Produksi minyak sawit (crude palm oil/CPO) ramah-lingkungan dengan hasil maksimal dapat dicapai melalui dua cara yakni (1) pengurangan atau sedikit pupuk (fertilizer); dan (2) tanpa herbisida. Begitu hasil penelitian kolaborasi 30 ahli dunia dengan topik Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (EFForTS) asal University of Göttingen di Jerman dan mitranya peneliti dari Rusia dan Negara RI melalui program 2 tahun German-Indonesian Collaborative Research Centre sejak tahun 2016. Hasil penelitian itu dirilis oleh jurnal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change edisi November 2019.
Riset tim internasional uji-coba manajemen produksi minyak sawit skala besar itu dipimpin oleh ahli asal University of Göttingen. Riset ini juga merespons Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil tahun 2004, yang dibentuk oleh mitra-mitra industri minyak sawit dan WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). Namun sejak itu, sejak itu, belum ada rekomendasi konkrit tentang level herbisida atau pupuk dan manajemen produksi minyak sawit di zona-zona tropis planet Bumi. (Science Daily, 5/11/2019)
Di sisi lain, isu produksi minyak sawit selalu disertai oleh laporan riset dan berita tentang kerusakan hutan-hutan tropis dan risiko kepunahan orang utan—khususnya di zona tropis produksi minyak sawit Negara RI. Minyak sawit kini telah menjadi bisnis global yang memutar dana miliaran dollar AS melalui jual-beli ribuan produk berbahan baku minyak sawit; mulai dari krim cukur hingga menu makanan dan bahan bakar biofuel.
Dr. Kevin Darras dkk (2019) melakukan uji-coba produksi minyak sawit ramah-lingkungan di perkebunan perusahaan kelapa sawit di Provinsi Jambi, Sumatera, Negara RI. Tim peneliti bekerjasama dengan perusahaan nasional PTPN6. Input pupuk diatur ke satu dari dua tingkat (two levels): (1) level rendah, kompensasi nutrisi yang dikeluarkan panen CPO; (2) level tinggi, sesuai standar industri penggunaan pupuk, yang kira-kira dua kali lebih tinggi.
Tim peneliti mengendalikan gulma secara mekanis atau herbisida kimia umum seperti glifosat. Tim ahli meneliti kelapa sawit, tanah, dan keanekaragaman hayati, serta mengukur variabel-variabel seperti biomassa mikroba, aktivitas burung, saturasi pangkalan tanah, kandungan nitrogen, dan indeks area daun kelapa sawit.
Selama uji-coba produksi CPO dua tahun sejak 2016, tim peneliti belum menemukan penurunan hasil produksi CPO. “Two years after implementing our treatments, we were still not able to detect a reduction in yield. In fact, profits were higher because of reduced fertiliser costs,” ungkap Dr. Kevin F. A. Darras, lead author karya ilmiah itu asal Agroecology Group pada University of Göttingen di Jerman. (University of Göttingen, 5/11/2019)
Dalam riset uji-coba produksi CPO itu, dampak fungsi-fungsi tanah dan nutrisi dapat diabaikan atau berdampak positif. Beberapa tindakan keanekaragaman hayati merespon positif terhadap pemindahan gulma secara mekanis, karena tutupan tanaman meningkat dan ini mendukung keanekaragaman hayati hewan. (Science Daily, 5/11/2019).
Penelitian lanjutan dapat mensintesis hasil jangka panjang uji-coba produksi CPO itu, memperhitungkan emisi gas rumah kaca, dan membuat model ekonomi-ekologis sebagai rekomendasi bagi para pemangku kepentingan produksi minyak sawit (CPO). EFForTS hendak melanjutkan pemantauan plot-plot uji-coba selama 4 (empat) tahun. “These results are encouraging but it is crucial to continue the experiment. Oil palm can take years to react so we need to check whether this positive trend will continue”, ungkap Dr. Kevin F. A. Darras. (University of Göttingen. 5/11/2019).
Sumber dana proyek riset itu belum terungkap ke publik. Proyek riset melibatkan banyak ahli yaitu
(1) Dr. Kevin F. A. Darras asal Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(2) Marife D. Corre asal Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(3) Greta Formaglio asal Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(4) Aiyen Tjoa asal Agriculture Faculty, Tadulako University, Palu, Negara RI;
(5) Anton Potapov asal Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Rusia;
(6) Fabian Brambach asal Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(7) Kibrom T. Sibhatu asal Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(8) Ingo Grass asal Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan Department of Ecology of Tropical Agricultural Systems, Institute of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Jerman;
(9) Andres Angulo Rubiano asal Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(10) Damayanti Buchori asal Department of Plant Protection, IPB University, Bogor, Negara RI;
(11) Jochen Drescher Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(12) Riko Fardiansah asal Collaborative Research Centre 990, University of Jambi, Jambi, Negara RI;
(13) Dirk Hölscher asal Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(14) Bambang Irawan asal Forestry Faculty, University of Jambi, Jambi, Negara RI;
(15) Thomas Kneib asal Chair of Statistics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(16) Valentyna Krashevska asal Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(17) Alena Krause asal Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(18) Holger Kreft asal Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(19) Kevin Li asal Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(20) Mark Maraun asal Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(21) Andrea Polle asal Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan 5Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(22) Aisjah R. Ryadin asal Forest Botany and Tree Physiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan Agriculture Faculty, Khairun University, Ternate, Negara RI;
(23) Katja Rembold asal Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(24) Christian Stiegler asal Bioclimatology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(25) Stefan Scheu asal Department of Animal Ecology, J. F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman dan Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(26) Suria Tarigan asal Department of Soil Sciences and Land Resources Management, IPB University, Bogor, Negara RI;
(27) Alejandra Valdés-Uribe asal Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman;
(28) Supri Yadi asal Department of Plant Protection, IPB University, Bogor, Negara RI;
(29) Teja Tscharntke asal Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman; dan
(30) Edzo Veldkamp asal Soil Science of Tropical and Subtropical Ecosystems, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Jerman (Kevin F. A. Darras, et al., “Reducing Fertilizer and Avoiding Herbicides in Oil Palm Plantations—Ecological and Economic Valuations”, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2019).
