Special Projects

Guidelines for the Use of Precision

Agriculture for Palm Oil
Sustainability and Competitiveness

Summary

Precision agriculture is a modern system of production management through which

advanced technologies are applied sustainably for the collection, analysis and handling
of information. This presentation addresses the work performed by the Colombian Oil
Palm Research Center (Cenipalma) regarding precision agriculture and the way it is
being used to help achieve competitiveness in the palm oil sector in Colombia.

Hernán Mauricio Romero,

Ph.D.
Agronomy Division
Colombian Oil Palm Research
Center (Cenipalma) Introduction
Keywords It is worth remembering that Colombia had been closely linked with the paths to
Precision agriculture, production and productivity sketched by the Green Revolution, not just for palm
Oil palm sustainability oil but also for other crops. The idea was to increase production and productivity
through the intensive use of inputs, without environmental or system sustain-
First Latin American Meeting of
ability considerations. The related policies led to the development of interesting
the Roundtable on Sustainable
crop varieties, especially in cereals, with examples such as hybrid maize.
Palm Oil, RSPO
Precision agriculture arises in the face of a need to develop more rational crop
Cartagena, October 16 -17, 2008. management, which takes into account spatial and temporal differences be-
tween plantations. The reason is that these differences determine the specific

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 Guidelines for the Use of Precision Agriculture for Palm Oil Sustainability and Competitiveness

needs of a crop in a particular location to ensure tion, harvesting, transportation of fruit, weed control,
sustainable production. and sanitary control.
Precision agriculture looks to detect different agro- With the use of precision agriculture technologies,
ecological conditions in the same plantation, even on each of these processes can be optimized and com-
the same plot of land, and to obtain greater informa- petitiveness can be improved within the framework of
tion that will undoubtedly allow the taking of better environmentally-sustainable development.
decisions in the management of the plantation.
This can be looked at from three perspectives directly
related to the fourth RSPO principle: from an agro-
Precision agriculture nomic perspective, with the adjustment of agricultural
Today it is no longer possible to continue acting from practices by taking into account the real needs of the
a point of view that is merely spatial, and emphasizes crop (for example, with the specific management of
only aspects such as the design of the plantation due to fertilization and irrigation); from an environmental per-
infrastructure and the viability of roads and irrigation. spective, with the reduction of agricultural impacts (for
example, greater precision in estimating the nitrogen
Instead, it is necessary to go a little further and to
required means that a lower quantity of this element is
broaden the focus so that the land’s agro-ecological
emitted into the atmosphere); and from an economic
characteristics are linked to the materials which are
perspective, with the increase in production per unit
used on it. As a result of such an approach, a much
area, the reduction of inputs, or increase in efficiency
more efficient use of different inputs will be achieved,
(for example, with lower nitrogen fertilization costs).
pollution will be reduced, and producers’ profit margins
and product quality will be increased. How is this done? By researching, evaluating and
adapting geospatial principles and technologies to
The previous passage refers exclusively to the manage-
the management of the oil palm agro-ecosystem,
ment of the plantation, yet it concerns the achievement
on the basis of spatial and temporal variability. The
of responsible management through the application
aim is to achieve the sustainable use of the sector’s
of the RSPO Criteria. And, if precision agriculture can
inputs and resources, thereby achieving greater and
be incorporated into the plantations, it will certainly
higher-quality yields.
facilitate compliance with what the market is forcefully
demanding. For example, with an aerial photograph or satellite
image, geomatical methods can be used to generate
For example, the first RSPO Criterion refers to trans-
detailed maps which show not just infrastructure but
parency, in part as it relates to the origin and the
also rivers. Such maps complement, for example,
destination of the palm oil. Precision agriculture can
yield maps which correspond to maps of soils and
be very useful to help in this and to begin the path to
genetic materials.
compliance with the Criterion.
What is needed to do this? Information about the plan-
Precision agriculture can be defined simply as a mod-
tations, including basic and thematic cartographical
ern system for productive management through which
information, the active participation of the plantations,
advanced technologies are applied sustainably for the
and the use of equipment to collect data in the area.
collection, analysis and management of information.
All this is related to factors that affect the crop, includ- Such information must be incisive. Cenipalma can only
ing climatic, soil, and agronomic conditions. From use the information which palm companies supply in
this basis, attempts can be made to establish the order to try to build truly-reliable information systems.
interrelations which optimize the taking of decisions to These systems can even benefit and enrich regional
increase yields, reduce production costs, and reduce analysis, allowing a more effective management of
environmental impacts. problems such as pests and diseases.
In Colombia there is a serious problem of high produc- Currently, Cenipalma has a geographical information
tion costs, seen mainly in processes such as fertiliza- system which, through geographical software and

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 H. M. Romero.

networked work stations, receives information which The system started with a case study regarding the
has been taken from the plantations using modern defoliators of the Central Zone. A successful outcome
technology (or alternatively registered on paper forms). was the creation of a webpage which the different
Cenipalma then creates geographical databases with participating plantations can visit to view the state of
the aim that companies can benefit from an interactive a plague at any given moment in order to then take
consultation system to see what is happening in their the appropriate actions.
plantation or region at any given moment, thereby
facilitating the taking of relevant decisions. At this moment Cenipalma is working on a research
program, which links the censuses and other infor-
The Cenipalma tool mation, for example about climate and soils, with
plague biology, in order to generate efficient early-
The precision agriculture program is relatively new
within Cenipalma: it began in January of this year and warning systems. It is hoped that in the very near
is currently in a process of consolidation. Initially, it future it will be possible to provide palm producers
was established that the catalogue would be based with a tool which allows them to determine, in ac-
on the Agustín Codazzi Geographical Institute one cordance with environmental conditions, when there
and that it would consist of a tool to standardize the is a high possibility that a particular plague may
minimum coverage emerge. This will allow the taking of timely decisions
that would be tak- and therefore reduce the quantity of inputs used to
en into account in control the plague.
The precision each plantation as
This requires a network of agro-meteorological sta-
agriculture basic information tions, which is being consolidated for the collection
program is for the structuring and monitoring of detailed climatic information (with
of the system. A
relatively new system was devel- variables of precipitation, relative humidity, and solar
within oped for the acqui- brightness) in such a way that companies can also
access this information online.
Cenipalma: it sition of informa-
tion about plagues Cenipalma, in particular, benefits from the strength-
began in January and diseases using ening of research into the biology and habits of
of this year and PDA. This requires insects. Palm producers, for example, benefit from
is currently in a the installation of
a software, which
research into the application of inputs, in accordance
process of allows censors to with wind speed and direction, the possibilities of rain
and other factors.
consolidation. record information
in a way that makes A monitor of multi-temporal yields is already being
a census of plagues used for a commercial palm oil plantation, employing
or illnesses very satellite images to make predictive models of produc-
simple, then to register this information in forms that tion on the basis of agro-climatic variables. This allows
are found on the PDA and are linked to a GPS, and yield information to be combined with soil information,
hence to know exactly what is happening and where.
for example, about aluminum content and saturation,
Currently Cenipalma has forms for different plagues, phosphorous levels, and pH. Tools can be generated
which facilitate the recording of information about to help producers to improve management of these
defoliators, R. palmarum, predators, mites and oth- soils and maximize production.
ers, as well as forms for recording how the harvest is
going, forms for plant diseases and, of course, forms Of course all this requires a training system. As a
for bud rot. All this is aimed at validating a piece of result, an e-learning system is being developed to act
software or recently-developed expert system, which as a virtual campus where professionals in palm oil
it is hoped will be strengthened for trials in different production can learn about precision and geomatical
plantations. agriculture techniques.

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 Guidelines for the Use of Precision Agriculture for Palm Oil Sustainability and Competitiveness

Case studies portunity for action. If the disease can be monitored,

and some geostatistical predictions about where it
To illustrate Cenipalma’s work in precision agriculture
is moving to can be performed, containment barri-
and what can be applied to the RSPO Principles, it is
ers can be established and the battle may be won.
appropriate to mention some ongoing case studies.
It is obvious that in Tumaco, where the disease is
Initially, the Corpoica research center and the Ministry so widespread, such tools may not be practical or
of Agriculture and Rural Development began an explor- worthwhile, but this does not necessarily apply to
atory analysis of the spatial and temporal occurrences the other zones.
of bud rot in oil palm plantations in the Western Zone.
Elsewhere, efforts are being made to establish a na-
Then Corpoica, Cenipalma, the Palm Development
tional system of information for Integrated Pest and
Fund and Fedepalma developed a second phase to
Disease Control for the palm oil sector. With that
identify occurrences in Tumaco.
aim, Cenipalma has been working together with palm
Impact maps were drawn up, showing infrastructure, producers who have led the fight against Lethal With-
rivers, streams and other bodies of water. These were ering, in particular, in the development of a webpage
used to define the zones to be studied and then the for interactive consultation.
occurrences of the disease were recorded. Until some Finally, it is necessary to state the fact that one
time ago, notifications about the disease were merely cannot take advantage of information and technolo-
informative. However, since the causal agent was dis- gies if the management practices they require are
covered and a management method was developed, not implemented. Precision agriculture generates
it has been possible to take decisions about when and support systems in the taking of decisions, but ul-
where to act. timately it is those who run the plantations and the
One of the most important things that has been said processing plants who must decide how to apply
about the management of bud rot disease is the op- technological developments.

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