Biochar for Sustainable Palm Oil Productivity

The Indonesian government emphasized the importance of sustainable palm oil productivity for food and energy security, as conveyed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, at the opening of ICOPE (International Conference on Palm Oil and Environment) in Sanur, Bali, mid-February 2025. The conference, attended by delegates from various countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the Netherlands, France, Finland, Colombia, and Spain, aims to formulate a sustainable transformation for the palm oil industry. Sustainable palm oil productivity can be increased by land intensification and the use of superior seeds. Even if land expansion is necessary, it must be done without causing deforestation. Meanwhile, for replanting in dry land, it can also be combined with upland rice or corn through intercropping methods.

Biochar is a powerful solution
Palm oil productivity can be increased by improving fertilizer efficiency, or Nutrient Use Efficiency (NUE), as part of land intensification. Using the same fertilizer dose with the addition of biochar will increase palm oil productivity by around 20% or more. Fertilizer savings of around 30% with the addition of biochar will keep palm oil productivity relatively stable or at the same level as before. For efforts to increase palm oil productivity while avoiding deforestation, the first option is more appropriate: maintaining the same fertilizer dose as usual, but adding biochar to increase fertilizer efficiency.  

Indonesia's current CPO production reaches approximately 50 million tons/year across 16.4 million hectares, with an average CPO production of 3.55 tons/ha per hectare, or 3.55 million tons per million hectares. If biochar is used and productivity increases by 20%, this means an increase of 10 million tons of CPO per year (a total of 60 million tons of CPO per year), saving approximately 2.8 million hectares of land. The use of biochar will also slow down forest clearing (deforestation) for palm oil plantations.

Besides using biochar to increase palm oil productivity, other benefits from biochar production include the potential for carbon credits (BCR = biochar carbon removal) and the utilization of pyrolysis byproducts for palm oil plantations and palm oil mill operations in CPO production. This method offers several advantages for palm oil companies, such as savings in liquid organic fertilizer and pesticides, and the sale or export of 100% of the palm kernel shells (PKS). In addition to palm oil companies producing their own biochar through pyrolysis, it is also possible to establish separate companies or companies that collaborate with palm oil companies for biochar production under specific agreements.

Global pressure and scrutiny on the palm oil industry to adopt sustainable practices are increasing. Amidst soaring demand for palm oil in both global and domestic markets, increasing palm oil productivity is inevitable. Utilizing biomass waste from palm oil mills and plantations, such as empty fruit bunches (EFB) and trunks (OPT), for biochar production, and using biochar to increase palm oil productivity, is a powerful solution to address these challenges. Even for replanting dryland with upland rice or corn using intercropping methods, the use of biochar will also have a positive and significant impact on these intercrops. 

Biochar: Priority for Soil Fertility or Climate Solution First?

Perspective or point of view on biochar is greatly influenced by a person's expertise, while the driving force of its application is greatly influenced by factors that are the problems of the area or region. For example: climate scientists see soil improvement from biochar applications as an additional benefit (co-benefit). For soil scientists or farmers who use biochar as a soil amendment because of their practical experience that has a positive effect on soil fertility and the economic aspects of their farming, while climate benefits become additional benefits (co-benefits). And in reality the accumulation of benefits (including economic) and the effectiveness of providing environmental solutions will accelerate the use of biochar in the real world.

The photo taken from here

To maximize the benefits of biochar applications, the quality of biochar becomes very important, or in other words the physical and chemical properties of biochar control the level of its effectiveness for various applications. These properties are determined by factors, namely, raw materials, process conditions and before and after the production process. This is so that the biochar produced has different properties so that laboratory analysis is a method used to predict the effectiveness of the biochar. And also to qualify for certain incentives that apply in certain countries, the biochar produced can also meet certain criteria, for example the standards made by the IBI (International Biochar Initiative). Or to get carbon credit or BCR (biochar carbon removal) credit that has been applied internationally also requires biochar with certain criteria and quality, and for that biochar production must follow a certain methodology according to international carbon standard institutions such as Puro earth, Verra, and European Biochar Certificate (EBC). To get quality parameters or biochar specifications that are in accordance with their use, a certain type of laboratory is needed. Not many laboratories can do this biochar test. Some laboratories that can do this include compost, soil, coal and activated carbon analysis laboratories.

Currently the main and long-standing focus, namely the use of biochar for agriculture, plantations and forestry is to increase productivity / yield. However, in fact the added value that biochar can offer in its application in the soil, especially in cultivation, not only includes increasing crop yields, but also preventing the loss of humus in the soil, preventing nitrate leaching, and increasing water storage capacity to increase plant resistance to drought and its resilience to the climate crisis. As for how the fastest entry point for the biochar industry, for more details read here.