Malaysian oil palm plantation sector: exploiting renewable energy ...

Journal of Cleaner Production 65 (2014) 9e15

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Malaysian oil palm plantation sector: exploiting renewable energy toward sustainability production Norasikin A. Ludin a, *, M.Azwan M. Bakri a, b, Norman Kamaruddin b, Kamaruzzaman Sopian a, M. Solah Deraman b, Norul Hisham Hamid c, Nilofar Asim a, M. Yusuf Othman d a

Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), 6, Kawasan Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia d Institute of Islamic Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia b c

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 4 June 2013 Received in revised form 10 October 2013 Accepted 22 November 2013 Available online 2 December 2013

The Malaysian palm oil industry spans the entire value chain from upstream processes to downstream activities. This paper aims to review the progress of the palm oil industry and the current issues in the plantation sector, such as labor shortage, sustainable production, and greenhouse gas emission from the cultivation process. Palm oil cultivation is known for its labor-intensive process. Foreign laborers are usually employed in Malaysian palm oil plantations for harvesting, fruit collecting, and general maintenance works. Some issues have affected the supply of workers to Malaysian palm oil plantations. Farm mechanization, which has always been recommended as a tool to reduce dependency on foreign workers, is expected to solve the issues. However, certain considerations should be investigated, such as fuel consumption, to reduce its impacts on the environment. The currently available farm machineries that are frequently used contribute to almost 211 million kg of CO2-eq per year, as diesel consumption stands at 290 million L per year. Therefore, this paper also examines the potential renewable energy resources for the palm oil cultivation process. Exploiting renewable energy technologies in plantation operations, such as battery-powered electric vehicles charged using a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, can reduce up to 750 tonnes of CO2-eq per year. Therefore, this initiative will increase the sustainability of the Malaysian palm oil industry in general. Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Palm oil Sustainability Mechanizations Renewable energy

1. Introduction Palm oil has been extensively studied by many researchers to determine the best ways to exploit this crop. The palm oil industry as a whole has secured substantial income for the national economy. The Malaysian palm oil industry is the fourth largest contributor to the national economy, accounting for 8% of the gross national income per capita in 2009 (Economic Transformation Programme: NKEA, 2009) and contributing RM83 billion in Malaysian export earnings for 2011 (Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia25th edition, 2011). To ensure that industrial production meets the global targets of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the palm oil industry has focused on identifying sustainable production measures and processes for

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ60 146234636; fax: þ60 389118573. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (N.A. Ludin). 0959-6526/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.11.063

all activity levels from upstream to downstream. Most studies emphasize upstream processes, especially the activities of palm oil mills. Studies on how to optimize and sustain palm oil production by minimizing GHG emissions at the plantation level are lacking. The use of renewable energy sources in plantation activities is identified as one of the potential solutions to reduce GHG emissions. This paper is aims to predict fuel consumption in transporting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) in Malaysian palm oil plantations. The palm oil mechanization process is a way to increase farm and worker productivity. Therefore, the Malaysian palm oil plantation industry is moving toward the greater utilization of the mechanization process and the reduction of issues on labor availability. The literature was reviewed to analyze fuel consumption. The estimation is not based on the GHG emission because the GHG estimation is not limited to the transportation aspect only. This paper also highlights the solar energy potential in reducing the dependency on fossil fuel consumption and in GHG saving. A sustainable

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N.A. Ludin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 65 (2014) 9e15

production through renewable energy resources is expected to reduce the impact and burden of the palm oil cultivation process on the environment. 2. Status of global palm oil production The global vegetable oil trade is dominated by a few oilseeds (Fig. 1). Palm oil is the greatest contributor to the global vegetable oil trade, amounting to almost 50 million t for 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011). The top two producers of palm oil are Indonesia (24 million t) and Malaysia (19 million t), both contributing more than 85% to the global palm oil production in 2011 (Fig. 2). Other countries such as Thailand, Cote d’Ivoire, Brazil, Nigeria, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Venezuela have contributed not more than 15% to the global palm oil production. Although Indonesia is the top producer of palm oil, its export of palm oil is only 68% compared with that of Malaysia at 88% in 2011 in terms of global oils and fats export volume (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011). The world demand for fats and oils in the last decade has steadily increased. Overall consumption has increased at an average rate of 3.8% per annum because of the increasing population of the world and the development of oleochemical products (Wahid et al., 2010). Oleochemicals, such as fatty acids, fatty esters, fatty amines, fatty alcohols, and glycerols, are in high demand for the manufacture of non-food products. The Malaysian palm oil oleochemical industry contributed about 20% to the global oleochemical supply in 2008 (Malaysian Palm Oil BoardFirst Edition, 2007). 3. Oil palm cultivation in Malaysia Since the introduction of the economic diversification policy of Malaysia in 1960, areas planted with palm oil increased from 54,000 ha in 1960 to 5 million ha in 2011, reflecting a compound annual growth of 10% (Basiron, 2007). Fig. 3 shows the evolution of palm oil cultivation areas in Malaysia from 1975 to 2011. In Peninsular and Eastern Malaysia, areas planted with palm oil have markedly increased from 2005 to reach a plateau. The palm oil industry chain is divided into two main processes (Fig. 4). The upstream process involves nursery or seedling preparation, plantation operation, and palm oil mill processing (Wahid

Fig. 1. Comparison of export volume in million metric tons for 13 oilseeds from 2002 to 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).

Fig. 2. Palm oil producer countries and their corresponding production percentages in 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).

and Simeh, 2009). The downstream process produces palm oil for food or non-food products. In terms of land use, palm oil plantations in Malaysia account for 73% of the total land use for agricultural purposes (Fig. 5) (Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia25th edition, 2011). Large palm oil plantations are usually owned by private investors or government-linked companies. Smallholders, which comprises palm oil growers that operate less than 100 acres of palm oil, contributed to more than 30% of the palm oil production in Malaysia in 2008 (Wild Asia (Malaysia), 2012). Fig. 6 shows the distribution of palm oil planted areas in Malaysia based on ownership category and the six types of major ownerships or schemes available. FELDA, FELCRA, and RISDA are governmentlinked companies. Areas planted with palm oil in Malaysia only account for 14% of the total land area (33 million ha). The total area planted with palm oil is equivalent to only 2% of the global oilseed-planted area of 239.82 million ha in 2009 (Palm Oil Facts and Figure, 2012). However, the Malaysian palm oil industry produces more than 20% of global oils and fats output. Palm oil is the most efficient commodity based on production per planted area (Ng et al., 2012). Table 1 shows the yield of fresh fruit bunches, crude palm oil (CPO), and palm kernel (PK) from 1975 to 2011 in terms of volume (t) per area (ha). Palm oil yield is improved through the development of better quality seeds through breeding research and good agricultural practices (Basiron, 2007). Thus, the production of CPO and PK

Fig. 3. Total area of palm oil cultivation (ha) in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak from 1975 to 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).


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Fig. 4. Palm oil process flow.

increased from 1.3 million t and 255,200 t in 1975 to 19 million t and 5 million tons in 2011, respectively (Fig. 7). The production of CPO and PK usually reflects the percentage of food and non-food proportion of palm oil products. 4. Palm oil production in Malaysia Seedlings are raised in nurseries for approximately one year before transplanting. The land used for transplanting palm oil seedlings can be a previously logged-over area, an old palm oil stand, or land previously planted with rubber or cocoa (Basiron, 2007; Mielling and Henson, 2011). Land preparation usually involves plowing, demarcation, and pitting of holes for transplantation, sowing of legume cover crops, and application of pesticides and fertilizers, among others (Basiron, 2007). Palm oils reach maturity three years after transplanting to approximately 25 years. Ripe bunches are then harvested and transported to the palm oil mill for oil extraction. The same palm oil is visited twice a month (Schmidt, 2007). During the plantation phase, nutrient requirements are met by applying inorganic fertilizers or organic materials, such as pruned fronds, empty fruit bunches, treated palm oil mill effluent, and solid sludge (Nikander, 2008). Palm oil plantation operations are generally based on estate practices (Fig. 8). 5. Issues and challenges The palm oil industry continues to face issues on and challenges in sustainable practices and labor shortages. Certain progress in the palm oil cultivation process is expected to solve these issues and challenges (Ariff Simeh et al., 2010). The sustainability of the Malaysian palm oil industry is implemented through the establishment of an international certification system, such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) that sets voluntary standards for producers and provides assurance to consumers (Mielling and Henson, 2011). RSPO defines sustainable

Fig. 6. Distribution of palm oil-planted areas by ownership 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).

palm oil production as legal, economically viable, environmentally appropriate, and socially beneficial through a policy known as the RSPO Principles and Criteria (Veloo, 2012). Land conservation for forests with high conservation value remains a major objective (Basiron, 2007). Although lands are cleared for palm oil cultivation, the quick maturity of palm oil ensures that the ground is quickly covered. A closed canopy crop at maturity mimics a tropical rainforest in many ways and may accumulate 100 t/ha to 120 t/ha of biomass (Malaysian Palm Oil BoardFirst Edition, 2007). The analysis of land use change in Malaysia reveals that increasing palm oil demand can be met without further loss of forest cover by improving yield and degraded land conversion (Ng et al., 2012). Palm oil has yielded more than 4 t/ha/yr compared with soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed, which yielded only between 0.37 t/ha/yr and 0.75 t/ha/yr in 2011 (Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia25th edition, 2011). Moreover, the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has developed Codes of Practices (CoP) that cover the entire supply chain for palm oil and palm oil products. These CoPs incorporate the elements of sustainable production and food safety to ensure the growth of the palm oil industry (Balasundram, 2012). The shortage of labor in upstream processes for the palm oil industry has become a main issue (Veloo, 2012). The industry is heavily reliant on foreign labor for harvesting, fruit collecting, and other general maintenance works. Indonesians dominate the workforce at 88.77% of the total foreign workers employed as field labor (Azman Ismail, 2012). Table 2 and Fig. 9 present the total number of workers and percentage of foreign workers in the Malaysian palm oil industry. Labor issues emerged when many Indonesian workers returned to Indonesia and subsequently acquired jobs in Indonesian plantations (Sepawi, 2012). Indonesia is currently expanding its land utilization for palm oil cultivation so it is creating jobs and motivating Indonesians who have experience in

Table 1 Yield of FFB, CPO, and PK (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).

Fig. 5. Percentage of land usage in Malaysia for agricultural purposes for almost 7 million ha of land allocated in 2011 (Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Malaysia25th edition, 2011).

Year

FFB (ton/ha)

CPO (ton/ha)

PK (ton/ha)

1975 1985 1995 2005 2010 2011

17.95 22.15 18.93 18.88 18.03 19.69

3.66 4.33 3.5 3.8 3.69 4.01

0.74 1.28 1.08 1.01 0.93 1.00

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N.A. Ludin et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 65 (2014) 9e15 Table 2 Distribution of workers and comparison of local and foreign workers in the palm oil plantations sector in Malaysia (Ariff Simeh et al., 2010; Azman Ismail, 2012).

Harvesting mandores General mandores Harvesters and collectors Field workers Other general workers Subtotal field workers Executives Staff Subtotal executive Total

Fig. 7. Production of CPO and PK from 1975 to 2011 (Malaysian Palm Oil Board31st edition, 2011).

working in the Malaysian palm oil industry to return their home country; the salary gap between Malaysia and Indonesia is also closing rapidly (Fauzi Azmi, 2012; Dradjat and 2 012). Other nationalities are not so keen to work in palm oil plantations; the productivity of other foreign workers is not as good as that of Indonesian labor (Veloo, 2012). Therefore, this issue creates a labor shortage of 35,473 workers or 7% of the total number of workers required in plantations (Azman Ismail, 2012). As Malaysia will expand the area for palm oil cultivation from 5 million ha in 2011 to 5.6 million ha in 2020, labor demand is expected to increase to more than half a million workers if current practices continue (Ariff Simeh et al., 2010). Therefore, labor shortage will be a continuing issue in the palm oil plantation sector. To address the labor shortage, the current productivity of workers has to increase from 1.5 t of FFB per worker to at least 3 t per worker or higher; productivity can be increased by improving palm oil mechanization operations (Veloo et al., 2010). Advancements in the field mechanization of the palm oil plantation industry involve the introduction of machines and implements that are adapted to local terrain conditions (Shuib et al., 2010). Through research and development, mechanization in the industry has undergone several changes and is still currently progressing (Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 2010). Over the years, the industry has adopted several mechanization operations in various field activities (Table 3). Although areas for palm oil cultivation have reached 5 million ha in 2011, only 60% of these areas are suitable for mechanization mainly because of topographic reasons (Jelani et al., 2008). Therefore, only 3 million ha of mechanized area is available for farm

Fig. 8. Palm oil plantation operation based on planting age (Schmidt, 2007).

Local

Foreign

Total

% Foreign

7874 5724 15,762 31,998 22,557 83,915 9378 24,997 34,375 118,290

5123 8328 181,661 130,260 46,192 371,564 179 1306 1485 373,049

12,997 14,052 197,423 162,258 68,749 455,479 9557 26,303 35,860 491,339

39.4% 59.3% 92.0% 80.3% 67.2% 81.6% 1.9% 5.0% 4.1% 75.9%

mechanization technologies. However, even with only 3 million ha of mechanized land, the full adoption of mechanization will reduce worker reliance by 33%e46% (Veloo et al., 2010). Therefore, mechanization is a tool to reduce dependency on foreign labor and improve farm efficiency. The current MPOB life cycle assessment suggests that one of the factors that affect the environment is usage of farm machineries in the cultivation process (Zulkifli et al., 2010). Other studies also suggest that the GHG emissions related to the use of diesel in palm oil plantations are in the range of 180 kg CO2-eq/ha/yr to 404 kg CO2-eq/ha/yr based on a CPO yield range of 3.2 t/ha/yr to 4 t/ha/yr (Consultancy, 2009). Diesel fuel consumption in palm oil plantation operations has been estimated at 58L/ha/yr to 70L/ha/yr (Nikander, 2008). Therefore, for 60% of mechanized land out of the 5 million ha of palm oil cultivated areas, the palm oil industry requires more than 200 million L of diesel per year for cultivation purposes. However, these default values are a questionable foundation on which to base emission estimates; further research is required to confirm these values (A report by World Growth., 2012). 6. Estimation of fuel consumption Based on Table 3, three types of machines can be classified based on frequency of use. The three classifications are daily or routine usage, yearly periodic (once in three months), and once in a palm lifetime. Yearly periodic means that the machines or workers cover the area of a palm oil plantation for a certain job, such as manuring,

Fig. 9. Percentage distribution of foreign workers’ origins in the Malaysian palm oil plantation sector (Sepawi, 2012).


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Table 3 Available machineries for palm oil operation in Malaysia (Jelani et al., 2008; Ramdhan Khalid et al., 2010; Ghizan Saleh and Rajanaidu, 2011). Estate operation

Process

Available machines

Frequency of usage

Type of fuel

Harvesting FFB Evacuation

FFB Harvesting Infield collection

Daily Daily

Petrol Diesel

Field maintenance

Other Internal transport External transport Loose Fruit Collection Fertilizer application

Land preparation

Spraying Road and Drain Land clearance and preparation

Motorized cutter Small machineries e e.g. Mechanical buffalo, compact transporter, beluga, rhyno, otowey Tractor grabber with 5 tons trailer Prime mover with 30 tons trailer or more Loose fruit collector Tractor attached with fertilizer spreader Tractor with compost applicator Mini tractor with sprayer Backhoe, multiset grader, Compactor Backhoe, Escavator Tractors with post hole digger, Tractor with plough implements

Daily Daily Daily Once in Once in Once in Once in Once in Once in

Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel Diesel

only for a specific time. In some estates, usually only a few machines or tractors are intended for this type of job. In other estates, the machine used for this job is also used for other functions, such as transporting workers to their blocks or sites, to fully utilize the machine. The difficulty in getting essential data makes the analysis of fuel consumption difficult. Furthermore, only a few estates practice the mechanization process for this application. Therefore, this paper does not analyze the fuel consumption for this type of classification. In the once in a palm lifetime classification, the activity or machine is usually conducted by a contractor. The type of machine also differs based on topography and soil condition. If replanting from an old palm oil stand is done, only one or two heavy machines are usually required for a whole area of estates. The type, efficiency, and machine productivity are also different, making fuel consumption almost impossible to estimate. Therefore, the fuel consumption analysis is also not conducted for this type of classification. The daily routine classification is required to be conducted every day either with the same group of people or through individual effort. A palm tree is only visited twice a month, but the area covered is allocated for a daily job based on the productivity of workers or machines. For harvesting, only a motorized cutter is currently available for the mechanized process. Razak estimates that the ratio of harvester to area (ha) that should be covered by a harvester is 1:37, indicating a 105% increase compared with that in the manual process (Jelani et al., 2008). Fuel consumption is estimated at 1.2 L of petrol per day per harvester, making the fuel consumption to be 0.03 L per ha per worker. For transporting FFB from the palm base to the collection point, Malaysian palm oil plantation industries use various machines, such as mechanical buffalo and mini tractor grabber, among others. Most of the machines use small capacity engines from 10 hp to 20 hp, except the mini tractor grabber. The design of the machine considers the capability of the machine to transport FFB between 500 kg and 1 t in a trip, distance traveled within estates areas, ease of maintenance, and whether it can be operated by one operator only. Therefore, a small capacity engine is adequate to accommodate the design considerations. These machines with small capacity engines are assumed to consume a similar fuel requirement.

3 months 3 months 3 months 6 months 25e30 year 25e30 year

Mutasim estimates that this type of machine can cover 100 hae 150 ha of palm oil estates and consumes 2 Le4 L of diesel per day (Ali, 2012). Therefore, fuel consumption is at 0.03 L per ha per machine. Transporting FFB from the collection point to a mill requires machines with a heavier capacity. A prime mover with more than 60 hp or 80 tonnes of trailer lorry is usually required. The mill is usually located within 10 kme30 km from the plantation, thus making a huge capacity transporter more economical. For a plantation that is located near a mill, a direct transportation using a tractor with a 30 tonne-bin is adequate. However, this paper does not analyze this scenario as only a few plantations have this type of situation. Withida estimates a truck or a lorry to consume 0.0125 L of diesel/ton of FFB/km or 2.09 L/ton of CPO in her analysis (Patthanaissaranukool and Polprassert, 2011). The current average of CPO yield per ha is 4 tonnes. Therefore, fuel consumption is estimated at 8 L/ha for this type of transportation. A loose fruit collector machine commonly uses similar FFB transportation machines. This machine is improved by attaching a vacuum suction component to collect loose fruit at the base of the palm tree. Currently, this type of machine is not widely used because it is still under research and development. However, this machine is expected to increase the productivity of workers and to reduce the number of workers compared with the manual process. Fuel consumption for this type of machine is also not analyzed in this paper. Table 4 summarizes the fuel consumption for machines under the daily or routine usage as classified in the palm oil plantation sector. An estimated 24 million L of diesel is required for transporting FFB in one month for 60% of palm oil areas in Malaysia. Therefore, diesel consumption stands at 290 million L a year for the daily or routine job activity, and 211 million kg of CO2-eq/yr as carbon emission is estimated at 0.72 kg CO2-eq for every L of diesel consumed in a diesel engine (Redpath et al., 2011). 7. Possible transition to renewable energy technology To sustain the increasing energy demand in palm oil plantations while decreasing dependency on fossil fuels, the palm oil industry

Table 4 Summary of analysis. Available machines

Estimate fuel usage

Estimate fuel consumption (L/ha)

Estimate fuel consumption (L/yr)

GHG emission equivalent (kg CO2-eq)

Motorized cutter Small machineries e e.g. Mechanical buffalo, compact transporter, beluga, rhyno, otowey Tractor grabber with 5 tons trailer Prime mover with 30 tons trailer

1.2 L per day 1e4 L per day

0.03 0.03

1,080,000 1,080,000

777,600 777,600

2 L per hour 2 L per ton of CPO

0.09 8

3,240,000 288,000,000

2,332,800 207,360,000

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needs to use alternative energy resources, which are abundant in Malaysia (Norasikin and BakriHamdan, 2007). Some of these resources can potentially substitute petroleum diesel, such as biodiesel, for transport applications. However, this biodiesel is still not economically viable for use in the Malaysian context because petroleum diesel is heavily subsidized (May et al., 2005a, b; Lau Lik Nang et al., 2013). Therefore, a few initiatives should be taken if this initiative is to be implemented. The government of Malaysia always encourages the use of renewable energy technologies. Since its independence, Malaysia has introduced new policies designed to mitigate the issues of security, energy efficiency, and environmental impact, such as the National Depletion Policy of 1980, Four Fuel Diversification Policy of 1981, Fifth Fuel Policy of 2000, National Biofuel Policy of 2006, National Green Technology Policy of 2009, and National Renewable Energy Policy of 2010 (Firdaus et al., 2012; Hashim and Ho, 2011). Malaysia is located in an equatorial region, and it benefits from a large quantity of solar insolation per year, ranging from 1400 kWh/ m2/yr to 1900 kWh/m2/yr and averaging about 1643 kWh/m2/yr (Sopian et al., 2011). Solar energy is a potential source of energy that can replace and reduce petroleum diesel consumption. However, sunlight is shaded by the palm oil canopy; thus, the direct application of solar energy technology is not applicable. An energy storage device is required to store energy from solar PV systems. The stored energy can then be converted into mechanical energy through motor systems. The mechanical energy produced by motor systems is more efficient than that produced by internal combustion engines. Approximately 46% of electrical energy from a wall plug, electrical grid, or solar PV system to charge a battery-pack is delivered as useful energy (Redpath et al., 2011). The electric vehicle (EV) concept has long been studied for its application in transportation, especially for urban transport. The improvement of battery technologies today will cause the wider adoption of this technology. A low cost EV will also provide motive power for agricultural purposes, especially for activities with low power requirements. EV can be attached to farm implements to perform simple daily tasks. A project called Renewable Energy Agriculture Multipurpose System for Farmers, which is supported by the European Union’s FP6 program, published several papers indicating the success of their battery-powered electric vehicle (BPEV) charged through solar PV in demonstrating RE technological application for agricultural purposes (Redpath et al., 2011). This project has reduced diesel fuel consumption at 4200 Le5200 L and saved carbon at 3.2 tonnese3.7 tonnes per year (Redpath et al., 2011). Therefore, if this project would be replicated in the Malaysian context, much carbon and diesel consumption saving could be generated. As estimated by ratio, if a small machine used for transporting FFB infield is converted into a similar BPEV system, 750 tonnes of carbon emission equivalent will be saved. However, a detailed study should be conducted to investigate various aspects, such as technical and economic viability, before such project is implemented. 8. Conclusion and recommendation Palm oil cultivation in Malaysia has long been practicing sustainable approaches that have struck a balance between economic needs and environmental preservation. The modernization of the palm oil plantation sector by increasing the mechanization process and by adopting new technologies to meet issues and challenges will lead to an increase in energy consumption, as energy is closely related to the production input of any activity. Although biodiesels and second-generation biofuels are promising, other alternative energy resources and technologies have to be explored to sustain

the palm oil cultivation process of the Malaysian golden crop commodity industry. To find the gap in the implementation of renewable energy or energy efficiency initiatives in palm oil plantation, energy audit activities should be carried out. An energy audit activity will recommend an area for improvement, as not all cultivation processes are suitable for improvement because of some elements, such as topography and activities that require high energy such tilling, road and drainage maintenance, and so on. The Malaysian palm oil plantation is divided into smallholder, private, and government ownership. Most of the farm mechanization initiatives take place in privately owned plantations or in major plantations that usually own more than 1000 ha of estates. Therefore, the energy audit activity should focus on the major plantation areas. The data should be collected on a monthly basis, as palm oil is a perennial crop, and energy requirement differs on a monthly basis. Some cultivation processes, such as infield transporting for FFB, loose fruit collecting, and fertilizer application, can be improved in terms of energy requirement. Careful consideration should be made in selecting the appropriate concept of energy efficiency methods and renewable energy technologies. The qualitative and quantitative methods of selecting the technologies should be provided to convince the estate owners. In conclusion, efforts to implement energy efficiency and introduce renewable energy technologies into the palm oil plantation sector will increase the sustainability of palm oil, which is the highest-yielding commodity for oils and fats. The implementation of an energy efficiency program is suggested for smallholder owners, which account for 15% of the population of palm oil plantation owners. Therefore, the overall productivity and efficiency of palm oil plantation industries will increase and generally benefit the country in terms of economics and the environment. Acknowledgment Financial assistance provided by Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and Geran Galakan Penyelidik Muda (GGPM) (GGPM-2012028) by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) are gratefully acknowledged. At the end, the authors would like to acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of Solar Research Institute (SERI), UKM. References A report by World Growth. Grappling with Inordinate Uncertainty. Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Tropical Land-use Change. Available from:: http://www. worldgroth.org [retrieved 17.10.2012]. Ali, Mutasim, 2012. Design and Development of an Integrated Infield Collection Transportation Machine for Oil Palm FFB. PhD thesis. Universiti Putra Malaysia. Ariff Simeh, M., Ismail, Azman, Abas, Roslan, 2010. Cost comparison between manual labour and mechanization. In: Proceeding S of the 4th National Seminar on Oil Palm Mechanization. MPOB. PalmMech. Azman Ismail, M., Simeh, Ariff, 2012. An update on current labour situation in oil palm plantation sector. In: Proceedings of the Palm Industry Labour: Issues, Performance and Sustainability Seminar 2012. MPOB. PILIPS. Balasundram, Nagendran, 2012. Palm oil in the EU e current issues and prospects. MPOB, Palm Oil Develop. J. 54. Basiron, Yusof, 2007. Palm oil production through sustainable plantations. Eur J. Lipid Sci. Technol. 109, 289e295. Consultancy, Brinkmann, 2009. GHG Emission from Palm Oil Production. A Literature Review and Proposals from the RSPO Working Group on GHG. Available from: (Retrieved 17.10.12.). Dradjat, Bambang, 2012. Labour utilization for oil palm plantation sector: status and issues. In: Proceedings of the Palm Industry Labour: Issues, Performance and Sustainability Seminar 2012. MPOB. PILIPS. Economic Transformation Programme: NKEA, 2009. A Roadmap for Malaysia. Chapter 9: Deepening Malaysia Palm Oil Advantage. Available from: (retrieved 30.09.12.).

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Shuib, Abd Rahim, Jelani, Abd Razak, Jahis, Salmah, 2010. Innovation and technologies in enhancing oil palm mechanization. In: Proceedings of the 4th National Seminar on Oil Palm Mechanization. MPOB. PalmMech. Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, Ali, Baharuddin, Asim, Nilofar, 2011. Strategies for renewable energy applications in the Organization of Islamic Conference countries (OIC). Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 15, 4706e4725. Veloo, Ramesh, 2012. Plantation human capital. Will issues be resolved by addressing problem related to estate workers?. In: Proceedings of the Palm Industry Labour: Issues, Performance and Sustainability Seminar 2012. MPOB. PILIPS. Veloo, Ramesh, Haron, Jaai, Yatim, Zainuddin, 2010. Economics of mechanization e estate experiences. In: Proceedings of the 4th National Seminar on Oil Palm Mechanization. MPOB. PalmMech. Wahid, Mohd Basri, Simeh, Mohd Ariff, 2009. Issues related to production cost of palm oil in Malaysia. Oil Palm Econ. J. 9 (2). Wahid, Mohd Basri, Abdullah, Ramli, Shariff, Faizah Mohd, 2010. Lessons learned from sustaining remunerative palm oil prices e the Malaysian experience. Oil Palm Econ. J. 10 (1). Wild Asia (Malaysia), 2012. A Review of Smallholder Oil Palm Production: Challenges and Opportunities for Enhancing Sustainability. A Malaysian Perspective. Available from: [retrieved 17.10.2012]. Zulkifli, H., Halimah, M., Chan, K.W., Choo, Y.M., Mohd Basri, Wahid, 2010. Life cycle assessment for oil palm FFB production from land use for oil palm planted on mineral soil. J. Oil Palm Res. 22, 887e894.

Further reading Kumaran, P., Mazlini, Nur, Hussein, Ibrahim, Nazrain, M., Khairul, M., 2011. Technical feasibility study for Langkawi WCO derived biodiesel. Energy 36, 1386e1393. Reijnders, L., Huijbregts, M.A.J., 2008. Palm oil and the emission of carbon-based GHG. J. Clean. Prod. 16, 477e482. Puah C.W., Nagendran B., Choo Y.M., Lim W. S. Malaysian oil palm industry: responding to the sustainability criteria of GHG emissions saving under the European Union RE Directive. MPOB, Palm Oil Develop. J. 54. Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmad, Zaheedi, Gholamreza, Hashim, Haslenda, 2011. Progress and challenges in utilization of palm oil biomass as fuel for decentralized electricity generation. Renew. Sust. Energy Rev. 15, 574e583. Sulaiman, F., Abdullah, N., Gerhauser, H., Shariff, A., 2011. An outlook of Malaysian energy, oil palm industry and its utilization of wastes as useful resources. Biomass and Bioenergy 35, 3775e3786. Electric Tractor Specification. Available from: > [retrieved 17.10.2012]. Bekhet, Hussain Ali, Abdullah, Azlina, 2010. Energy use in agricultural Sector: Inputoutput analysis. Canadian Centre of Science and Education. Int. Bus. Res. 3 (3). May, Choo Yuen, Liang, Yung Chee, Foon, Cheng Sit, 2005a. Key fuel properties of palm oil alkyl esters. Fuel 84, 1717e1720. Rahim, Azmi Shahrin Abd, 2012. A Critical Assessment the Contribution of the Agricultural Sector in the Growth of the Malaysian Economy. Available from: http://www.economics.dstcentre.com [retrieved 17.10.2012].