Finding The Best Treasure From Energy Plantation Implementation Part 8

"It is He Who has brought down the rain from the sky for you, some of it has become a drink and some of it has grown up, the plants which are in your place of grazing your livestock. "(Qur'an 16:10)

"Eat and graze your animals. Verily in this, there are signs of the power of Allah for those who understand. "(Qur'an, 20:54)

"Muslims are syirkah (sharia business cooperation) to three things, in terms of pasture (land), water and fire (energy)". (HR. Sunan Abu Daud).

After the energy plantation is made for the production of wood pellets, then make sheep (or sheep with cattle) farms to use the leaves from the energy plantation tree or both can be made in parallel. Making sheep farms (or sheep with cattle) can also be an entry point before integration with an energy plantation in time or even a wider bioeconomy model. Farming sheep (or sheep with cattle) by rotating grazing is the best way, because maximizing land use, managing pasture is easier and more planned, and the productivity and quality of meat from livestock are also higher. In rotation grazing, the livestock is rotated in the barren pasture area that has been partitioned. The pasture area used should have a height of about 25-30 cm of grass and left behind when the grass has a height of about 8-10 cm. If the grass is spent (overgrazed) then further growth becomes less optimal and can even die, because it is unable to grow again.

There are at least 4 physical things that need to be considered for making rotating grazing work well, namely: feed supply, fence systems, water supply and shade. Feed supply or grass availability are important factors for the sustainability of the grazing. In the rainy season the grass or certain months will be abundant while the dry season decreases. To adjust to the amount of feed, the livestock population can also be adjusted. When abundant feed the livestock population is more than when feed is reduced. To keep feed more available, pasture can be equipped with a good irrigation system so that the grass can continue to grow even in the dry season.

Fencing systems are also a factor in the success of rotation grazing. The fence system allows planned management of pasture fields. Setting the use of areas for grazing and areas that must be rested so that the grass grows back is the function of the fence system. Furthermore, with the supply of water, obviously this is an important factor because Allah SWT creates something that lives from water (Qur'an 21:30) and every one who lives must need water, especially livestock. Each grazing area (paddock) must be equipped with the water supply. The more food or grass consumed the more water is needed. The lack of water supply will also reduce feed consumption. Cool and non-hot water is preferred by livestock compared to hot water. When a hot day, a place of water in a pond or a certain container will become hot, resulting in reduced water consumption and reduced feed consumption, which in turn will decrease body weight growth. A number of studies have shown that the maximum distance of pasture livestock to a maximum water source is around 250 meters for optimal results.

Shady places are also important for grazing. Farm animals tend to look for shade so they can graze longer. When the weather is hot, farm animals do not last long. The best shade is trees so trees need to be planted in the pasture area. Fruit trees are one of the interesting choices for that. Each paddock area can be planted with one type of fruit tree, for example one paddock for durian trees, the other paddock for rambutan, the other for date palm trees, mango, guava, olive and so on. Temperatures in Indonesia with a tropical climate are also higher than in subtropical regions, namely daytime on average reaching 25 C while in subtropical regions only 10 C. This shows that the best location is grazing is grassland with shady trees among them. The amount of rainfall like in Indonesia makes large fast and fruiting trees so that they can be quickly used for shade.

One of the most frequently asked questions for farmers who want to start rotation grazing is how many paddocks must be made? Basically, the more paddocks, the better because the pasture can be utilized to source livestock feed maximally. In general, you can start with 5 to 10 paddock with each paddock for grazing 3 to 7 days later rest for 25-30 days. Of almost all rotational grazing practices, the number of 4 paddocks is the minimum amount when starting. The square shape is the best form for the paddock, so that it is as close as possible to the shape. The shape of the small paddock extends or circles is not good because it is more difficult to achieve the results of the utilization of grass that is evenly distributed by livestock. For determining the pasture area as well as the distribution it will be better at the initial stage to do it with aerial photography.

Bioeconomy Model for Indonesia Part 2

In addition to using leguminoceae trees such as calliandra in the form of energy plantation, as described in more detail in the bioeconomy model for Indonesia part 1, bamboo trees can also be used as pioneering plants and impact the development of various bioeconomy derivative activities. Why can bamboo trees be used in this case? Bamboo trees belonging to the group of grasses (gramineae) can grow in almost all places in Indonesia and are resistant to dry conditions, this is also because bamboo plants are plant species with C4 photosynthesis. Ground water will also rise up to the surface by bamboo plants, so that areas that were originally dry can become fertile and water is easily available.

The damage to the environment generally starts from the destruction of the soil which has become dry and barren. This condition causes the land to be untapped and further worsens the damage so desertification can occur. Damage to the soil can be caused by the use of chemical fertilizers, lack of or not available water sources and unsustainable land management. Bamboo trees that are also easy to grow can be used to improve these conditions. For this reason, bamboo plantations need to be made to rehabilitate land and also benefit economically. It only takes about 3 years for bamboo trees to be harvested and can then be harvested continuously for more than 30 years.

Bamboo can be used for biomaterials, but of course the most economical use is sought. Bamboo can be used for the production of various types of products such as building materials, paper raw materials, energy sources, activated carbon, to high-quality textiles and for more detail can be read here. The number of products that can be produced from bamboo will certainly be its own driving force. Currently there are still a number of imported products, even though they should be produced domestically. Textile raw materials such as cotton and wool are examples of raw materials that are still imported in very large quantities, and this can also be substituted with raw materials from bamboo, even better quality.

With bamboo plantations that improve environmental conditions and economic aspects, further development can continue to be carried out later, such as the creation of fruit gardens and livestock, especially sheep. The fertile soil and water are easily available making various fruit trees grow well, so can the making of pastures with green grass. Rotation grazing techniques as the best grazing technique today can be applied in the pasture. The economic sector based on this has become more passionate and a real example of bioeconomy.

Starting from bamboo, the nation's economic sector and people can become strong. Strategic sectors such as food, clothing, shelter, and energy can be fulfilled and are not import dependent. There are tens of millions of hectares of land available in Indonesia, and can be used for these bamboo plantations. Indonesia's condition with a tropical climate with high rainfall also strongly supports bamboo plantations in Indonesia. Let us improve and save the environment as well as to lead in the bioeconomy era with bamboo plantations, its processing industry and its development.

Bioeconomy Model for Indonesia

When Europe targets their bioeconomy it can move the economic sector of € 2 trillion (34,000 trillion rupiahs or 17 times the Indonesian state budget) by absorbing 20 million workers and more specifically the Netherlands which is about the size of East Java targeting € 2.6-3 billion (around 50 trillion rupiah) with their bioeconomy program, Indonesia as a tropical country, vast and fertile land should be able to boost its economy as well as bioeconomy. The bioeconomy approach and model developed by Indonesia could be different from what is done in Europe and in the Netherlands, because its natural potential and the characteristics of its population are also not the same. With a majority Muslim population Indonesia should develop many bioeconomy models that are in line with Islamic values. This is because bioeconomy will also be related to food and clothing issues which in Islam are very clearly related to halal haram issues. Not only that, of course the model is also optimized so that it can bring as much as possible the prosperity of the people and provide solutions to a number of major problems faced. Islamic economics that has not become mainstream in a majority Islamic country is one of the big problems today. By doing a lot of syirkah and waqf a number of big opportunities in the bioeconomy era can be easily captured and optimized.

With a tropical climate, vast land, fertile and high rainfall, the development of energy plantations for the production of wood pellets, sheep farming, honey bee farming and charcoal production with pyrolysis is one of the bioeconomy models that can be developed. Pyrolysis, besides producing charcoal, also produces syngas which can be converted into electricity. Electricity is useful to run the pyrolysis unit and also the production of wood pellets. Palm oil mill wastes such as oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) and oil palm plantation wastes namely fronds can be used for the pyrolysis raw material. Municipal waste can also be used as raw material for pyrolysis. If not, some or part of the wood from the energy plantation can be used for the raw material of the pyrolysis. Other products from pyrolysis are charcoal, biooil and pyroligneous acid (liquid smoke). All of these products have high economic value and can be upgraded to become a number of derivative products. How long the industry chain also depends on the economics value of the industry. The longer the industrial chain should give greater added value and a large contribution to bioeconomy.

How can to realize the bioeconomy of the model above? Of course it's a big job to realize the bioeconmy model because it integrates several units so that it becomes a closed cycle. Entry points can be started from one business unit that is easier to do. Sheep grazing or sheep and cattle grazing (mixed grazing) can be the easiest entry point, because for Muslims it is also supportive for the establishment of syariat Islam, namely syariat qurban every 10 Dzulhijah. It also means that it will increase domestic meat production. Rotation grazing is an effective and efficient grazing pattern, especially compared to traditional grazing patterns, namely continuous grazing. After the pasture, followed by the production of wood pellets from the energy plantation, the waste of the leaves which is also rich in protein will also be an additional food for the livestock. Livestock manure from the cage can be used for fertilizer in the energy plantation, while the pasture itself has received fertilizer when grazing is carried out in the area. The last is integrating pyrolysis units whose main purpose is for electricity production to meet the operations of the wood pellet factory. Industrial chain can be developed longer by using raw materials (feedstock) from the by-products of the pyrolysis process.

When this model can be made and proven to provide great benefits, then the model is then multiplied and enlarged. When the touch screen hand phone was first introduced, many people were skeptical and ridiculed the concept to be used en masse, but today most cell phones and gadgets use the touch screen to operate it. People are attracted and flock to be follower when they see evidence. But who wants to be a pioneer and give evidence to those people? Only very few people want and are able to do it. Steve Jobs, shows that Apple's touch screen phones can be reliably used and provide evidence for people. Steve Jobs's famous expression is "People don't know what they want until you show it to them!"

Palm Oil Plantation

Examples in the world of plantations will be closer to the bioeconomy model. When the Dutch brought four palm oil seeds and grew into oil palm trees, then small plantations were made, then it became more widespread because many were copied and developed into many places. This condition occurs because the business can prove to provide attractive benefits. Likewise with the development of bioeconomy. Increasingly proven to provide better profit and benefits, it is certainly more attractive to be applied and developed to many locations, not only in Indonesia but also in Malaysia and especially other Muslim countries.