Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil; it is essential to manage its palm oil industry in a sustainable manner through swapping the oil palm plantation in peatland to mineral soil to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. This study employed the latest spatial data using the ArcGIS software to analyze the potential area for the land swap option and to calculate the potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Kalimantan, Indonesia. There are 1.08 million ha of oil palm in peatland, while 0.64 million ha of the area in mineral soil under the convertible production forest have the potential for land swapping. Via the land-swap option, emission reductions of 65.43% (from 979.05 MtCO2eq to 336.64 MtCO2eq) for the calculation period of 25 years and up to 61.19% (from 2147.81 MtCO2eq to 833.67 MtCO2eq) for that of 50 years is possible compared to the initial condition. The land swap will also increase the production of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) by 17.16% per year because the productivity of FFB in mineral soil is higher than that of the peatland. Considering that land swaps are costly, policymakers and stakeholders must collaborate to execute the land-swap option for the sustainability of Indonesian palm oil.

In this study, three paddy harvesting systems; manual harvesting of paddy (MHP), reaper harvesting of paddy (RHP), and combine harvesting of paddy (CHP) were evaluated considering field capacities, field efficiencies, time and fuel consumption, mechanization indices, greenhouse gas emissions, straw availability, and direct and indirect costs. Field experiments were conducted in North central province of Sri Lanka. The effective field capacity, field efficiency and fuel consumption of the combine harvester were 0.34 hah-1, 60.8%, and 34.1 Lha-1, respectively, and those of the paddy reaper were 0.185 hah-1, 58.2%, and 3.8 Lha-1, respectively. The total time consumed by MHP, RHP, and CHP were 76.05 hha-1, 39.76 hha-1, and 2.94 hha-1, respectively. The highest energy utilization was recorded by the CHP, at 1851.09 MJha-1, while MHP recorded the lowest at 643.20 MJha-1. The direct cost of the MHP was 1.50 and 1.52 times higher than those of the CHP and RHP, respectively. MHP recorded the lowest greenhouse gas emissions (32.94 kgCO2eqha-1), while CHP recorded the highest (176.29 kgCO2eqha-1). The RHP exhibited an intermediate level in all aspects. Although the CHP has higher field performance and direct costs, it brings higher GHG emissions and indirect costs. Therefore, an optimum level of mechanization should be introduced for the long-term sustainability of both the environment and farming.

In this study, three paddy harvesting systems, manual harvesting of paddy (MHP), reaper harvesting of paddy (RHP), and combine harvesting of paddy (CHP), were evaluated considering field capacities, field efficiencies, time and fuel consumption, mechanization indices, greenhouse gas emissions, straw availability, and direct and indirect costs. Field experiments were conducted in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The effective field capacity, field efficiency and fuel consumption of the combine harvester were 0.34 hah−1, 60.8%, and 34.1 Lha−1, respectively, and those of the paddy reaper were 0.185 hah−1, 58.2%, and 3.8 Lha−1, respectively. The total time consumed by MHP, RHP, and CHP were 76.05 hha−1, 39.76 hha−1, and 2.94 hha−1, respectively. The highest energy utilization was recorded by the CHP, at 1851.09 MJha−1, while MHP recorded the lowest at 643.20 MJha−1. The direct cost of the MHP was 1.50 and 1.52 times higher than those of the CHP and RHP, respectively. MHP recorded the lowest greenhouse gas emissions (32.94 kgCO2eqha−1), while CHP recorded the highest (176.29 kgCO2eqha−1). The RHP exhibited an intermediate level in all aspects. Although the CHP has higher field performance and direct costs, it has higher GHG emissions and indirect costs. Therefore, an optimum level of mechanization should be introduced for the long-term sustainability of both the environment and farming.