ABSTRACT
There is no sector in the economy where the opportunity to convert from a monoculture to multiple-use system could be so rapidly achieved than in the agro-forestry industry in general and the plantation business in particular. If plantation management were to opt for an innovative approach towards all the elements of the biomass generated by its crops and trees, the plantation business would be converted into an economic powerhouse of the twenty-first century, comparable to the petroleum industry of the twentieth century. Plantations are still a prime example of ‘core businesses’. Plantations, like any other business, need to focus on further increases in productivity. The palm oil plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia, Nigeria, Central America and Brazil generate an estimated 200 million tons of biomass per annum. A palm oil plantation generates a minimum of 25 tons of biomass waste per hectare per year, so a 40,000 ha plantation, not unusual in Kalimantan, Indonesia, has to handle one million tons.
