JAKARTA - The implementation of circular economic practices needs to be strengthened in order to be able to answer various challenges in the national palm oil industry, ranging from economic, environmental, to social aspects.
Professor of the Faculty of Agriculture, IPB University, Prof. Hariyadi, said that one way to implement a circular economy is to optimize palm biomass such as palm fronds and palm stems, empty palm bunches (TKKS), palm shells and fibers, to palm mill liquid waste or palm oil mill effluent (POME).
The application of circular economy on palm biomass will add value up to 8-9 times. With a palm plantation area of 16.83 million hectares, Indonesia has the potential to produce palm biomass of 261.7 million tons of dry matter per year. This condition places Indonesia as the largest producer of palm biomass in the world.
"The development of oil palm plantations in Indonesia is very spectacular. Currently, the area of oil palm plantations has reached 16.83 million hectares. Therefore, the management of oil palm must be carried out sustainably," he said, Friday, July 17.
Prof. Hariyadi explained that palm biomass has various potential uses such as compost and organic fertilizer raw materials, biomass power plant fuels, to cement and construction mixture materials.
With a production potential of 261.7 million tons per year, palm biomass can become one of the pillars of national renewable energy development.
The utilization of palm biomass not only supports energy security, but also opens up new economic opportunities in the downstream industry sector.
He explained that the economic added value from the utilization of palm biomass includes the development of downstream industries around the production center, the creation of a natural fiber-based building materials industry, the provision of renewable energy sources that can be sold to the electricity grid or industry, to methane emission reduction and carbon credit acquisition.
"The optimization of palm oil waste will provide new economic value," he said.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Association of Plantation Education and Training Institutions (Alpenbun) admitted that the implementation of circular economy in the palm oil industry still faces a number of challenges. Some of the challenges faced are high initial investment, limited waste utilization technology, to high logistics and distribution costs.
"In addition, the market for palm oil derivatives is not strong until regulations and incentives are not sufficiently supportive," he explained.
To answer this challenge, the Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDP) has prepared various efforts such as encouraging downstream and empowering MSMEs to supporting research and development related to the implementation of a circular economy in the palm oil industry.
Previously, a lecturer and researcher at the IPB University Palm Oil Study Center, Siti Nikmatin, said that BPDP has a major role in encouraging research related to the implementation of a circular economy in the palm oil industry.
Nikmatin emphasized that the implementation of a circular economy model in the palm oil industry will have a positive impact on the environment and the economy.
He explained that derivative products based on palm oil waste can support environmental sustainability while creating economic value.
In addition to the positive impact on the economy and the environment, the implementation of circular economy also has the potential to have a positive impact on the social sector. He said, the palm oil industry could involve the surrounding community of factories or plantations in processing waste into products with economic added value.
"There is already clear evidence that BPDP supports innovative research for the advancement of palm oil in Indonesia," concluded Nikmatin.
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