The first speaker was Prof. Dr. Pingkan Aditiawati, a lecturer from the Microbial Biotechnology Research Group. She went over the issue of standardized fermentation. Standardized fermentation, she claimed, can not only extend the shelf life of a plant-based product, but also improve the flavor, texture, aroma, and nutritional quality of the product.

Fermentation can boost the quality and safety of food items while also reducing anti-nutritive components, providing human health benefits, and, of course, increasing the product's durability.

Dr. Elham Sumarga, the second speaker, then took to speak on "Hydrological and Economic Effects of Oil Palm Cultivation in Indonesia Peatlands." He showed how the peat ecosystem in Indonesia, which covers 15 million hectares, has been degraded by up to 15%. "Palm oil is an oil-producing grown plant with the highest productivity figure now," Dr. Elham said.

Dr. Elham has also performed research on the economic and hydrological implications of exploiting peatlands to grow oil palms. He discovered that when peatlands are drained, the soil level decreases significantly because oil palm roots decay in waterlogged soils.
"In terms of the economy, if peat is flooded due to land subsidence, its capacity to support palm oil production will also be reduced." In the next 100 years, he expected that asset values will fall by 8.2 trillion IDR due to the same influence.

Meanwhile, Dr. M. Yusuf Abduh, a lecturer from SITH's Agrotechnology and Bioproduct Technology Research Group, presented the concept of valorization and biorefinery as the third speaker. According to him, the concept is quite unfamiliar in Indonesia.

The term "biorefinery" refers to a manufacturing system that converts a resource into a variety of high-value bioproducts. The biorefinery concept, according to Dr. Yusuf, has three keywords: the duration for optimizing raw materials, minimizing waste, and maximizing advantages for sustainable development.

"Not only is it environmentally friendly, but it can also raise the added value of current resources in order to develop a variety of high-value bioproducts," Dr. Yusuf stated.

Dr. Yusuf also listed four books, one of which is entitled Dari ITB untuk Indonesia (From ITB for Indonesia), that describes how natural resources, particularly plants, can be completely exploited using the concepts of valorization and biorefinery. The same topic is also discussed in the book Biorefinery Lalat Tentara Hitam (The Biorefinery of Black Soldier Fly), which was published last year.

Reporter: Athira Syifa (Postharvest Technology, 2019) and Najma Shafiya (Postharvest Technology, 2020)
Translator: Sekar Dianwidi Bisowarno (Bioengineering, 2019)