Reviving the Integrated Coconut Industry in Indonesia Part 2: Production of Coconut Sugar with Biomass Energy from Energy Plantation

Energy needs have always been a hindrance to the development of an industry, including the integrated coconut industry. In the previous section the integrated coconut industry could be run by utilizing their coir/fiber waste as fuel (read here), with the main product being coconut fruit itself. Another alternative to the integrated coconut industry is the production of coconut sugar, because the need for sweeteners is still very large. Whereas if coconut oil for oil production such as cooking oil is currently unable to compete with palm oil derived from CPO, even though coconut oil has its own advantages. Coconut sugar production uses the raw material of coconut roomie, and when coconut roomie is taken then the coconut fruit is not produced from the coconut tree or the coconut tree does not bear fruit. When coconut sugar production is more profitable, coconut sugar production becomes the main product of the integrated coconut industry.

Coconut sugar

In 2016 Indonesia became the largest sugar importer in the world with a value of $ 2.1 billion or around Rp.28.4 trillion. The value of Indonesia's imports was greater than the three other importing countries whose populations were actually greater than those of Indonesia, namely the United States ($ 1.9 billion), China ($ 1.2 billion) and India ($ 922 million). Whereas in the colonial era, Indonesia was once the largest producer and exporter of sugar. The need for sugar is very large it should be substituted with coconut sugar which in some ways is better than cane sugar. In the food industry coconut sugar or brown sugar has advantages over other sources of sweeteners such as sugar from sugar cane. That is because the brown sugar or coconut sugar contains other elements such as aroma and distinctive physical properties whose effects on a food production cannot be replaced by other sweetener sources.

The use of coconut sugar ranging from kitchen herbs to various types of food from households, small industries to large industries. Indonesia's current coconut sugar production is estimated at around 500,000 tons / year and is expected to increase as the potential for coconut sugar replaces the very high shortage of sugar cane, as mentioned above. Even a number of large industries in Indonesia such as Unilever, ABC, and Indofood have great interest in the development of coconut sugar. These companies which are also big soy sauce producers apparently need coconut sugar for their soy sauce production which is estimated to reach 70 thousand tons / year.

Integration Coconut Sugar Industry with Gliricidae Plantation

For the energy needs of coconut sugar production can be done by planting gliricidae between coconut plantations or as intercrops. Gliricidae is a fast rotation plant that can grow anywhere and is most optimal in the lowlands. Gliricidae is also a crop so that no need replanting  after harvesting the wood for about fifteen years. And because gliricidae is a leguminocea plant, its roots can bind nitrogen from the atmosphere which fertilizes the soil and its leaves are also rich in protein so it is very good for livestock such as sheep, goats and cows. The practice of coconut plantations with intercropping of gliricidae has been carried out in Sri Lanka hundred years and the coconut industry is developing well there.

With the plantation pattern as above, besides producing coconut sugar, it can operate because energy sources are available, it is also very potential with the integration of ruminant farms above and also honey bees. When the animal husbandry is integrated, land potential can be optimized and manure from the farm can be used as organic fertilizer for the coconut plantation. In addition, among the coconut trees and gliricidae, with the grass including them can also be used for pasture such as sheep, cattle or both. Grass from pasture fields can be used as the main feed of the sheep or cattle and gliricidae leaves as additional feed. With the combination of a number of coconut sugar based businesses, the production of coconut sugar can be done anywhere and gives maximum profit. Insha Allah

Designing Energy Plantation for Wood Pellet Production: Don't Choose the White Calliandra!

Day by day more and more parties are interested in the production of wood pellets from the energy plantation. The calliandra energy plantation is the choice of most prospective producers of wood pellets. This is because plants can grow fast and coppice has many advantages, including high woody biomass productivity, does not need to be rejuvenated every year and easy maintenance. And it turns out that the interest in making the calliandra energy plantation has also begun to spread to various regions in Indonesia and even abroad. By making energy plantations, it does have many advantages, especially in the supply of raw material will be more guaranteed and large quantities of raw materials achieved. Some of the advantages of wood pellet production from the energy plantations also can be read here. Besides calliandra, gliricidae ranks second for choice of energy plantation plant species. Even Sri Lanka will soon produce wood pellets from gliricidae, for more details, please read here.

Designing energy plantations for wood pellet production in large capacity is not a simple job. For the global scheme, you can read here. One thing to note is the selection of calliandra seeds themselves. Erroneous selection of calliandra seeds will be fatal, especially for large plantations. It turns out that there are two types of calliandra, namely red calliandra and white calliandra. Red calliandra is suitable for energy plantation and wood pellet production. Why is that? This is because there are several advantages of the species of red calliandra compared to white calliandra, namely first, the ability of coppice for red calliandra can be up to 15-20 years then rejuvenated (replanting), while white calliandra is only about 5 years old for coppice every year and must be rejuvenated. Second, red calliandra wood has a calorific value of more than 4000 kcal / kg while white calliandra is lower than 4000 kcal / kg. So when making the calliandra energy plantation is not automatic any calliandra seed can be used, but it must be selected and the red calliandra selected.

There is one more thing that is usually missed by the parties who will produce wood pellets from the energy plantation, namely optimizing the energy plantation. Of course, to optimize the growth of energy crops fertilizer is needed and if integrated with sheep, goat and cattle farms, then besides meat production it will also produce fertilizer. Though also calliandra leaves are also very good for animal feed because of its high protein content, due to the roots of the calliandra plant which is able to bind nitrogen from the atmosphere. Even if the farms developed are also large, the biogas can also be made of the manure. In addition honey bee farms can also be added, and even calliandra honey, including high-quality honey. For more details about large plantations and large farms, please read here.

Soon Sri Lanka Will Produce Massive Wood Pellets From Its Energy Plantations, Indonesia?

A Sri Lankan company, Trinco Pellets will produce wood pellets from fast-rotating plant, namely gliricidae and is planned to produce in 2020-2021. Its production capacity reaches 150,000 tons / year with the main market to Japan. The company aims to plant 1 billion gliricidae trees with the target of producing 15 million tons of gliricidae wood. In addition to the production of wood pellets, the wood is also used for electricity generation. Of course this is a breakthrough and acceleration for the development of the wood pellet industry. Indonesia clearly has far greater potential, and it can also be a reference for even a model to spur the spirit to play a greater role in the world wood pellet sector in particular and bioeconomy in general.

Gliricidae with calliandra are a group of legume plants that have roots that can bind nitrogen to fertilize the soil. Both can also be coppice so that they can be harvested every year and replanting is done after approximately 20 years. For additional references about calliandra and gamal can be read here. Optimization of energy plantations both calliandra or gliricidae is by raising both sheep and also can be sheep farms with cattle. This is because calliandra and gliricidae leaves are very good for animal feed because of the high protein content and the amount produced from the energy plantation is very much. For example if each hectare produces 20 tons of leaves, then for a 1,000 hectare plantation it will produce 20,000 tons of leaf waste. For more details, please read here. With this pattern, we are not only produce wood pellets, but also meat production, which is currently Indonedia still in a deficit. Integration of large plantations with large farms will provide optimal results, as can be read here. Insha Allah.

Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 2

Cattle grazing proved to be important activity and work that will continue to exist until doomsday. Most human beings regard it as a lowly and ancient work so much abandoned. Though of course in the current era technology devices can be used to facilitate grazing, one of which is with IoT (Internet of Things) which is also widely applied in some areas of life. With cattle grazing turns out one of the important things for human that the cycle of food can run and continue (sustain). Soil fertility will be preserved, then grasses can continue to grow as well as various other trees. It is Allan Savory, a biologist from Zimbabwe who formulated the phenomenal concept of saving life on earth through Holistic Planned Grazing, a simple concept of planned grazing. The concept has even been applied in various parts of the world, ranging from Africa, Australia, Latin America and even North America with a total area of ​​more than 16 million hectares (about 40 million acres). How the grazing system so that it can save life on earth, watch the video of Allan Savory is in this link. The principle is to plan the rotation of the cattle grazing periodically so that the distribution of livestock manure to a large area and the grass in the pasture area has not been exhausted has been abandoned by cattle grazing, and then each area is visited again when the grass has been restored.

Masha Allah. It proves and convinces us that what all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah do, we are worth imitating until the end of time. But there is a difference of cattle that Allan Savory used with Allah's prophets, Allan Savory used cows while the whole Prophet was grazed sheep or goats. Why did all the Prophets graze the sheep and not the cows? Allah Almighty who sent the Prophets certainly has a purpose with it and certainly contains a lot of wisdom in it. Some of these wisdom, among others, first, the mathematical proliferation of sheep much faster than cow. A single female sheep or goat can give birth to six lambs in two years, while a cow gives only one or a maximum of two at the same time. Second, sheep or goats with smaller sizes are also more mobile in spreading dirt so that fertilizing effects on the soil are also more evenly distributed. Third, the quality of sheep dung as fertilizer is also better than cow dung, especially on the macro content of nitrogen (N), phospur (P), and potassium (K). Because the result of ordinary human works, Savory approach is certainly still contain many weaknesses, but it also can save the area of tens of millions of hectares in the whole world mentioned above. What if the example of the Prophets with the sheep grazing is applied all over the world? Of course the result will be much better in all aspects.

The harvesting rotation in energy plantations can also be adjusted with rotation of sheep groups in the grass area. The location of trees in the energy plantaion that is ready to harvest with the grass below can be used for sheep grazing. Trees that are high so that the leaves are not reached by the sheep, so as not to damage the trees. After the wood is harvested and leaves separated, then the leaves are also feed the sheep. The grass and the plantations will be pleasing to the sheep and sheep owners.

The low production of our meat, the low consumption of meat per capita and the high import of meat is our problem today. Indonesia's meat production currently stands at 2.5 million tons and that is to keep the 10 kg / year per capita fulfillment for 250 million people. The consumption of Indonesian meat is low, only about 1/4 of the world's consumption average, which is around 40 kg / year per capita. These protein pads are essential for cell growth and intelligence. FAO recently released its statistics that Indonesia only consumes 10 kg / year of per capita meat while our neighbors such as Timor Leste are 36.51 kg, Malaysia 48.93 kg, Brunei 63.87 kg and Australia 111.72 kg.

Why did it happen? Are our vast and fertile lands insufficient to reach conditions equal to the world average? There are at least three causes: we leave the sunnah of the Prophets to graze, wrong in choosing a grazing animal and mindset in grazing locations. Sheep or goats are supposed to be the best grazing animals. For the third error is the mindset about grazing sites. "He Who has sent down rain from the sky for you, part of it to drink and partly (fertilize) the plants, which on which you are grazing your cattle "(Surah 16: 10). Again we get a hint from the Qur'an that the best grazing sites are not in the vast pastures of Australia and New Zealand, but among the shade of other plants that form dense plantations such as energy plantationns. Which country is best suited for it? Tropical country like Indonesia is the right and best for grazing. Besides Allah also commands us to pay attention to our food (QS 80: 24-32), both the substance (quality and quantity) is also how to get until to process it. By eating food that halal thayyiban then our prayers are also easily granted Allah SWT.

Finding The Best Treasure Of Energy Plantations Implementation

From Abu Said Al-Khudri said: Rasulullah SAW said: "The time will come that the best Muslim treasure is the sheep shepherded on the mountaintops and the fall of rain. By bringing his religion he runs away from some slander (Munkar or Muslim fights) ". (H.R. Bukhari)

From Abu Hurairah R.A. from the Messenger of Allah (SAW), he said: "Among the best human livelihoods, is a man who controls his horse in the way of Allah. He flies over it (he rides it up the fast way). Everytime hears the call of war he flies over it eagerly to seek death by being killed (in martyrdom) or facing death on the spot. Or a man who shepherds the sheep at the top of a mountain from the top of this mountain or the valley of some valleys. He established a sholat, gave zakat and worshiped to his Lord until death came to him. He does not interfere with man, and only do good to them. "(H.R. Muslim).

Both hadiths saheeh above explain the virtues of the sheep as the best treasure and shepherd the sheep as the livelihood or the best work after jihad. The best treasure of sheep and grazing is very possible with the implementation of energy plantation. The lands that were previously barren and unproductive can also be repaired with the leguminocea type of energy plantation trees. For more details about energy plantation can be read here. Tens of millions of hectares of land that are not or have not been utilized optimally need to be processed and optimized. This is because there are many urgent agendas today that need to be addressed, such as food sufficiency, nutrition improvement, health improvement and quality of life, creating a strong and quality generation, improving education, improving the economy, improving the environment and so on to create a glorious civilization that lights the world.

When we design and manufacture large scale energy plantationsfor the production of wood pellets, leaves can be used to feed the sheep. With a ratio of 6 trees / head / day, then with 10,000 trees / hectare and if every harvest day of 10 hectares means it can feed 17,000 sheep. Then the best treasure of the sheep also provides a large additional income. In addition, sheep can also be grazed in the area of ​​the plantation but with attention to the age of the energy trees in order to also be able to keep growing optimum not even shoots consumed sheep, as in the scenario 5F Projects For the World! Although it can be used as a single feed for sheep, but the use of gamal leaves with grass to feed the sheep will provide optimal results. The lamb is the best meat and is the world healthiest food, the lamb that is fed with leaves and grass or shepherded in the grass. Sheep fed with leaves and grass will produce Omega-6 ratios of Omega 3 (O6 / O3 ratio) in the range of 1 or balanced. The Omega-6 to Omega 3 ratio indicates the level of quality of food in terms of health, with a range of 1 at the best or balanced conditions whereas if the O6 / O3 ratio is greater then the lower the quality of the food. Meanwhile, if large livestock such as sheep are fed grains such as soybean-based O6 / O3 ratio to be large ie 13 or more. High O6 / O3 ratio will spur the onset of heart disease, cancer and other cardiovascular.

The leaves of the leguminoceae trees in the energy plantations also have a high protein content, for example gamal (gliricidae) leaf  has a protein content of about 25%. In addition, gamal (gliricidae) leaves also have a low tannin content. Tannin compounds in general will reduce protein digestibility for rumen digestion. Conversion of gamal (gliricidae) leaves with 'very' high protein content to lamb meat is also big. So sheep fed with gamal (gliricidae) leaves will have much greater weight than sheep that are not given gamal (gliricidae) leaves. The high nutritive value of gamal (gliricidae) leaves and positive effect on ruminant livestock production especially sheep puts it as ideal animal feed.

In addition to the encouragement of both the saheeh hadiths above and also the low consumption of meat in the country and also the high demand for sheep to export to Saudi Arabia which reached 8 million heads / year with 2 million during the hajj season, and the abundance of gamal (gliricidae) leaves from the energy plantation when it has been produced , has become a number of powerful thrust to get the best treasure by making sheep farms.

The destruction of agricultural lands as well as forests that are very numerous even according to FAO estimated globally has reached one third. Some have even entered the desertification phase. It is certainly alarming for human food sufficiency and other potential natural disasters. Allah SWT says in QS Ya-sin (36): 33; QS Al An'am (6): 99. And again this leguminoceae plant is meant in that verse. Leguminoceae plant roots that are able to bind nitrogen (nitrogen fixing trees) from the atmosphere that serves as a pioneer plant, the trees deliver the land that originally died / arid until eligible for overgrown for fertilizing the soil. Then with the rain falling from the clouds and the sun, the woody biomass formed and its leaves as a nutritious feed, is how energy and food formed come from 'sky'.So the importance of food and renewable energy so humans globally need to formulate and set targets to be sufficient and fulfilled as in the SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) package. The leaves are also high in protein content that is needed for the sheep. Phosporus (P) and potassium / potassium (K) sheep droppings, with grazing in the soil, will further nourish the damaged soils, for nitrogen (N), phospour (P), and potassium (K) or NPK is an essential element of soil fertility. It is the great power of Allah who has given the 'recipe' / guidance to prosper His earth even from the condition of his death (QS Ya-sin (36): 33). It adds more faith and piety to Him like the word of Allah SWT:

"Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day there are signs for the intelligent (ulil albab). Those who remember Allah while standing or sitting or lying down and they are thinking about the creation of the heavens and the earth - (then say) 'Our Lord, you have not created this in vain, Glory to You, so guard us from the torment of hell ". (QS 3: 190-191)

Korea's Choice Gricidae Energy Plantation?

There are many similarities between calliandra and gliricidae namely, the leguminoceae group, the wood has a high calorific value, easy to grow, suitable for cultivated energy plantation with fast growing capability after harvesting the wood, and can be integrated with the livestock business by utilizing the green leaves. But gliricidae sepium is easier and more common in many places. This is because gamal has several advantages over calliandra ie as shade trees, fences plants and simple building poles. Gliricidae can also grow in various places and types of soil, evident from the sea to the high mountains. As for the energy sector, calliandra wood has an advantage with faster dry so it can be exploited or easier to process further.

As a group of leguminoceae both gliricidae and calliandra are able to fertilize the soil because its roots are able to bind nitrogen from the atmosphere, increase soil organic matter, improve physical characteristics of soil, aeration and drainage, reduce soil erosion, lower soil temperature and reduce ground water evaporation. Critical land, marginal and unused land will be repaired with the leguminoceae. Human essential matter issues such as water, energy and food can also be fulfilled by the plantation. As with calliandra, for optimization of gliricidae can also be integrated in 5F projects for the world!.

Since implementing the RPS (Renewable Portfolio Standard) in 2012 Korea committed to increase the use of renewable energy, especially biomass and more specifically wood pellets in its energy sector. Based on the RPS, Korea requires a coal-fired power plant to use a minimum 2% of renewable energy by 2012, with  0.5% per year increase until 2020. By 2020 they will need a minimum of 10% renewable energy with 60% renewable energy composition coming from wood biomass , while the remaining 40% from other sources. Palm kernel shells also become short and medium term solutions, and wood pellets for the long term. Since a few years ago some gliricidae energy plantations have been created by cooperating with Korea. Although until now the commercial production of gliricidae wood pellets not yet realized, but it seems in the near future will be realized. Some of the driving forces include the limited availability of palm kernel shells, wood pellets from raw materials of wood wastes are also limited, and biomass pellets from various agricultural wastes are of low quality and often require various treatments before they are pelleted. It seems that gliricidae will soon be massively cultivated to meet renewable energy in Korea.