Palm trees tapped for their sap (10-20% sugar) can feed people and livestock. Very efficient converters of solar energy to sugar. Tapping Mangrove Palms (Nypa fruticans) is an ancient technique, practiced for centuries in the Philippines. The innovation is low input, suitable for smallholders and Climate-smart.

1. Mangrove
Palms:
A
Lost
Key
to
Feeding
Southeast
Asia?
Craig
Jamieson

2. Source:
washingtonpost.com

3. • Efficiency
benefits
of
tree-­‐based
systems
– ‘Evergreen’
• Photosynthesis
can
be
all-­‐year-­‐round
– Water
and
nutrient
use
efficiency
• Greater
depth
of
root
zone
– Light
intercepLon
efficiency
• Greater
height
of
canopy
for
light
harvesLng
– Synergies
with
annual
crop
producLon
• ‘Agroforestry’
Increasing
Efficiency
of
Food
ProducLon
1

4. Increasing
Efficiency
of
Food
ProducLon
2
Starch,
oils
etc
as
food
or
feed
Other
biomass

5. What’s
the
idea?
• Palm
trees
tapped
for
their
sap
(10-­‐20%
sugar)
• Very
efficient
converters
of
solar
energy
to
sugar
• Ancient
technique,
pracLced
for
centuries

6. • 1500’s
-­‐
Magellan
• 100
years
ago
-­‐
cheapest
source
of
alcohol
in
the
world
• Today
-­‐
its
sap
is
sLll
used
in
the
Philippines
for
making
wine,
syrup,
sugar,
vinegar
etc
History
of
use
in
the
Philippines

7. Mangrove
Palms
(Nypa
fru4cans)

9. Poten'al
Ethanol
produc'on
(litres/ha)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Wheat
Corn
Sugar
Beet
Sugar
Cane
Nipa

10. Palm
Sugar
as
Livestock
Feed
• 30%
of
arable
land
in
the
Philippines
is
under
maize
for
animal
feed
–
esp
pigs
and
chickens
• PotenLal
to
develop
nipa
instead,
as
feed
to
uLlise
forests
and
free
arable
land
for
food
crops
Maize
Mangrove
Palm

11. • Pigs
and
ducks
can
take
diet
based
on
sugary
sap
• Ruminants
-­‐
as
part
of
diet,
to
boost
energy
in
lower
cost
feeds
• Low
input
• Suitable
for
smallholders
• Climate-­‐smart
Pigs
feeding
on
sugar
cane
juice.
Source:
T.R.Preston

12. Proven
Technology…
17-­‐21
Sept,
1770,
Captain
James
Cook
arrived
in
Savu,
Indonesia,
and
recorded
use
of
palm
sugar:
– “I
have
already
observed,
that
it
is
given
with
the
husks
of
rice
to
the
hogs,
and
that
they
grow
enormously
fat
without
taking
any
other
food:
we
were
told
also,
that
this
syrup
is
used
to
fahen
their
dogs
and
their
fowls…”
Voyages,
by
Captain
James
Cook

13. …Research
Needs
for
21st
Century
• Technologies
to
reduce
the
(labour)
cost
of
tapping
• Methods
of
stabilizing
the
sap
to
avoid
fermentaLon
• Demonstrate
nipa
culLvaLon,
especially
in
an
agroforestry
system
• IdenLfy
a
suitable
protein
source
for
co-­‐
feeding
to
livestock

14. Further
Reading
• Bogdanski,
A;
Dubois,
O;
Jamieson,
C;
&
Krell,
R.
(2010).
Making
Integrated
Food
/
Energy
Systems
Work
for
People
and
Climate.
FAO,
Rome.
www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2044e/
i2044e.pdf
• Dalibard,
C.
(1997)
The
PotenLal
of
Tapping
Palm
Trees
for
Animal
ProducLon,
In
Livestock
Feed
Resources
Within
Integrated
Farming
Systems.
FAO,
Rome.
• Rasco,
E.
(2012).
Nipa:
A
Gio
to
Humankind
from
the
Age
of
the
Dinosaurs.
NAST,
Taguig.