As. J. Food Ag-Ind.
2009, Special Issue, S356-S359
Asian Journal of
Food and Agro-Industry
ISSN 1906-3040
Available online at [Link]
Introduction of eco-enzyme to support organic farming in Indonesia
Leo Wibisono Arifin, Argya Syambarkah, Hanna Sutsuga Purbasari, Rizkita Ria, Vita Ayu
Puspita
Food Science and Technology, Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Indonesia
Abstract
The development of organic farming is getting significant because the Indonesian people
realize the hazards of consuming products with chemical substances. Organic farming product
is chosen as it is healthy and fresh. In Indonesia the organic farming system is not well
established. It does not support the food security since the cost production is high. It makes the
organic products prices are expensive. Number of consumers of organic products in Indonesia
is less than 5%. This paper aims to introduce eco-enzyme to enhance the sustainability of
organic farming system in Indonesia. Eco-enzyme is a fermentation product from daily kitchen
wastes such as fruits and vegetables. It is biodegradable and environmentally safe. Based on
the literature study, eco-enzyme contains acids (lactate and acetic). These fermentation
products are performing high antimicrobial activity that can inhibit the microbial growth.
Therefore, it can be utilized as biopesticides. The investigation on some suspected active
compounds is still under studied. Eco-enzyme is economically cheap and highly available.
However, the benefits of eco-enzyme is only little known by Indonesian farmers. The target of
this paper is to minimize the cost of organic farming system in Indonesia by introducing eco-
enzyme as natural fertilizer and biopesticide to support the organic farming. By reducing the
cost, it is expected that the sustainability of organic farming can be increased thus that it can
support the food security. The outcome of introduction of eco-enzyme to Indonesian organic
farming system can reduce the production cost and make the organic products affordable to the
people.
Keywords: eco-enzyme; organic farming; biopesticides; natural fertilizer
Introduction
Agriculture today is finding itself in increasing difficulties. The environmental lobby
complains about pollutions from pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemical substances added on
As. J. Food Ag-Ind. 2009, Special Issue, S356-S359 357
agriculture. People are worried about the chemical residues of modern farming to their diet and
start to think about consuming healthier products. Organic farming and agriculture rose up to
cope with the problems of current modern agriculture. Organic farming aims to be in harmony
rather than in conflict with natural systems. This idea pervades all aspects of farm, from how
pests are controlled through the treatment of livestock and the integration of the farm with the
natural environment. Organic agriculture adopts an approach that minimizes the use of non
renewable forms of energy. Chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizers are avoided to gain
optimum nutritional value. In Indonesia, the organic agriculture increases by 10% per year.
This phenomena show the increase of people interests in organic farming. Organic agriculture
is expected to solve the health and environmental problems. The development of organic
agriculture in Indonesia is gross, because basically Indonesia is an agricultural country. Most of
the people depends their life a lot on agriculture. Some of agriculture areas are utilized as
organic agriculture sites. The organic agriculture in Indonesia currently faces several problems.
The production cost of organic agriculture is very high dealing with the pre-harvest and post-
harvest treatment. This problem affects the sustainability of organic farming products in
Indonesia. The organic products can be consumed only by upper class people due to its
expensive prices. It makes the current organic agriculture system in Indonesia cannot support
the food security. It cannot ensure the supply of foods to all the Indonesian people. The
previous study from Bogor Agricultural University revealed that the main obstacle of
Indonesian organic agriculture lies on the production cost. This paper aims to introduce eco-
enzyme to enhance the sustainability of organic farming system in Indonesia. Eco-enzyme is a
fermentation product from daily kitchen wastes such as fruits and vegetables. It is
biodegradable and environmentally safe. Based on the literature study, eco-enzyme contains
acids (lactate and acetic) (Symon and Buswell 1933). These fermentation products are
performing high antimicrobial activity that can inhibit the microbial growth. So it can be
utilized as biopesticides. The investigation on some suspected active compounds is still under
progress. Eco-enzyme is economically cheap and highly available. But the benefits of eco-
enzyme is only little known by Indonesian farmers. The target of this paper is to minimize the
cost of organic farming system in Indonesia by introducing eco-enzyme as natural fertilizer and
biopesticide to support the organic farming. By reducing the cost it is expected that the
sustainability of organic farming can be increased so that it can support the food security. In
conclusion the introduction of eco-enzyme to Indonesian organic farming system can reduce
the production cost and make the organic products affordable to the people.
Materials and Methods
The main ingredients to make ecoenzyme are kitchen waste, brown sugar, and water according
to ratio [Link]. Kitchen waste that ecoenzyme need come from fruits and vegetables. These
kitchen waste are cut into small pieces, brown sugar is punched into powder, and mixed with
water in a plastic container that can be tightly sealed. The bottle should be shook to make sure
all the ingredients hydrated and soluble. Make sure to open the cap every two weeks to release
the gas of carbondioxide and methane. What is the experiment? Is method just making the eco-
enzyme? What is other steps after making the eco-enzyme e.g. results of using and results that
prove the use of eco-enzyme that it is really work?
Results and Discussion
Fermentation refers to the activity of bacteria and fungi. These microbes break complex
compounds, like sugars, into simple substances, such as carbon dioxide and alcohol. One of the
common types of fermentation used in the making of ecoenzyme is methane – is this been
really measured here in this experiment? fermentation. The fermentation involved mixed
As. J. Food Ag-Ind. 2009, Special Issue, S356-S359 358
culture. The culture can be gained through the raw materials such as kitchen wastes. The
literature in this field was summarized some years ago by Mcbeth and Scales??not appear in
the references and what year? and by Stephenson ?? not appear in the references? revealed that
moist organic materials, when allowed to decompose under restricted oxygen, yields hydrogen,
carbon dioxide, methane, and a variety of organic acids. Two kinds of product yielded from the
fermentation which are methane and carbon dioxide. The data of Symon and Buswell shows
3.5 l of methane was formed over a period of 100 days with regular circulation of hydrogen
and carbondioxide through a culture of 2 l total volume.
During the fermentation process, methane gas, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and organic acids
either volatile or non volatile are yielded. The acids contain acetate acids, lactate acids, and
butyrate acids. The volatile acids which are intermediates in the decomposition of higher
compounds must not exceed a predetermined value, usually 2000 to 3000 ppm. If the volatile
acids value is allowed to rise above 2000 ppm (as acetic) gas formation drops off, the quantity
of acids increases rapidly, and all the fermentation cease. Even though some acids can be found
as product, reference which explains details completely about any acid which is formed rarely
and far from enlightening.
There are several organic compounds existed in the plant such as carbohydrate, fat, wax,
tannin, lignin, and protein. Carbohydrate consists of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen.
Carbohydrate varies from a simple sugar such as sucrose to a complex molecule such as
cellulose. Fats and oils are simple glyceride of fatty acids like butyrate, stearate, oleate and etc.
The addition of organic materials on the soil will yield a series of chemical reaction and
complex decomposition result. Sugar, starch, and protein simply can be soluble in water and
available as abundant energy source. Protein can be decomposed and resulted into the
formation of amide and amino acids. The decomposition rate depends on the soil organisms.
Most of the nitrogen from decomposition is utilized as body forming compounds and the rests
will be utilized to form humus.
Organic materials can be benefited for supporting the growth of microorganisms and other soil
organisms. During the decomposition process some organic acids, sulfuric compounds,
methane, and carbon dioxide will be produced.
The plastic containers or bottles must be thoroughly dried before used as the fermentation
media. The contamination of fatty materials is avoided because it can cause high pressure
during the fermentation process. The pressure can destruct the bottle and may cause explosion.
Fibrous materials such as paper, shredded cornstalks will form a tough mat at the top of the
fermentation vessel. The objection to this mat is, again, that it favors the accumulation of large
amounts of acid.
The whole text here is not results and discussion. It is just the introduction and elaboration of
what is eco-enzymes and what is does to the soil or benefit to plant!!!
What is the results in form of scientific? Is this just a review of using eco-enzyme?
Conclusion
Ecoenzyme can support agriculture in Indonesia. It is used as natural fertilizer and biopesticide.
The ingredients to make ecoenzyme are kitchen wastes. Brown sugar is carbohydrate source
which consists of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen when it decomposed. Fat is not used because
it can slow down the decomposition process of others. Meanwhile, protein from vegetables will
be decomposed to yield nitrogen which is utilized to fertile the soil. Organic materials can be
As. J. Food Ag-Ind. 2009, Special Issue, S356-S359 359
benefited for supporting the growth of microorganisms and other soil organisms. During the
decomposition process some organic acids, sulfuric compounds, methane, and carbon dioxide
will be produced. But there is no results at all support your conclusion. There is just the review
article of what is eco-enzymes
Acknowledgement
Arthours would like to thank for Government of West Java, the Government of Bogor, and
department Food Science and Technology, Bogor Agricultural University for financial support
for attending the symposium.
References
Adianto, initial?. (1993). Biologi pertanian (Pupuk kandang, Pupuk organic nabati dan
insektisida). Alumni, Bandung
Symon, initial? and Buswell, initial? (1933). Industrial Sewage. Journal of American
Chemistry Society. 55, 2028
Tisdale, L and Nelson, L.. (1965). Soil Fertility and Fertilizers. Macmillan Publishing Co.,
New York.
