Gliricidia
and the coconut industry
By Ray Wijewardene
A story which some of us may recall from our schooldays related
to a unique business set up by a cat farmer (he sold the fur of
the Angora Cat which was much in demand in Europe of the early 1900s)
who also established, next door, a rat farm. He fed the cats with
the rats, and the rats with the (carcasses of the) cats, and his
business sold the furs.
Catalysts
and ratalysts
The common dictionary defines a 'catalyst' as 'a substance which
assists a chemical reaction without taking part in it'... Chemistry
books go further to explain that the presence of the correct catalyst
often helps accelerate a chemical reaction without itself changing
form nor 'appearing' to take part in it. Analogies currently prevail
with the story of the cat and rat farms in which the presence of
the latter 'ratalysed' the production of fur; although the rat and
cat must both have changed form during the process. It still ensured
the farmer his output of Angora fur with minimal costs for production
thereof. The fur, (largely an 'oxy-hydro-carbon') came mostly from
the air!
Gliricidia
In the sunny tropics, coconut farmers are blessed with
a 'ratalyst' in the form of the NF (nitrogen-fixing) Gliricida tree,
which when systematically grown in avenues between the lines of
coconut palms provides a major source of the nitrogen fertility
needed by the coconut palm for production of coconuts. In fact,
data from research at the Coconut Research Institute (CRI) conducted
over the past several decades has revealed that just 50 kilograms
of foliage from the Gliricidia (leaf and tender stems) can provide,
'naturally', all the coconut palm's annual requirement of nitrogen
(equivalent to 800 gms of urea, otherwise the most expensive of
imported chemical fertilizers hitherto used). This, in addition
to supplying over half the palm's annual requirement of Phosphate
(Rock-Phosphate) and of Magnesium (Dolomitic limestone) and of Potassium
(Muriate of Potash). The 'N' (nitrogen) is a component usefully
supplied throughout the year by NF plants such as Gliricidia from
the atmosphere through photo-synthesis.
In
addition, the pruned or lopped branches of the gliricidia tree provide
an equal weight of fuel-wood (now termed SGF or Sustainably-Grown-Fuelwood)
which currently fetches an ex-farm price of Rs.1.50 per kilogram,
for supply as process-fuel to millers (DC and oil millers) and factories
which themselves now claim a saving of over 65% in the price paid
for fuel (furnace-oil or dara). The chipped wood is 'gassified'
by a simple and proven technology which provides a gas mixture for
combustion which is virtually smokeless and pollution free!
These
remarkable fuel-wood benefits now extend to production on coconut
plantations, and in the coconut-growing areas, of 'home-grown' electricity
to meet their on-farm requirements of lighting for farm-houses and
cottages, as well as for the power needed for irrigation pumps.
The pumps are an essential component of 'drip-irrigation' systems,
recently introduced to combat the effects of drought which have
increasingly affected coconut-growers over the past several decades.
The Gliricidia tree thus sustainably, year after year, decade after
decade, 'fixes' both atmospheric nitrogen in its foliage and roots,
as well as carbon and 'woody-matter' in its branches from the carbon-dioxide
naturally present in the air. By showing the potential for small
decentralized electricity generation, this is real 'decentralisation
of power'!
Re-greening
Sri Lanka
All this without affecting the continuing growth of the Gliricidia
trees, (the 'ratalyst' in this instance) which - if at all - appear
to benefit from their systematic pruning (lopping). It continues
to provide shade, and the environmental and social benefits of this
increased ground coverage of green matter is well known.
Trials
by the BEASL (Bio-Energy Association of Sri Lanka) all over the
country, in association with Universities and Departments of Forestry
and Agriculture in much of the 'dry-zone' have demonstrated the
remarkably 'sustained' production capability of such fuel-wood plantations
even where other commercial tree crops have difficulty in growing.
C.R.I.
research
Continuing research by agronomists at the CRI has been devoted to
optimizing the plant-spacing in the rows of Gliricidia in the avenues
between lines of coconut palms to meet the needs both of fertility
for the palms as well as of fuel-wood which now becomes a major
source of supplementary income for the coconut farmer. Proven incomes
for the coconut grower from this supplementary source have been
in the order of Rs.6,000 per acre per year from sale of the (approx.
5 tonnes of) gliricidia loppings alone. This apart from the savings
of over 50% in the costs for fertilizer amounting to over Rs.30
per palm or about Rs.1,800 per acre. A useful supplement to the
Rs.20,000 or so which the farmer earns through sale from an acre
of coconuts alone.
A
unique service also extends to the DC/Oil miller as logical partner
to the coconut grower. The coconut plantation not only becomes a
source of raw material - the coconut - to the miller, but also an
immediate supplier of fuel-wood for processing (drying) of the coconut
produce. The miller has hitherto had to depend on diesel/furnace-oil
for firing the boilers for his DC-dryer, now supplied at ever increasing
costs for the imported petroleum. Or for dara felled from non-sustainable,
dry-zone, forests, and from now dwindling sources of rubber-wood.
'Gasifiers'
Proven results from the several 'gasifiers' established
in the coconut-growing areas show a reduction in fuel-costs by over
60% over fuel-oils. This greatly contributes to reducing the costs
for production of the miller and enables him to be more competitive
on the world markets to which he supplies the processed produce.
A 'win-win' situation for both coconut producer and coconut processor,
usefully 'ratalysed' by intervention of the multiple environmental
and economic benefits of the Gliricidia tree. |
