Chemical Fertilizer Plant, Blue Hydrogen, Blue Ammonia and Ruminant Farms

As a comparison of the sheep population in New Zealand with people population of 3 million, the number of sheep is 5 million, then Australia with people population of 25 million, the total population of cattle is 26 million while Indonesia with people population of 270 million, the total population of sheep is less than 50 million, moreover the cattle population is also confirmed much smaller. This indicates that the ruminant livestock sector is not yet a business or industrial engine for economic growth. Whereas in addition to natural resources that support, the need for meat and fertilizer needs for agriculture is also very large. When the ruminant livestock sector is optimized, apart from being self-sufficient in meat as a source of animal protein, it can even be exported, and it will also promote agriculture because the manure is turned into organic fertilizer. This organic fertilizer has many advantages over chemical fertilizers, including not destroying the physical and chemical properties of the soil, activating soil microbes and providing complete nutrients. When the livestock sector is optimized, it is also very likely that it will replace the use of chemical fertilizers or other languages ​​as well as self-sufficiency in fertilizers so that chemical fertilizer plants close or stop producing. The integration of livestock and agriculture will create food sovereignty, an extraordinary achievement if it can be realized.

To save the chemical fertilizer plants, it can be converted into a plant or energy producer in the form of blue hydrogen or blue ammonia. Natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and is the raw material for chemical fertilizers, is separated from the carbon elements so that hydrogen is obtained. Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas that has been separated from natural gas is then captured and stored (CCS = Carbon Capture and Storage) so that it is not released into the atmosphere. And because the raw material for hydrogen fuel comes from fossil fuels, it is called blue hydrogen, whereas if it comes from renewable materials such as biomass, water and so on, it is called green hydrogen. So it can be said that blue hydrogen is still half fossil because the raw materials are from fossil sources and green hydrogen is already 100% from renewable sources. Hydrogen compounds or hydrogen gas have atomic bonds in the form of two hydrogen elements (H2) as a stable compound in nature, and to increase the energy of hydrogen gas, ammonia (NH3) can be made, namely with three hydrogen bonds. Just like the term blue hydrogen above, when the ammonia comes from fossil fuels it is called blue ammonia and when it comes from renewable materials it is called green ammonia. Japanese companies have even made power plants (generators) that use 100% as fuel, for more details read here.

Efforts to boost the livestock sector by integrating with the agricultural sector is not an easy thing. The factors of market access ability, farming techniques, provision of feed, management and livestock business are a number of things that hinder the realization of the vision of food sovereignty. Especially for innovations so that they can be competitive at the international level. Motivation factors, low willingness, low reading and learning culture, lack of friendship for networking, government alignments with policies for less carrying capacity, and so on also hinder on the other hand. But with abundant natural resources potential and strong will, these obstacles should be overcome, especially ruminant farming, especially sheep and goats, is also highly recommended in Islam so that as a Muslim should be more motivated. There is almost no one when doing any kind of effort, let alone to realize a big idea without a hitch, because that is the sunatullah.

Sheep Breeding with Rotation Grazing

Efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in meat, especially for Muslims to strengthen their aqidah (faith) by means of qurban and aqiqah, are still facing many obstacles. The main obstacle is the number of seed sheep which are difficult to obtain because of the large number of productive females that are slaughtered for both aqiqah and daily consumption. Muslims are important and obligated by law (fardhu kifayah) or as a collective obligation to raise sheep to achieve the above objectives. Do not let Muslims can not perform these prayers because there are no livestock, especially sheep. Of course, it is also not good if because they are reluctant to raise sheep, Muslims will have to buy sheep from non-Muslims, even though the number in Indonesia is the majority and is also the largest in the world.

There are at least two things to overcome the problem of the sustainability of the supply of sheep, namely, firstly with a set of regulations to provide strict sanctions and provide a deterrent effect for anyone who is proven to slaughter productive females, and secondly, by increasing the production of seed sheep or lamb breeds as much as possible so that they can keep pace with the rate of productive ewes that are slaughtered. In the first point, although there is  a regulation, in fact it is difficult to implement because the government is not firm and the light sanctions. While in the second point, anyone can do it, so it seems that the second point is easier to do.

The location of sheep farming can be done anywhere, whether in villages, mountain slopes, forest edges and even in urban areas. These livestock models adapt to the characteristics of the location, especially regarding the source of feed. For example, in urban areas with limited land, the sheepfolds must even be leveled, with feed sources especially from food industry wastes. In the food industry, the main product are for human food and by-products or waste for animal feed, such as tempe and tofu factories, noodle factories, biscuit factories and so on. Meanwhile, in rural areas with large areas of land, grazing is also very possible. Grazing will save on feed costs and is very suitable for seed sheep production or breeding. While rotation grazing is a better grazing technique so that the efficiency and performance of the farm is better. Even on land that is close to an energy plantation, apart from grazing with abundant sources of feed, a feed factory can also be built in that location. And basically the more models with various variations, the more regions in Indonesia that can be worked on for self-sufficiency in meat especially halal meat.

In rotation grazing, the grazing area will be divided into paddocks. And basically the more paddocks, the better because pasture can be utilized as a source of animal feed to the fullest. In general to start with 5 to 10 paddock with each paddock for grazing 3 to 7 days then rested 25-30 days. Of almost all rotation grazing practices, 4 paddock is the minimum number to start with. The square shape is the best shape for the paddock, so try to get as close to it as possible. The shape of the small elongated and circular paddock is not good because it is more difficult to achieve an even utilization of grass by livestock.

By increasing its production centers, the problems of seed sheep will be overcome. Of course this takes time and continuous effort. The unused, marginal and critical lands which amount to millions of hectares can be converted into the livestock area. Divine motivation to strengthen aqidah and part in enforcing Islamic law will continue to motivate Muslims to raise sheep farming, in addition to meeting their daily protein needs in the form of meat. The people's culinary shift from protein consumption of chicken meat to duck meat and currently more and more lamb is consumed. The halal industry should also be growing with Muslim business actors themselves. 

Utilization of Marginal Land and Former Coal Mines for Ruminant Livestock and Charcoal Briquette Production

Photo is taken from here

The extent of marginal land including critical land and unused land which reaches more than 6 million hectares as well as ex-coal mining land which is estimated to reach 8 million hectares are environmental problems that must be overcome. Turning these lands back into productive land so that apart from preventing a bigger environmental disaster, it also provides other benefits for human life. One solution to this problem is to plant the land with pioneer plants of the leguminoceae group whose roots firmly grip the soil and are in symbiosis with azetobacter so that it fertilizes the soil such as calliandra and gliricidia as well as its leaves as a source of animal feed, flowers for honey production, and the wood for the production of charcoal briquettes. Or in other words, the establishment of the plantation besides having environmental benefits as an effort for conservation and land reclamation along with water conservation, of course, also provides benefits for ruminant livestock or the production of animal feed and the production of charcoal briquettes. Ruminant farms, namely sheep, goats and cattle, are very suitable to be developed using the leaves of the plantation. The combination with charcoal briquettes, namely by using the wood, is an ideal combination or integration. In a number of countries the charcoal briquettes are used as fuel for grilling BBQ from lamb, goat and beef. So in addition to all parts of the tree can be utilized also even the final product of livestock in the form of meat and wood processing so that it becomes charcoal briquettes also meet again. An interesting and unique blend or integration.

The need for red meat, namely lamb, goat and beef in the country itself is still lacking, so it requires an adequate supply. In terms of goat and lamb meat, the need for the Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi) area alone has not been met, so it is supplied alternately from East Java, Central Java and Lampung alternately. In addition, according to Aspaqin (Association of Indonesian Aqiqah Entrepreneurs) there has been an imbalance in the supply of sheep and goats due to the large number of female productive sheep and goats being slaughtered. This condition causes the sustainability of the supply of sheep and goats to be disrupted. According to data from Aspaqin that they collected, 63% of female sheep and goats were slaughtered from a total of 331,693 slaughtered tails. Of course there are still many who are not recorded because there are still many aqiqah entrepreneurs who are not members of the Aspaqin. In addition, there are also many stalls for eating goat dishes, such as satay stalls which still slaughter productive sheep and female goats. Aspaqin continues to strive for education and socialization to improve these conditions, including a proposal to provide punishment for the slaughter of these productive females.

Meanwhile, in the beef cattle sector, Indonesia has the advantage of fattening cattle (feedlot). With the availability of a lot of agricultural wastes and agro-industrial wastes in Indonesia, this business is very competitive, even indonesia is the best. Moreover, this is by creating a plantation that is specifically designed for the feed source by utilizing land that can be said to be unproductive at first. By only taking about 100-120 days, the fattening was successful or completed, although in general, breeder or seed cattle are generally still imported from Australia. Australia, especially northern Australia is the center of the seed cattle. With the vast grazing area there, the cost of producing feeder cattle is very competitive and cannot be done well in Indonesia. Although there are a number of discourses to produce seed cattle in eastern Indonesia and palm oil plantations, the facts are still not or are still very minimal. In addition, according to Gapuspindo (Indonesian Beef Cattle Farmers Association), the domestic demand for beef has not been met or there is still a shortage of around 60% and this shortage is filled by imports of buffalo meat from India. Buffalo meat from India actually has to be sold cheaper than beef, but in fact it is the same as beef. This condition is getting worse, especially in the period leading up to the Eid al-Fitr holiday with lots of illegal meat circulating, such as wild boar meat.

Charcoal briquettes are a product of wood processing from the plantation. The production of charcoal briquettes using wood raw materials must also be managed properly so that it can be sustainable. The important thing to note is that the harvest of wood for the production of charcoal briquettes should not exceed the production of wood from the plantation itself, for example the need for wood for the production of briquettes is 1000 tons / month, the speed of wood production from the plantation is at least the same as the wood harvested every month. Charcoal briquette production techniques are also available in 2 options or routes such as the scheme below. However, route 1, which is briquetting before carbonization, is more in demand because the quality of the briquettes produced is better. In this route, the wood biomass raw material has been downsized so that the particle size is suitable for the production of the briquettes and the dryness level has also been adjusted and then briquetted or pressed in a briquette machine without using additional adhesive. The briquette product is then carbonized so that it becomes the final product in the form of charcoal briquettes or commonly known as sawdust charcoal briquette.

 

Photo is taken from here

In addition to domestic consumption, sheep and goats are also export commodities to a number of countries. Information obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture's Pusdatin (Centre of datas and informations) that Indonesian sheep and goats have been exported, among others, to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Basically, the choice to do sheep and goat export business is the choice of the breeders or farmers  themself and the specifications for the export market are also different for local needs. If the local market generally uses sheep and goats weighing 25-35 kg per head, the export market generally requires a weight above 35 kg per head. For example, for a large market for sheep and goats, Saudi Arabia, especially during the hajj season, reaches around 2 million heads or a quarter of the country's needs, which means it reaches 8 million heads per year.

And lastly, basically the need for food, especially animal protein and more specifically from ruminants sheep, goats and cattle will continue to increase along with the increase in the population itself. The world population is estimated to reach 10 billion in 2050 or 1.3 times today and Indonesia's population will reach 319 million in 2045 or 1.2 times from today. Another thing that deserves attention is Indonesia's demographic bonus. The demographic bonus with the dominance of the productive young generation should be a separate strength for the Indonesian nation if it is supported and directed properly. This sector is certainly one solution. With the vast land area in Indonesia that can be used for this business, God willing, it will overcome various important problems today such as food security, preventing environmental damage, creating jobs, improving living standards, improving food quality and so on.     

Biomass Cofiring, Energy Plantation and Ruminant Animal Husbandry

Biomass cofiring with coal in coal power plants in Indonesia as a PLN (Indonesia electricity state owned company) program to support the use of renewable energy, especially biomass, could be the closest momentum for energy plantations. The program is also an effort to achieve the target of using renewable energy of 23% by 2025, while until now it is still less than 5%. In 2020 the cofiring program has been initiated with a target of 37 coal power plants but in practice 20 coal power plants have been implemented. While in total there are 114 coal power plant units owned by PLN that have the potential for cofiring, spread across 52 locations with a total capacity of 18,154 megawatts (MW) as a target of completion in 2024. The details consist of 13 coal power plant locations in Sumatra, 16 coal poer plant locations in Java, 10 locations in Kalimantan, 4 locations in Bali, NTB and NTT, 6 locations in Sulawesi, and 3 locations in Maluku and Papua. Meanwhile, the cofiring ratio ranges from 1-5% biomass with an estimated biomass requirement of 9-12 million tons per year.

And recently there has also been an agreement between PLN and Perhutani (Indonesia forestry state owned company) and PTPN III (Indonesia agriculture state owned company) to supply biomass for the cofiring program, for further information, please read here. In this case, PLN is the owner of the coal power plants, while Perhutani owns the resources of industrial plantation forest areas both in Java (Perhutani) and outside Java (Inhutani) which can be developed as energy plantations or energy forests. Likewise with PTPN III with its land which can also be used for this energy plantation. Gliricidia sepium and red calliandra (calliandra calotyrsus) are two species of fast-rotating crops that are most likely to be used for these energy plantations. If every 4,000 hectares produces a production of 10,000 tons / month of wood pellets or 120,000 tons / year, at least 400,000 hectares are needed to meet the 1-5% cofiring target which is equivalent to 9-12 million tons per year. The potential of gliricidia leaves or calliandra will also be very abundant. And it should also encourage the growth and development of the ruminant industrial sector. Moreover, if in the future PLN increases its cofiring portion, for example 6-10% or even 20%, of course the energy plantation needed will be very large, as well as the abundant potential of gliricidia leaves or calliandra.

The Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing with the increase in cases getting bigger in Indonesia and there is no sloping curve yet, even positive cases have penetrated more than 1 million people. It is predicted that this pandemic will become a long-term problem with indications, among others, that new variants are found so that the vaccine that has been prepared is not or less effective and the emergence of a second wave of covid outbreaks even after vaccination has forced cities and even the state to lock down. . How almighty is Allah SWT with all His will, which should further strengthen our iman and taqwa. The prolonged condition of the Covid-19 pandemic makes people afraid and avoids crowds or gatherings including professional activities such as offices and industry. This condition will also encourage the growth of efficient business activities by using various existing technologies.

Technology-based and efficient industrial developments should be the focus of the government to survive and even maintain sustainability in order to maintain the supply of goods needed by the community. Population concentrations in an area must also be reduced and properly distributed. Big cities are becoming less and less attractive. Efficient production units must be increased in number as well as their distribution should be more even. Outskirts, villages and even mountains are increasingly being enjoyed. The closer to nature or natural resource-based businesses, the more they enjoy it along with the distribution of business locations that is more evenly distributed or not accumulated in big cities. More and more world citizens also want a fairer system in regulating their lives.

Ruminants (sheep, goats and cows) farms are a potential business especially supported by the utilization of leaves waste from these energy plantations. The locations for these energy plantations are generally in forest areas which are quite far from urban areas. The leaves of gliricidia or calliandra can be processed into various forms (concentrate, hay, pellets, briquette, etc.) according to request or use. With the use of good technology, the leaves waste can be used optimally so as to support the progress of ruminant farming. The farm will also be very good if it is made near energy plantations as a source of food. To get a complete feed composition, community empowerment can be done.

Production of Box Shaped Hay From Gliricidia Leaves

Apart from market, feed is another important factor in livestock business. Striving for and ensuring the availability of feed throughout the year both in quality and quantity is a challenge in itself, especially industrial-oriented ruminant farms. The productivity of livestock products is largely determined by these feed factors. The important role for livestock is for the growth of young livestock and for maintaining life and producing products (milk, calves/lamb, meat) and power for adult livestock. Another function of feed is to maintain endurance and health. In order for livestock to grow as expected, the type of feed given to livestock must be of good quality and in sufficient quantities.

In addition, livestock productivity itself is influenced a lot by environmental factors, namely up to 70%, while about 30% is genetic factors. And among these environmental factors, the aspect of feed has the greatest influence, which is around 60%, for example superior sheep farming such as the dorper type but if the quality and quantity of feed is not met then the results are also not optimal. Meanwhile, in terms of livestock business, the cost of feed is also the largest production cost, namely 60-80% of the total production cost. So it is very natural that attention or focus on feed issues is very important.

Seeing the above conditions, processing technology for animal feed is important. The purposes of animal feed processing include preserving nutrition and extending shelf life. Drying the leaves of gliricidia or calliandra to a moisture content of about 15% is one such effort or commonly called hay. By making hay the two objectives of processing animal feed above, namely maintaining nutrition and extending the shelf life can be achieved, but with a large volume of dry feed or hay (bulky) it will be inefficient in using space for storage or if it is to be used in other places where need quite far transportation. This is why it is necessary to apply biomass densification technology to solve this problem. Hay compaction into blocks or box shaped is a practical and easy undertaking. The equipment and compaction process into box shaped is also easy and cheap, compared to other biomass compaction technologies such as pellets or briquettes.

A sheep or cow farm should be built near the energy plantation so that they can easily get a source of feed for the gliricidia leaves. The leaves are then made hay and compacted into the blocks / box shaped. And because gliricidia leaves are a source of protein, so to be a complete feed, another source of feed is needed. This can be fulfilled by the surrounding community with community empowerment patterns or for more details, please read here. Sources of feed from the community, for example a source of fiber from grasses or agricultural waste, can also be made hay, so that the farm is available as a complete feed (complete feed) which is safe for the operation of the farm business. And because the estimated leaf production from energy plantations is very abundant, some of the hay that is produced can also be sold elsewhere. 

Technology is basically a tool to achieve a goal. From a technological point of view, namely biomass densification, besides the raw material for glicidia leaves can be made hay, the leaves can also be made into pellets or briquettes. The main difference between pellets and briquettes is only a matter of size, briquettes are bigger than pellets. The form of puck briquettes like the photo above is the best form for animal feed applications. From a technical perspective, pellets and briquettes are also denser or have a higher density than hay. The dust problem in hay can also be reduced by making these pellets or briquettes. But it is true that making pellets or briquettes requires higher investment costs and the production process is more complex.

Complete Feed Production With Integration of Energy Plantations and Community Empowerment

Feed and markets are the two most important things in the world of livestock. Farmers who are able to get safe, nutritious, affordable, adequate and sustainable feed will produce the best quality and quantity. One of the safe categories is not GMO. For more details, you can read it here. It is possible to make these feeds yourself by utilizing the local potential. The expertise to provide feed is of course very important for professional farms. Likewise, broad market access allows the livestock business to be increasingly profitable. The current era of the internet is also very supportive of gaining such broad market access. Social media such as whatsapp groups, telegram, twitter, youtube and so on can be used for this.

To get complete nutrition so that it becomes a complete feed, of course, cannot be obtained from just one source. Malnutrition which results in decreased quality and livestock production will inevitably occur, if the feed nutrition is inadequate. It is possible that the development of an energy plantation or a biomass plantation with leguminoceae plants such as gliricidia and red calliandra is very likely to be integrated with the livestock business. Sheep, goat and cow farms are the best choices for this farming business. It is also hoped that later progress in the renewable energy sector from energy or biomaterial plantations will be in line with the livestock business. While glicidia leaves or calliandra have the main content in the form of protein which can reach 25%, other sources of nutrients such as sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals can be obtained from the environment around the plantation. Communities around the plantation area can be empowered to plant these nutritional complementary crops or take advantage of their various agricultural wastes such as straw, grass and so on. 

The leaves of gliricidia or calliandra as a source of feed are estimated to be a maximum of 30% of the complete feed. With leaf productivity per hectare of around 30 tonnes / wet year or 18 tonnes / dry year. This means that for every 1000 hectares of gliricidia plantation will produce 18,000 tons / year of dry leaves. If a goat / sheep eats 3 kg / day (30% of the total consumption of complete feed), it means that for 1 year 1 sheep / goat consumes about 1 ton of dry leaves or with a volume of 18,000 tons / year means that it can be sufficient for 18,000 sheep / goats for 1 year.

The animal feed innovation must also be carried out so that the conversion of feed to meat product, milk or breed is high, even the feed formulation should be adjusted to the age level of the livestock. Researches to obtain varied feed formulations or recipes, especially those that are adaptive to local potential, are very important. This includes identifying and developing as many feed sources as possible. The more identified feed sources and feed formulations, it is hoped that the livestock business will grow rapidly. Case studies on gliricidia and calliandra leaves have several anti-nutritional substances, so these substances must also be reduced or even completely eliminated so that the feed nutrients are absorbed effectively. Anti-nutritional substances in gliricidia are dicoumerol, HCN (cyanide acid) and nitrates, while red calliandra is an anti-nutritional substance of tannins. 

Production of Gliricidia Leaf Pellets as a Non-GMO and Sustainable Animal Feed Solution

 

Food is a top priority compared to feed and energy. This has a consequence of adequate food for humans before animal feed and energy. When food and energy are prioritized over food, there will be various social unrest. The tortilla riots in Mexico some time ago are an example of how energy is prioritized over food, namely corn is prioritized for bioethanol. Likewise, if feed is prioritized so that food supplies will be disrupted. Soybeans, for example, are a source of food but also a source of feed. The largest soybean production from the United States and Brazil. In a number of countries soybeans are a source of food and feed because the oil is extracted into soybean oil and the meal becomes animal feed, but in Indonesia, soybeans are mainly used for food. Vegetable oil in Indonesia is mainly from palm oil and coconut oil. Even in its history, Indonesian coconut oil was destroyed by the American Soybean Association (ASA) with the negative issue that propagated coconut oil as bad oil on the international vegetable oil market, so that until now coconut oil has not revived.

Indonesian animal feed production also mostly relies on protein sources from soybean and palm oil meal. In fact, because of the great need, it also imports soybean meal (SBM). The more developed the livestock industry, the greater the need for feed. Feed in the livestock industry is one of the key components to its success. Adequacy of feed with good nutrition, safe and affordable is very important for livestock business. As the largest palm oil producer in the world, which ranges from 40 million tonnes / year, the production of palm kernel cake is estimated at more than 6.5 million tonnes / year, if all of these palm kernel cakes are optimized for the domestic feed industry, it would be very good. Likewise coconut cake.

Gliricidia

 Gliricidia leaves are also a source of protein for animal feed, especially ruminants and fisheries. With a protein content of about 20%, gliricidia leaves are very potential as a source of this protein. Moreover, the programs of the feed industry associations are reducing or even eliminating dependence on transgenic raw materials (GMO) such as soybeans and environmental factors in the form of sustainability. With the program of making energy plantationsor biomass plantations which are also increasingly massive for various industries based on renewable and sustainable materials, the production of leaves as a side waste is also increasing. The potential for leaf waste, which is estimated to reach hundreds of thousands of tons, even millions of tons, will be very potential for animal feed, especially reducing feed derived from GMO materials. Environmentally productive efforts like this to meet human needs will further encourage bioeconomics. Halal meat is a very important source of protein for human food, so animal feed production is an integral part of the chain.

The growth rate of the feed industry also varies from country to country. This depends on a number of factors such as a country's food policy, people's purchasing power, availability of raw materials and so on. For example: for countries in Europe, about 20 years ago the average capacity of feed mills in Italy was 11,000 tons / year, while the animal feed industry in the Netherlands has an average capacity of 45,000 tons / year or more than 4 times the feed industry in Italy and has also exceeded the European average capacity today. Currently, the average feed mill in Italy has an average capacity of 29,000 tonnes / year (still about 3 times that of 20 years ago), but at the same time feed mills in the Netherlands already have an average capacity of 140,000 tonnes / year. The majority of animal feed production in the Netherlands is for pig feed, so it would not be suitable for conditions in Indonesia. With majority of Islam in Indonesia, the production of animal feed developed as a top priority is for the halal industry. Based on the potential for raw materials, the potential for land for animal feed production and so on, Indonesia should accelerate its halal industry, one of which is by boosting its animal feed industry. The Netherlands, with its small population and limited land area, is even very strong in developing its research to support the feed industry. We also don't want to lose.