Bambang Muryanto, The Jakarta Post, Gunungkidul | Archipelago | Mon, June 03 2013, 9:23 AM Paper Edition | Page: 5 A shrub or...
Bambang
Muryanto, The Jakarta Post, Gunungkidul | Archipelago | Mon, June 03 2013, 9:23
AM
Paper Edition | Page: 5
A shrub originating from Europe, Camelina sativa, the seeds of
which can be processed into biofuel has recently been planted in Playen, Gunung
Kidul, Yogyakarta, to help solve any future energy crisis and improve local
farmers’ income.
The first planting of the shrub, also known as camelina, gold-of-pleasure,
or false flax, was conducted by the Yogyakarta Forestry and Horticulture Agency
in cooperation with Waterland Asia Investments Pte. Ltd, which has committed to
buying the harvest.
“I really hope the camelina shrub will be able to improve the
wealth of local farmers as they will not be dependent only on food crops,”
agency head Akhmad Dawam said on the sidelines of the planting on Wednesday.
The shrubs were planted, widely spaced among rows of cajuput
trees, on 300 hectares of state forest at Manggoran Resort.
Akhmad said his office was still conducting trials and research
on the plant’s feasibility in Gunung Kidul. If successful, he added, another
1,800 hectares of land would be provided for the plant.
“Camelina can be cultivated in dry seasons when it is impossible
for farmers to plant food crops. Theoretically, therefore, this can improve the
farmers’ income,” Akhmad said.
Compared to other bioenergy plants such as jatropha and
nyamplung (Calophyllum inophullum), Akhmad said, camelina was more feasible
because it required only two months to harvest.
Akhmad also said that his agency and Waterland had signed a
cooperation agreement for the development of bio-energy plants and other crops
in Gunung Kidul regency.
Waterland, he said, would buy the harvest at between Rp 2,000
(20 US cents) and Rp 2,500 per kilogram. Leaves and stalks can be used for
cattle feed and is priced at Rp 600 per kilogram.
Separately, Waterland chairman Adi Sasono said that the plant
could be a solution to the need for renewable energy sources.
Indonesia, he said, currently was experiencing an energy
emergency in the fossil fuel supply because imports accounted for 60% content
of fuel production. At the same time, he added, domestic crude oil reserves were
only some 4 billion barrels and this was expected to be used up in 10 years.
“Waterland is pushing cooperation between the European Community
and Asia to produce renewable energy. So, this is a form of people-to-people
cooperation,” said Adi, who is also a former cooperatives and small and medium
enterprises minister.
He said the shrub planted in Gunung Kidul was the result of
genetic engineering at the University of Cambridge, in the UK, where the
harvest was reduced to two months from the previous five years.
Thanks to the genetic engineering, the plant also yields more
seeds, is suitable for dry fields and is capable of fertilizing the soil.
“That way we will not compete with other food crops,” Adi
said.
He also said that Indonesia could produce fuel, including
aviation fuel, from the camelina shrub in large volumes because the country had
around 2.5 million hectares of dry land. For this to materialize, institutional
support for farmers and local administrations was needed.
He expressed the hope the plant could also help keep younger
generations living in their respective villages and earning a living as
farmers. This in turn would help control urbanization and prevent Indonesian
workers from having to work abroad.
Currently, according to Adi, Waterland has cooperated with the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and the Bandung
Institute of Technology (ITB) to produce fuel from the shrub that meets
international market standards. For this, he had to bring in sophisticated
equipment from Germany.
“We are developing two factories: one to produce biodiesel and
the other to produce cattle feed from camelina in Gunung Kidul. Hopefully they
will be ready for production this year,” he said.
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