REDtone Digital Bhd, a broadband service provider in Malaysia, in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI), Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Malaysian Digital Economy (MDEC), will be hosting a one-day smart farming virtual conference on 31 March 2022
The theme ‘Emerging tech and innovation in Malaysian agriculture', is expected to bring together over 300 delegates and features a distinguished group of keynote and panel speakers, comprising industry influencers, thought leaders, professors as well as policymakers from MAFI, MDEC, DoA and the financial sector.
The conference will see panellists share their insights on the latest technologies and innovations that are propelling Malaysian agriculture towards a more technologically-integrated future. It also aims to discuss the improvements made in the Malaysian agriculture sector as a result of technological advancements such as the Internet of Things (IoT), drones, artificial intelligence and blockchain.
According to data from REDtone, the use of technology in Malaysia’s agriculture sector is still in its infancy when compared to developed countries, in which the use of irrigation and fertigation systems in Malaysia is less than 10%. While the automation is considerably lower, and big data analytics of Malaysia’s 7.6 million ha of agriculture is almost non-existent. This current circumstance provides a tremendous opportunity to realise latent potential and advancement.
It is important to note that MAFI has recently announced a US$1.13bn commitment under Budget 2022 to drive agriculture modernisation, enhance food security, produce higher income and aid in recruiting more young ‘agropreneurs’.
MAFI secretary-general, Datuk Haslina Abdul Hamid said apart from the pandemic the agricultural sector has also faced issues such as diminishing natural resources, expanding population, low production efficiency and high production costs, which influence farmers’ income, among others.
“A recent study by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute to benchmark technology adoption based on fuzzy logic suggests that technological adoption of farmers in our country is relatively low. As a reflection, this calls for an urgent and immediate intervention to nudge the technology adoption level through embracing emerging smart farming as a catalyst of growth and possible solutions to the many challenges for this sector,” she said in a statement.
REDtone is aiming to establish a partnership ecosystem for technology adoption and collaboration, as well as awareness creation through government agencies, higher education institutions and agricultural authorities to improve Malaysia’s agricultural sector’s economic vitality.
REDtone group CEO Lau Bik Soon stated that he believes technology can play a key role in taking the agriculture industry to the next level and now its time to embrace innovation for a more sustainable future of agriculture.
According to Lau, the world’s population is predicted to reach 9.6 billion by 2050, at which point farmers will have to produce 70% more food than today while using the same or even fewer natural resources due to urbanisation and climate change.
“Being one of the largest sectors in both our local and global economies, agriculture needs to keep pace with a rapidly-evolving world. To survive and thrive in an increasingly competitive and volatile market, it is imperative that we redefine the way our farming industry operates. This is where smart farming and precision farming hold the answers,” Lau added.
The bilingual virtual conference is scheduled to take place virtually on 31 March, 2022, and is open to agri-entrepreneurs, start-up representatives, research and development specialists, heads of innovation, commercial farmers and growers among others.
