plantations oil palm

what is plantation agriculture? It is a type of farming where a particular crop is grown and sold (cash crop) It is found in areas within the tropics that experience high temperatures, high humidity and heavy rainfall all year round - eg.: Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka The size of the plantation is usually more than 40 hectares There are a variety of cash crops including rubber, oil palm, banana and pineapple

inputs Oil palm Physical inputs: - suitable climatic conditions for crops - large land area Human inputs: - cheap plantation workers - high capital - fertilisers and pesticides - modern, efficient machinery - processing facilities - efficient transport infrastructure

process cultivation Pre-nursery: 1) selection of good palm oil seeds 2) which are soaked in water for a week 3) put in plastic bags and kept in special germinators for about two months

cultivation Nursery: 1) young palms are transplanted to the nursery for a year 2) during this time, the fields are prepared for the transplantation of the palms

processing Fields: 1) healthy young palms are transplanted to the fields during the early part of the rainy season 2) after three years, the mature oil palms are ready to be harvested and processed

processing Separation and mashing of fruits: 1) harvested fruits are subjected to sterilisation by steam at about 1400°C for about 90 minutes 2) after this, fruits are sent to the rotary drum stripper to remove their stalks 3) after the mesocarp is separated from the kernel, it is turned into a digested mash by the digester

processing Oil extraction: 1) a hydraulic press extracts the oil from the mash 2) the oil is sent to a refinery to be refined

outputs Semi-processed products that bring in profits Cover crops that also bring in profits

advantages Oil palm is a cash crop It brings in a lot of money for countries with a lot of land area such as Malaysia Malaysia made a profit of RM 28.6 billion in one year alone(2005) No need to move to another plot of land regularly after a few years Cover crops that are sold also bring in money for the farmers

disadvantages High cost of capital Artificial fertilizers have to be constantly applied throughout Requires sophisticated tools and a high level of research and technology Relies heavily on machines to get work done

uses Oil palm is used for the following purposes: - Ingredient in food products - Engine lubricants - Base for cosmetics - Printing inks - Candles etc. etc. Palm oil is becoming an increasingly important agricultural product in Asia.

Commercialization of palm biodiesel is a new development in the palm oil industry. Palm biodiesel is an alternative fuel for petroleum diesel. Palm oil is made into biodiesel to make fuels for cars, power plants and factories. future trends

credits http://www.etawau.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_palm http://www.kuokgroupresidences.com/kuokgrp/images/fruit%20of%20oil%20palm.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/ http://www.fedepalma.org/oil_uses.htm http://www.colorsbydesign.com yahoo image search google image search text book