REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The biomass industry is a strategic sector that can boost economic self-sufficiency, Muhajir Utomo, an academician from Lampung University (Unila), stated here on Wednesday.

"The development program should prioritize strategic sectors such as biomass by processing palm oil and acacia," he emphasized.

Biomass is a biological material derived from living or recently living organisms. In the context of biomass for energy, this is often used to mean plant-based materials, for instance, flowers, stems, and roots. Biomass can equally apply to both animal- and vegetable-derived materials.

According to Muhajir, the biomass industry can have a favorable impact on the environment and bring about social and economic development.

In the economic sector, the industry can establish a working field, especially in villages, and boost the national economic growth. Hence, it will help to achieve food security and boost social welfare.

"For environment, the biomass potential, in terms of biomass plantation areas in Indonesia, can reduce global warming by up to 26 percent by 2025," Muhajir pointed out.

Palm oil plantations can absorb carbon dioxide up to ten times and release oxygen eight to ten times more than other plants growing in the sub-tropical climatic regions in a year.

"The government along with the administration should build centers of excellence for leading products in certain areas, such as Sumatra as the center of excellence for biomass and energy," Muhajir stated.

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