants is a key success factor in maintaining soil fertility. Let's try to answer the main question above.

When chemical fertilizers are increasingly abandoned because of their effects which damage the environment, there is no other choice but to use organic fertilizer. In large plantations such as oil palm plantations, basically there are also many biomass wastes from palm oil mills that can be used as fertilizer, such as fronds and palm oil trunks. But when these ingredients are also processed to become a particular product, and also the composting process of fibrous wood species takes a long time, the best choice is with organic manure. The question is where do you get livestock manure compost for the oil palm plantation? Actually there are more sources of organic fertilizer or compost that can be produced from palm oil mill effluent, namely from liquid waste. If the palm oil mill has an anaerobic digester, the biogas residue from the sludge can be used as organic fertilizer. At present there are not many palm oil mills that process liquid waste with the biogas unit, with the reason that the unit is considered expensive.

The history and experience of our predecessors before the use of chemical fertilizers can be used as a reference for this. At that time they were able to meet the fertilizer needs of their agricultural businesses, namely by sheep, goats, cattle and buffalo farming. The livestock manure is used for agricultural fertilizer and agricultural waste is used for animal feed. The basic pattern can also be developed for large plantations with several adjustment techniques to improve efficiency. Technical applications in the field that can be done, namely large plantations must cooperate with large farms or even ideally have a large farm to meet the needs of fertilizer for its plantations. For example, a palm oil plantation that has 10,000 hectares of plantation area, 100-200 (1-2%) hectares are used for sheep farming. The sheep breeding, not by just being caged, but grazing in the fields of pasture.

Why is sheep farming done in the pasture fields? This is because by grazing the cost of feed can be suppressed very large or the business becomes very economical. The biggest cost component of livestock business is feed. If the availability and supply of feed can be overcome then the other components become easier. The pasture is in the form of grass and shade trees. Making grass always available is the essence of the business, even it can be said that the pasture is grass farming itself. Rotational grazing is the best grazing technique at the moment. When the grass is fertilized with sheep dung during the grazing, the dirt produced when in the cage can be used for fertilizer on large plantations such as the oil palm. The biogas unit can be used to optimize the utilization of dirt from the cage.

Basically, sheep farming can also stand alone and also be profitable. Therefore, sheep farming can be done separately. In the case when an energy plantation is used for the production of wood pellets, it is still constrained by various things such as the presence and supply of electricity, so the farm business can still be run properly. The production of large-scale wood pellets in various regions in Indonesia is currently still constrained due to the electricity supply. This will certainly hamper the growth of the wood pellet industry so there needs to be another way to overcome this, which insha Allah will be discussed later.

With this concept, not only increases plantation and meat production, but also a complete closed cycle business that is environmentally friendly and sustainable. Honey bee farming can also be added for optimization because obviously the bees besides helping the pollination process will also produce honey, a superior product of high economic value. Various food problems, insha Allah, can be overcome with this concept. This is because from the production side it can be made very efficient with the 2 biggest cost components being reduced significantly by fertilizer and animal feed with the integration of large plantations and large farms.

Although it has used compost from livestock manure, there are still more techniques that can be applied to improve fertilizer efficiency by using biochar. With biochar, the fertilizer will be retained in the biochar pores so that slow release makes it effective for fertilization. In addition, biochar will also hold the fertilizer from leaching due to high rainfall, so that the use of fertilizer can also be saved significantly. Biochar will also be the home of microbes to decompose organic matter into nutrients needed for plants. So, in short, with biochar, the productivity of plantations is high, but the use of fertilizer is minimal because it is efficient, especially when fertilizer is produced from the farm itself. This biochar can be produced by processing the plantation biomass wastes by pyrolysis. For more details about pyrolysis can be read here.

The Big Vision of the Palm Oil Mill: Not Only Generating Electricity with Steam Turbine Generators but also Biochar and Bio-Oil

At the palm oil mill, electricity is generated from a steam turbine generator so a water treatment unit is needed to provide boiler feed water and a boiler unit to produce steam. The specifications of the steam produced are superheated steam with a pressure of 30 bar or equivalent to a temperature of 240 C. The steam then powers the turbine and drives the generator to produce electricity. Steam that comes out of the turbine with a decrease in temperature and pressure is not thrown away, but is used for steamming fresh fruit bunches (TBS) in the sterilizer unit. That is the reason why electricity production in palm oil mills uses steam turbine generators, even though actually producing electricity does not have to use the steam turbine. There are a number of technologies that can be used for electricity production.

The boiler fuel for steam production also does not use fossil fuels but uses palm oil mill waste itself (mesocarp) fiber and palm kernel shell (palm kernel shell). This is what makes palm oil mills very environmentally friendly in terms of their use of energy sources because they use biomass fuels, namely solid waste in the form of (mesocarp) fiber and palm kernel shells. Judging from the environmental aspects of the use of biomass fuel is carbon neutral, so it does not add CO2 in the atmosphere. Environmental issues are very prevalent today due to a number of environmental damage, to the peak of climate change and global warming. This encourages various industrial activities to increasingly pay attention to these environmental aspects.

When a palm oil mill uses its biomass waste as fuel to produce electricity and steam for the operation of the plant and it produces waste or residue in the form of ash, that is something that is common to almost all palm oil mills today. But when the palm oil company has a bigger vision, what is produced besides electricity and steam is biochar, not ash. Why Biochar? Although the management of the palm oil company that separates the plantation and mill divisions is common, the implementation of biochar is also expected to make a better reciprocal relationship. At present the palm oil fruits or fresh fruit bunches are supplied to the mill for oil extraction, so when biochar is produced by the mill the biochar will be supplied nto the  plantation to increase the productivity of the palm oil fruits. When a palm oil company will optimize its CPO products it also means maximizing the productivity of its palm oil  fruit. Palm  oil fruits productivity can be maximized if the cultivation aspects are also maximum. Biochar can be used to maximize fertilization and even reduce the use of fertilizers in oil palm plantations which amount to tens of billions of rupiah, for more details, please read here.

Are there palm oil mills that dare to take up the challenge? God knows Nature. But oil palm companies that have a big vision and understand the importance of increasing the productivity of oil palm fruit in line with environmental aspects, should be challenged with this. Oil palm companies that have big visions will also see this as an effective (pro-planet) environmental solution. This is because besides having a positive effect on the productivity of oil palm, also with environmental aspects. The application of biochar is carbon negative, so that CO2 in the atmosphere will be absorbed into the pores of the biochar, thereby reducing greenhouse gases in the form of CO2 in the atmosphere. When tens to hundreds or even thousands of tons of biochar are applied to oil palm plantations, so much CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed into the soil. Biochar can also survive tens or even hundreds of years so that the carbon content in the soil increases or is not damaged along with the productivity of the palm oil plantation.

In addition to the production of biochar with continuous pyrolysis also produced biooil which can also be used as fuel or processed into various other biomaterials. With characteristics close to crude oil, it also means that all materials that can be produced from crude oil can be produced with biooil. Another application of biooil is for blending with ship oil (marine fuel oil). Other liquid products in the form of biomass vinegar, its use is also very supportive in palm oil plantations, namely as bio-insecticides and bio-pesticides. Rats that attack many palm fruit can also be overcome with the vinegar biomass, for more details, please read here.

Food Energy Water for the World Community

"There will be no doomsday, until wealth has been piled up and abundant, until a man goes everywhere carrying his zakat but he does not get anyone who is willing to accept his zakat. And so that the Arab lands become fertile again prosperous with meadows and rivers "(HR.Muslim).
The earth will once again prosper before doomsday. In general gardens and forests like that also cause springs to appear (QS 36: 34) which in time will flow into the rivers (QS 19: 24-25) and also be your pleasure and your animals ( QS 79: 31). Basically, the earth is very sufficient to meet human needs, especially in 3 main things namely food, energy and water. In the era of bioeconomy that is believed to be in sight and we will soon experience it, a number of technologies will be developed to support these three main sectors in a sustainable manner. The emphasis on something that is sustainable  is increasingly emphasized to increasingly abandon or not at all use fossil sources (fossil free), especially in the energy sector. It is this aspect of sustainability that clearly distinguishes the fossil economy era from bioeconomy.

The Concept of Energy Plantation and Verticulture 

The tropics will be excellent for developing bioeconomy because of the availability of sunshine throughout the year. This tropical region will compete for entrepreneurs engaged in this sector, such as the African continent and Indonesia. The availability of vast land in the area is a key factor in the development of energy plantations. Energy is a vital need for human kind today, especially to drive economic sectors. With energy plantations, massive energy needs can be met. Fast rotation and coppice plants such as calliandra and gliricidae are the mainstay of energy plantations. In addition to the energy plantation will be able to conserve water, livestock business can also be developed by utilizing leaves waste from the energy plantations. Sheep, goat or cattle farms are ideal for utilizing leaves waste from the energy plantations. Honey bee keeping can also be developed by utilizing flowers from the energy plantation.

verticulture with skyscrapers

Calliandra Energy Plantation

Tall buildings were built not even for human habitation, but as agricultural land for food crops (verticulture). Verticulture farming is to meet food needs and facilitate its management. Modern farming techniques are used to maximize the quality and productivity of the farm. To support the success of agriculture, IOT (internet of things) with a number of sensors that can be read online is an integral part of agricultural management. The effectiveness and efficiency of farming can be increased rapidly so that high productivity and quality can be achieved, while large lands mainly for energy plantations. Biochar which can be used to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of fertilization can be applied to verticulture farming.  Apart from being made compost agricultural wastes can also be partially converted into biochar. For large capacity biochar production, the continuous pyrolysis units are the best choice. Compost and biochar production also makes the farming practices zero waste. Even with continuous pyrolysis technology, in addition to biochar, heat and electricity can also be produced. Liquid fuel namely biooil, is also produced from the continuous pyrolysis technology.

With the majority of land used for energy plantations, the energy needs, InshaAllah, can be fulfilled even the meat needs of the livestock business, as well as food production with verticulture. The ideal concept, if it can be implemented, should be a solution to the problems of life today. The concept can be implemented if humanity realizes the importance of the program and supports it. Technically, this can be done, and some have done it even on a smaller scale and it has not been fully integrated.

The coming era of bioeconomy should also be in line with the improvement of the economic system that gives a sense of justice to the world's population. With the current economic model it takes 800 years for the bottom billion people to reach 10% of global income. As a result of the current liberalism and capitalism, the richest 10% control 85% of global wealth. The three richest people in the world have assets of more than 47 GDP, the lowest gross GDP. 1% of the richest people own more than 50% of the world's wealth. This huge inequality should be overcome immediately with a equitable and prosperous economy. The transition from fossil economy to bioeconomy can be both an medium and a momentum for improving the economic system. The tropics, which were previously of a minor economic role, should have been increased and taken into account or even become a major player in the bioeconomy era.