Some Best Practices in Thailand s Oil Palm Industry Univanich Palm Oil PCL, Krabi, Thailand 9Sept11
Best Oil Palm Growing Regions 10 0 Best growing areas are within10 0 of the equator 10 0 Oil Palms are now spreading to dryer areas up to 15 0 from the Equator using drought tolerant hybrid seeds
Planted area of oil palms in Thailand 700,000 600,000 (Hectares) 671,700 hectares (4.20 million rai) 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 1973 First factory at Univanich 100,000 1969 First plantings at Univanich 0 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 Source : DOA 2010
Five factors driving growth in Thailand s supply & demand 1- Oil Palm Breeding is improving drought tolerance 2- Agronomic Research is increasing crop yields 3- Small farmers are driving expansion of the planted area 4- Domestic biodiesel policy and new export markets are creating new demand growth 5- Energy policies are creating new investment opportunities for the industry
Univanich Palm Oil PCL Locations in Krabi Province Topi Factory Topi Factory AOLUK Siam Factory Factory Lamthap Factory
Univanich Business Structure Seedlings for replanting Oil Palm Research Centre (OPRC) Seedlings for new planting Own Plantations 4 Estates 6,200 ha Seed Exports customers in 10 countries Outside Growers approx 4,000 small growers approx 40,000 ha Carbon Credits Target 100,000 CERs 90,000 CERs annually 17% Raw material 150,000 tonnesffb 3 Crushing mills (135 tonnes fruit per hour) CPO PKO PKC 146,000 tonnes 21,500 tonnes 24,000 tonnes 83% Raw material 718,000 tonnesffb Electricity Sales Electricity Sales Biogas capacity of 5.7 Megawatts 30% to 80% exported
Univanich export facilities at Laemphong Port, Krabi Developing new overseas markets for Thai palm oil Exporting CPO/PKO to Asia and Europe
Oil Palm Research Centre (OPRC) Established in 1983 Thailand s leading centre for oil palm research
Univanich OPRC has focus on sustainability ; Economic sustainability Environmental sustainability Social sustainability
OPRC Activities ; - Oil Palm Breeding and Seed Production - Fertiliser Trials - Irrigation Research - Planting Density Trials - Methods of Replanting Trials - Oil Palm Tissue Culture - DNA Marker Research (with Kasetsart University) - Methane Biogas Capture - Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) - Farmer training. Oil palm extension.
Univanich Breeding Programme Objective : To produce World Class Tenera hybrids especially suited to dry growing conditions Selections based on : - High Oil Yields - Drought Tolerance - Low height increments
Univanich Collection of Genetic Material Unilever & SIPEF Joint Research Scheme (JRS) Binga (Congo) Yangambi and other origins Harrison & Crosfield Dami (Papua New Guinea) Deli Duras and AVROS Guthrie Plantations Chemara (Malaysia) Deli Duras, 1970 Combined Breeding Programme (CBP) 1988-1991 Unilever Plantations Group Lobe (Cameroon) Ekona and others Unifield PCL Tissue Culture Laboratories (UK) Clones of selected Duras, Teneras and Pisiferas, 1991 Univanich Oil Palm Research Centre Thailand Unilever Plantations Group Yaligimba (Congo) Deli Duras, ex-dami and others, 1997
Progeny testing of new hybrid crosses Field testing of more than 900 progeny crosses
Producing a new generation of palms Deli x Yangambi hybrid palm 24 months after planting
A new generation of palms Selected for high yields in Thailand s dry climate
Seed Exports from Thailand Univanich Oil Palms now growing in India Myanmar Cambodia Vietnam Philippines Indonesia Nigeria Ethiopia Colombia Brazil Quality Certification Current production 10 million seeds
Also supplying local farmers with quality seedlings Supplying local farmers more than 1,000,000 certified seedlings each year ISO 9001 certification of seed production and nurseries
Thailand s new generation of hybrid palms are achieving production records around Asia Univanich Deli x Yangambi hybrid growing in Philippines
Economic sustainability (continued) Tissue Culture : the next innovation in oil palm breeding
Tissue Culture Producing Thailand s first oil palm clones Developing a new generation of high yielding clonal palms
Cloning and field testing of elite palms from the Univanich breeding programme
Economic sustainability (continued) Irrigation research: to overcome the effects of Thailand s dry seasons
Thailand suffers an annual dry season Monthly Soil Water Deficit (mm) at Univanich Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Total 2004 25 94 94 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 260 2005 112 146 22 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 311 2006 0 0 5 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49 2007 73 109 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 185 2008 41 24 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 74 2009 123 140 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 273 2010 43 76 98 37 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 276 Southern Thailand usually has four or five months of soil water deficit
Thousand Tonnes Thailand s monthly CPO Production 2010-2011 Severe dry seasons in Thailand create large differences between low production and high production months
Oil Palm Irrigation Research Automated irrigation trials to test (a) palm s water requirements and (b) best methods of application
Three Univanich Irrigation Trials 1990-2006 Trial Period Objectives 1 Drip Irrigation Trial 1990 1999 To compare 150 litres/palm.day 300 litres/palm.day 2 Methods of Irrigation 1996 1999 To compare 4 methods - Drippers - Sprinklers - Microsprayers - Contour furrows 3 Drip Irrigation Trial 2000 2006 To compare 225 litres/palm.day (Phase II) 450 litres/palm.day
Summary of Irrigation Trial Yields (old generation oil palms planted in 1985) Tonnes FFB/ha/year Irrigation amount Normal Fertiliser Double Fertiliser (litres/palm.day) 0 17.6 18.2 225 24.3 24.1 450 25.0 28.1 Irrigation will increase yields by approximately 10 tonnes fruit per hectare Oil palms respond to 450 litres/palm/day provided fertiliser is also increased
Yield Profiles of new generation hybrid palms FFB Yields of Univanich Hybrids FFB mt/ha 45 (Deli x Yangambi (Deli x Yangambi mixed commercial mixed commercial crosses planted in 1999 ) crosses) 40 Irrigated Irrigated Blocks Blocks 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 30 Non-irrigated Blocks 20 10 5 0 Year of harvesting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 M onths from Planting 25-36 37-48 49-60 61-72 73-84 85-96 97-108 Irrigation will add about 10 mt FFB per hectare New generation hybrids with irrigation produce up to 40 mt FFB per hectare
2011 Irrigation & Fertigation Trial Water Supply To compare fertilizer applied by manual and fertigation methods 21.5 hectares 8 treatments and 6 replicates 4 fertilizer rates with two application methods 8 drippers / palm 450 litres / palm / day Trial period 2011-2017
Environmental sustainability Developing sustainable replanting techniques
Developing new techniques for replanting old palms Routine replanting of 3% to 4% of Univanich area each year
Terracing in hill estates Developing environmentally sustainable planting practices to conserve moisture and protect the soil
New underplanting techniques on flat land Phased felling of the old palms in avenues
Underplanting techniques Underplanting spreads the economic cost of replanting and optimises benefit of biomass nutrients from the old stand of palms
Economic sustainability Underplanting trials at Univanich have also indicated the potential for Integrated Cattle & Oil Palm : to diversify farmer income
Economic sustainability Two-tier planting trials Underplanting trials at Univanich have also indicated the potential for two-tier tier planting of different ages of palms - increasing yields and reducing the economic impact of replanting
Two-tier planting trials ( 97 hectares planted in 1993 & 2007) 18 year old palms with avenues of 4 year old palms - increasing yields and reducing the economic impact of replanting
Economic sustainability Planting density and thinning trials
Normal planting density in Thailand 143 palms /hectare (9.0 m triangle)
Higher planting 160 palms/hectare density palms/hectare (8.5 m triangle) of Higher planting density gives higher early yields in first 8 years from planting At 9 years, reduce to 120 palms/ha by removing 25% of palms Univanich trials of this treatment gave 15% higher crop yield over first 16 years of production (+36 t FFB / ha) compared to conventional 143 palms/ha density
160 palms/hectare palms/hectare (8.5 m triangle) with systematic thinning to 120 palms /hectare X 25% of palms removed at age 9 years
Even higher planting density of 180palms/hectare (8.0 m triangle) gives similar results X 33% of palms removed at age 9 years
Environmental sustainability Biomass by-products as substitute for chemical fertilisers
Nutrient equivalent of biomass replacing chemical fertilisers (kg equivalent) N P K Mg (SOA) (GRP) (MOP) (Kieserite) EFB 1 ton = 17.5kg 2.9kg 18.3kg 4.7kg Trunks/hectare = 1,616kg 92kg 707kg 281kg at replanting Fronds 1 ton = 52.1kg 5.6kg 15.9kg 11.2kg annual pruning
Returning EFB biomass to the field Reducing the need for chemical fertilizers
Mulching young palms with chipped palm trunks at replanting Conserving moisture, recycling nutrients to the next generation
Frond stacking and EFB mulching under mature palms Improving soil structure and moisture retention Reducing soil and nutrient erosion
Environmental sustainability (continued) Methane capture and renewable energy from factory waste water
Palm oil mill effluent (POME) is traditionally treated in deep anaerobic ponds which emit large quantities of methane biogas to the atmosphere A source of potent greenhouse gas emissions
Three Univanich CDM Methane Capture Projects ❶ Siam Project ❷ Lamthap Project ❸ Topi Project Year commissioned 2007 2008 2009 Total Capital Investment US$ 6.8 million
Construction of Biogas Reactors First Project 2006/2007 - Univanich Siam Project Second Project 2007- Univanich Lamthap Project
Completed CIGARS (Covered In-Ground Anaerobic Reactors) First Project - Siam Commissioned December 2007 Second Project - Lamthap Commissioned June 2008
Third Project - Topi Commissioned August 2009 Capturing the methane emitted from factory waste water
Biological Scrubbers using bacteria to clean the gas Horizontal Scrubber Two designs of bio-scrubbers both reduce Hydrogen Sulphide from above 2,500 ppm to below 100 ppm Vertical Scrubbers
Utilising the Methane Biogas Gas engine generators fueled by biogas supply electricity to the national grid Surplus biogas is burnt in flares to also qualify for Carbon Credits (CERs)
Increasing economic and environmental sustainability Three biogas engine generators at the 60t Topi palm oil mill
Biogas power houses are now attached to each Univanich factory Supplying renewable electricity to Thailand s national grid
12 months Electricity Sales from POME Biogas (January December 2010) ❶ Siam Project ❷ Lamthap Project ❸ Topi Project TOTAL Electricity generated 6,397 7,991 16,028 30,416 (MW hrs) Sales value to grid (Baht) 16.3 mil 23.3 mil 37.2 mil 76.9 mil (US$ 2.5 mil) Sales value own use (Baht) 8.5 mil 5.1 mil 27.5 mil 41.2 mil (US$ 1.4 mil)
12 months Carbon Credits from Captured Methane (January December 2010) ❶ Siam Project ❷ Lamthap Project ❸ Topi Project TOTAL Estimated annual CERs 20,500 25,000 42,000 87,500 (Certified Emission Reductions) CERs received (to date) - 4,346 * - 4,346 (since start of projects) * The first POME biogas CERs to be issued to the Palm Oil Industry in Asia
Conclusions about Methane Capture Projects 1. The CIGAR or modified covered lagoon technology is achieving our digestion and capture targets - the right choice of technology 2. The gas engines are mostly achieving generation targets - Supplying the electricity needs of more than 2,000 households around Krabi Province 3. CER revenue targets have not yet been achieved - the most difficult feature of all three projects
4. Our environmental and sustainability objectives have been achieved - a large reduction of greenhouse gas emissions - a renewable energy source has replaced fossil fuels - waste water treatment has improved with reduced odours around the factories - factory efficiencies have improved with reduced processing costs - new skilled jobs have been created in three rural communities
Social sustainability - Sharing technology and creating new employment opportunities in rural areas
Creating good jobs and good housing for Univanich plantation workers and their families Social Sustainability
Social Sustainability Plantation workers are encouraged to own their Iron-buffalo machines. Many become transport entrepreneurs
Social Sustainability 5S Programs in Univanich Crushing Mills 1. Seiri : Sort 2. Seiton : Set in order 3. Seiso : Shine 4. Seiketsu : Standardise 5. Shitsuke : Sustain Improving the working environment for factory workers also improves factory efficiencies
Social Sustainability Farmer Field Days at Univanich Sponsored in co-operation with GIZ
Farmer Field Days More than 1,000 farmers attending a Univanich field day
Sharing the technology Sharing results of research trials with local farmers
Training programs for farmers at Univanich OPRC Increasing efficiencies and improving sustainability Sponsored in co-operation with GIZ
Oil palms are transforming the lives of small farmers and their families Happy farmers The miracle crop of our times
9 SEPT2011 Univanich Palm Oil PLC www.univanich.com