Post Harvest Loss during storage of Empty Palm Fruit Bunches

Introduction
Higher demand for Palm Oil will be covered by higher yields per hectare, reduction of post harvest loss or increase of hectares. The latter will likely happen at the expense of rain forests and indigenous communities, so it is worth having a look at the first two. Oil Palm fruits are harvested by cutting the fruit bunch of the tree. This Fresh Fruit Bunch is then transported to the mill for threshing and processing into Crude Palm Oil. During threshing, the fruits are separated from the stalks and fibres using steam and water. The fruits are then further processed into Crude Palm Oil. The Empty Fruit Bunches, though, still contain plenty of value which is lost when not managed properly.

Symptoms of Post Harvest Loss
Empty Fruit Bunches (EFB) piled on the side of the road are symptoms of Post Harvest Loss. The EFBs still contain some oil, but also mineral nutrients. As one study shows, most potassium, magnesium and boron are washed away by rainwater within two weeks [1]. These nutrients are needed as input at the Palm Oil plantation as a substitute for fertilisers that need to be bought on the market. The EFBs eventually return to the plantation, either fresh, burnt or composted.

Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Causes of the symptoms
Temporary storage may be required because spreading operations at the plantation are not organised appropriately or because there is no equipment to efficiently remove the EFBs from the mill back to the plantation. Mechanical spreading may not be possible when rain has made the soil too soft for the machines. Millers should be made aware of the potential loss that improper storage causes. If storage cannot be avoided, at least it should be in such a way that rainwater would not take off with valuable nutrients.

Extension strategy
I would look for Best Practices from smallholders and millers that optimise return flows that minimise need for storage. Also I would find Best Practices for safe storage where needed. Storage solutions should be low cost. Large industrial mills are able to collect rainwater and process it to retrieve nutrients. This solution is not available for small mills. To implement solutions I would work with local government, NGOs, cooperations of smallholders and millers. Cooperations and villagers could use a train-the-trainer system where ambassador farmers could showcase the solutions in a way that other smallholders could easily copy. One of the communication channels could be Youtube. Best Practices can be explained using video in the native language. For translation services I would source the network of academic linguists that have done fieldwork in that area and know which speakers speak a language variety that is most commonly accepted.

[1] STUDY OF MINERAL NUTRIENT LOSSES FROM OIL PALM EMPTY FRUIT BUNCHES DURING TEMPORARY STORAGE
http://palmoilis.mpob.gov.my/publications/joprv16n1-sloan.pdf

Barn Owl Management

It takes a lot of time, money and energy to produce palm oil. You first need to plant oil palm seedlings, and nurture them for 3 to 4 years before they start to produce. Optimise soil, water and nutrient levels. Prune the trees, manage the undergrowth and remove sick trees. Check for leaf eating caterpillars and deal with them when there are too many. Finally the time has come to harvest the fruits. But as the Fresh Fruit Bunches wait for transportation to the mill, who shows up to collect? Rattus tiomanicus, also known as the Malayan field rat.

Problem
Research from Universiti Putra Malaysia estimates that rats can cause a loss of 5% of total oil production by damaging the trees and eating the fruits. Serious rat infestation can cost plantations owners more than USD 300 per hectare per year. Even humans are not safe as rats carry diseases such as Leptospirosis. One of the ways of controlling rat populations is by using poisoned bait. Though effective, poison has its price. Financially, but also ecologically as the poison moves up the food chain.

Solution
An article in the New Straits Times "Ruling the roost in estates" describes how Sime Darby, one of the world's largest producers of palm oil, has been dealing with rats. Since the 1980s, Sime Darby has enlisted Barn Owls to help catch the rats on its plantations. The owls are given a warm welcome with special nest boxes and plenty of food. An estimated 21.000 barn owls now inhabit peninsular Malaysia. According to Sime Darby's head of research and development “A barn owl eats an average of one rat per day. A family that comprises two adults and two baby birds could consume 1,200 rats per year.” Thus reducing rat control costs by 30 to 40 percent.

Barn Owl (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

To train your owl
Barn owls have become so important to palm oil plantations that research has been done to find out which pesticides can be used without harming the owls. The research itself not being very harmless to owls. When natural migration is not sufficient, owls are introduced by humans, as detailed in one Reuters article. Indonesian palm oil producer BW Plantation (BWPT) claims owls now save the firm about USD 300.000 per year. "We have an owl trainer who takes care of our owls, starting from the egg until they mature and are then released into the field," said Kelik Irwantono, corporate secretary at BWPT.

Palm Oil plantations are competing with tropical forests in Malaysia and Indonesia and often winning. Where forests have already disappeared, at least make sure that crop yields are maximised and Post-Harvest Loss is reduced. That way production can increase and provide income to millions of people, without further destroying high value conservation areas.