Indonesia and the Seduction of Coconut Island

Indonesia is famous for its seductive land of coconut islands. This is because the extent of coconut plantations in Indonesia reaches around 3.7 million hectares, most of which are smallholder plantations. The extent of these coconut plantations places Indonesia as the owner of the largest coconut plantations in the world, and the Philippines is in second place. Coconut trees mainly grow along the coast, and indeed Indonesia also has the longest coastline in the world. Even though Indonesia's coconut plantation area is number 1 in the world, its productivity is still lower compared to the Philippines, so the Philippines is also the number 1 coconut producer in the world. The coconut industry in the Philippines is also more advanced than Indonesia. Indonesia, on the other hand, prioritizes palm oil over coconut. The area of Indonesia's palm oil plantations is currently around 15 million hectares or more than 4 times the area of its coconut plantations.

Especially for VCO (Virgin Coconut Oil) products for the export market, apart from requiring better specifications or quality, they are also generally required to be accompanied by organic certification. Organic certification is something that is not easy, especially for small businesses. Information from APCC (Asia Pacific Coconut Community) states that the Philippines is currently the largest producer of VCO, even though the area of coconut plantations is still below Indonesia, with export volume continuing to increase. It was recorded that the Philippines' VCO exports in 2006 were 461 tons, then nine years later, namely in 2015, it increased to 36,313 tons. The coconut industry in the Philippines is also more developed than in Indonesia, this can be seen from the large number of export commodities made from coconut products. The Philippines exports 30 kinds of coconut products while Indonesia only exports 14 kinds of products.

Coconut is like a sleeping tiger. As a tropical country with the longest coastline in the world, the "sleeping tiger" needs to be awakened. This huge potential must be awakened, not weakened, so that coconut-based industrialization must be boosted especially as the productivity of Indonesian coconut plantations continues to decline, plus the demographic bonus so that the potential of natural resources must be optimized, and the vision of a golden Indonesia 2045. Don't let the demographic bonus become a demographic disaster because it is not properly managed and directed. Optimizing natural resources with a sustainable environmental perspective is a future economic solution that must be a common concern.

Creating an Integrated Coconut Industry Prototype Based on a Narrow Coconut Plantation

The integrated coconut industry has not been widely found in Indonesia, whereas by processing coconut in an integrated manner, the processing will be effective and efficient. Every part of the coconut tree can be used, including the fruit or all parts of the fruit. By utilizing coconut fruit as a whole, apart from producing a number of products, there is also a part of the fruit that can be used as an energy source for the production process. This condition will also minimize and even eliminate the use of energy from outside. In addition, the use of energy from biomass is carbon neutral so that it is environmentally friendly because it is renewable energy and saves production costs. Production costs that can be saved due to the use of biomass waste such as coir/fibre  and coconut shells will make business profits bigger.

Coconut plantation owners with an area of several tens or hundreds of hectares can create an integrated coconut industry pilot project (prototype). By making a prototype of the integrated coconut industry, it can be the basis for further scale up. Product characteristics, production processes to market opportunities can be better studied in this way. After all the information has been obtained and mastered properly, it becomes easier to develop, including if you want to find investors for the development of the business.

 Indeed, the route or method above takes longer and the effort is harder than selling only coconuts from the plantations, especially young coconuts that are sold, of course it is faster and easier. But if the big vision is built by optimizing this potential, the route or method above will be much more effective and more applicable in a number of coconut production centers wherever they are. With this integrated approach to the coconut industry, besides maximizing profits, it is also a zero waste production activity. Unlike palm oil, which has more limited product variants, there are more coconut product variants so that the integrated coconut industry approach from one place to another can be different.

Reviving the Integrated Coconut Industry Part 3

When continuous pyrolysis is used for processing coconut shells and producing charcoal and is not processed further into activated carbon, excess syngas and biooil can be used as energy sources for processing fruit flesh and coconut water. Fruit flesh and coconut water can be processed into a variety of products needed by the market. The production costs of various processed coconut products have become very competitive because energy costs are very minimal or even zero. In addition, energy needs can also be added from coconut fiber which is used as fuel as well. The energy source can be used for electricity or heat or both depending on industry needs.

If gliricidae is planted as a crop between coconut plantations, wood products will also be obtained. The wood can be used as raw material for wood pellets as an export commodity which is predicted to continue to increase demand in line with awareness of environmental problems and climate change. Gliricidae leaf waste can also be used as animal feed such as goats, sheep and cattle. Maintenance of gliricidae is very easy and planting patterns as intercropping with coconut plantations are also common in Sri Lanka. Land optimization can also be done by using land between coconut plantation and gliricidae as pasture fields such as goats, sheep and cattle and for beekeeping.

To make the business profitable and sustainable, professional management certainly needs to be applied in the business. Management of the upstream sector namely plantations and livestock should be separated from the downstream sector namely factory or plant as a processing unit. This is similar to the organization in the palm oil company which separates the plantation division from the factory or mill division. In addition to facilitating business operations, the business will become efficient and competitive.