InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – It is acknowledged or not, palm oil is one valuable commodity because it delivers economic profits from its sale. Indonesia is the biggest palm oil producer in the world and Sumatera is of the most important island in palm oil production.

A scientific article with the title “Ganoderma boninense Disease of Oil Palm to Significantly Reduce Production After 2050 in Sumatra if Projected Climate Change Occurs” which was published in 2019 noted that Sumatera could be taken as a model for other palm oil plantations in Southeast Asia.

Sumatera where the climate is very good to develop palm oil plantations would get narrow because of climate change projection as it was specifically shown in the research by R Russel M Paterson, a research from Universitas Minho, Portugal.

Paterson mentioned that the unpredictable climate would cause stem base rot – disease (in palm oil trees) because being hit by Ganoderma boninense, as it was predicted before that many concerned about sustainability in Southeast Asia.

In a new approach it was explained that (a) good climate was determined to develop palm oil plantations in Sumatera, and (b) it needs to determine stem base rot level in the future in the island.

In fact, the climate incompatibility for palm oil plantations would drastically escalate the attacks of Ganoderma after 2050. It would massively attack some regions in the island.

As InfoSAWIT quoted from PubMed Central (PMC), it probably happens that palm oil production would not be sustainable in a certain phase between 2050 -2100.

“North Sumatera Province would be more sustainable than other regions in the island. The impact of climate change needs improvement before Ganorderma massively attacks and incompatible climate in palm oil plantations would be realized,” the research noted. (T2)