Utilization of Marginal Land and Former Coal Mines for Ruminant Livestock and Charcoal Briquette Production

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The extent of marginal land including critical land and unused land which reaches more than 6 million hectares as well as ex-coal mining land which is estimated to reach 8 million hectares are environmental problems that must be overcome. Turning these lands back into productive land so that apart from preventing a bigger environmental disaster, it also provides other benefits for human life. One solution to this problem is to plant the land with pioneer plants of the leguminoceae group whose roots firmly grip the soil and are in symbiosis with azetobacter so that it fertilizes the soil such as calliandra and gliricidia as well as its leaves as a source of animal feed, flowers for honey production, and the wood for the production of charcoal briquettes. Or in other words, the establishment of the plantation besides having environmental benefits as an effort for conservation and land reclamation along with water conservation, of course, also provides benefits for ruminant livestock or the production of animal feed and the production of charcoal briquettes. Ruminant farms, namely sheep, goats and cattle, are very suitable to be developed using the leaves of the plantation. The combination with charcoal briquettes, namely by using the wood, is an ideal combination or integration. In a number of countries the charcoal briquettes are used as fuel for grilling BBQ from lamb, goat and beef. So in addition to all parts of the tree can be utilized also even the final product of livestock in the form of meat and wood processing so that it becomes charcoal briquettes also meet again. An interesting and unique blend or integration.

The need for red meat, namely lamb, goat and beef in the country itself is still lacking, so it requires an adequate supply. In terms of goat and lamb meat, the need for the Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi) area alone has not been met, so it is supplied alternately from East Java, Central Java and Lampung alternately. In addition, according to Aspaqin (Association of Indonesian Aqiqah Entrepreneurs) there has been an imbalance in the supply of sheep and goats due to the large number of female productive sheep and goats being slaughtered. This condition causes the sustainability of the supply of sheep and goats to be disrupted. According to data from Aspaqin that they collected, 63% of female sheep and goats were slaughtered from a total of 331,693 slaughtered tails. Of course there are still many who are not recorded because there are still many aqiqah entrepreneurs who are not members of the Aspaqin. In addition, there are also many stalls for eating goat dishes, such as satay stalls which still slaughter productive sheep and female goats. Aspaqin continues to strive for education and socialization to improve these conditions, including a proposal to provide punishment for the slaughter of these productive females.

Meanwhile, in the beef cattle sector, Indonesia has the advantage of fattening cattle (feedlot). With the availability of a lot of agricultural wastes and agro-industrial wastes in Indonesia, this business is very competitive, even indonesia is the best. Moreover, this is by creating a plantation that is specifically designed for the feed source by utilizing land that can be said to be unproductive at first. By only taking about 100-120 days, the fattening was successful or completed, although in general, breeder or seed cattle are generally still imported from Australia. Australia, especially northern Australia is the center of the seed cattle. With the vast grazing area there, the cost of producing feeder cattle is very competitive and cannot be done well in Indonesia. Although there are a number of discourses to produce seed cattle in eastern Indonesia and palm oil plantations, the facts are still not or are still very minimal. In addition, according to Gapuspindo (Indonesian Beef Cattle Farmers Association), the domestic demand for beef has not been met or there is still a shortage of around 60% and this shortage is filled by imports of buffalo meat from India. Buffalo meat from India actually has to be sold cheaper than beef, but in fact it is the same as beef. This condition is getting worse, especially in the period leading up to the Eid al-Fitr holiday with lots of illegal meat circulating, such as wild boar meat.

Charcoal briquettes are a product of wood processing from the plantation. The production of charcoal briquettes using wood raw materials must also be managed properly so that it can be sustainable. The important thing to note is that the harvest of wood for the production of charcoal briquettes should not exceed the production of wood from the plantation itself, for example the need for wood for the production of briquettes is 1000 tons / month, the speed of wood production from the plantation is at least the same as the wood harvested every month. Charcoal briquette production techniques are also available in 2 options or routes such as the scheme below. However, route 1, which is briquetting before carbonization, is more in demand because the quality of the briquettes produced is better. In this route, the wood biomass raw material has been downsized so that the particle size is suitable for the production of the briquettes and the dryness level has also been adjusted and then briquetted or pressed in a briquette machine without using additional adhesive. The briquette product is then carbonized so that it becomes the final product in the form of charcoal briquettes or commonly known as sawdust charcoal briquette.

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In addition to domestic consumption, sheep and goats are also export commodities to a number of countries. Information obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture's Pusdatin (Centre of datas and informations) that Indonesian sheep and goats have been exported, among others, to Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Basically, the choice to do sheep and goat export business is the choice of the breeders or farmers  themself and the specifications for the export market are also different for local needs. If the local market generally uses sheep and goats weighing 25-35 kg per head, the export market generally requires a weight above 35 kg per head. For example, for a large market for sheep and goats, Saudi Arabia, especially during the hajj season, reaches around 2 million heads or a quarter of the country's needs, which means it reaches 8 million heads per year.

And lastly, basically the need for food, especially animal protein and more specifically from ruminants sheep, goats and cattle will continue to increase along with the increase in the population itself. The world population is estimated to reach 10 billion in 2050 or 1.3 times today and Indonesia's population will reach 319 million in 2045 or 1.2 times from today. Another thing that deserves attention is Indonesia's demographic bonus. The demographic bonus with the dominance of the productive young generation should be a separate strength for the Indonesian nation if it is supported and directed properly. This sector is certainly one solution. With the vast land area in Indonesia that can be used for this business, God willing, it will overcome various important problems today such as food security, preventing environmental damage, creating jobs, improving living standards, improving food quality and so on.