InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA - Indonesia should be proud of biochemical experts from Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) for their works that successfully invented biodiesel and biofuel. This is the ‘big step’ for palm oil downstream industries and the answer for the world namely for European Union (EU) that wants to get ‘war’. Crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO) are kinds of vegetable oil used as chemical material for food industries and renewable energy.
The question remains, should be proud of our palm oil production and plantations to be the number one (in the world)? I do not think so. The facts showed, palm oil plantation productivity, fresh fruit bunch (FFB) productivity, and yield productivity are lower in numbers than those in available potential. These might be the description of reality from the agronomists’ capability and the ability of every policy in palm oil (sectors).
The processors, agronomists, planters should be responsible on the low productivity. In palm oil plantation industries, there would be three main priorities, the first, production; the second, production; and the third, production because everything to be traded would be production. After that, there would be other things. Imagine if that average production reached only 32% nationally if knowing the available potential. It is said, isn’t it?
Data Table 1 showed palm oil plantation cultivation in this country is not fully qualified. Smallholders’ association should actually play their roles to get field technical implementation, make fertilization recommendation, fertilizer preparation, and others to get better productivity. Big plantation companies just reached 39% from the potential. They need to select good, medium, or less good plantations to get more focus in the development. The government’s plantations just reached 45% from the potential, and should be escalated more.
Palm oil plantations in 2023 laid on about 16.833.885 hectares, including 1.530.517 hectares that had issue about their status. In 2024 it is predicted to be 17 million hectares. The smallholders’ plantations laid on about 37.43%, the government’s plantations laid on about 3.45% while the big private companies laid on about 58.85%. the third has the widest plantations and the government has the narrowest ones.
The average palm oil production in 2020 - 2023 reached 46,169,911 million tons nationally. Indonesian Palm Oil Association (IPOA) predicted palm oil production this year would be escalating 4,87% year on year to be 53,8 million tons but IPOA might forget that in 2023 there was a very long drought. It would have something to do with the 2024 production. The increasing production could happen for the replanting program that has been starting since 2006, and of course, the trees have been more than three years old to produce.
FFB productivity may be in low numbers, for instance, the smallholders’ FFB production just reached 2,5 tons of CPO/hectare/year or about 13 tons FFB per year. The private sectors just reached 3,4 tons of CPO per year or 16 tons FFB/hectare. The government’s plantation reached 4,1 tons of CPO/year or about 18 tons FFB/hectare. Break even point would be hardly at Rp 3000/Kg or about 7 - 8 tons FFB.
The bigger production is, the better would be the profits. But it may seem, not many parties want to escalate the productivity. They could be stuck in a parameter of cost per hectare, not cost per kilogram. In general, this business consideration would be defeated by financial consideration.
The chance to escalate palm oil productivity would actually be opening, such as,
- Conduct replanting by planting superior seed (being implemented in smallholders’ plantations with the fund helps from Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) but not known in big plantations)
- Plant every permited land bank (not realized and no program still). This could be realized by having regulation of minister namely about time lit. the troubled plantations in forest areas have been regulated by Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja (UUCK) Number No 11/2020 and Government’s Regulation Number 24/ 2021 about Administration for Administration Sanctionand Revenue from Non-tax in Forestry Sector
- Divert every abandoned plantation because of something or not pay the obligation for the banks, to PT Perkebunan Negara that has proved to be successfully producing highly. It needs to involve minister of Enterprises and banks to realize. This could happen by having the same regulations of ministers, such as, enterprises and agriculture
- Apply production force management technology based on root management and canopy that proved to escalate production up to 30 - 80%. This would need instruction from Ministry of Agriculture.
Palm oil plantations are biologic industries. It would take phase to escalate its productivity. But the principles number 4 above ‘nurse root and canopy’ as good as it is possible would need ‘new paradigm’ to nurse palm oil trees.
How nutrient absorption could be maximal and leaves would produce photosynthesis massively? The interesting in the method is that cost per hectare would be relatively the same with general nursery but cost per kilogram per FFB and CPO would significantly increase which eventually the profit would be more.
This method is unusual but the result would be amazing. The old trees or more than 25 years could still be increased to produce as long as they were nursed. The more than 20 years old could be too. It is hard to believe that the method still takes advantages on the special characteristic of palm oil plantations that many might not know. The chance to escalate palm oil production nationally to be 80 - 90 million tons even to be 100 million tons per year would be open, for instance, the first, multiply the plants in bare areas but should have plantation business (for land banks); improve the abandoned plantations/troubled ones with banks; make smallholders’ plantations wider; the second, do intensification with rood and canopy management that proved to be increasing productivity drastically.
Then Indonesia would be more powerful and many would be reluctant namey in palm oil sector and resilience of the country.
Disclaimer: this article is personal one and the writer himself is fully in charge. It has nothing to do with InfoSAWIT.
