UTAR Centre for Agriculture and Food Research (UTAR-CAFR) in collaboration with the Faculty of Science (FSc) organised the 22nd Series of the Agriculture Technology Seminar at UTAR Kampar Campus on 26 November 2022. The seminar was attended by more than 150 participants.

Welcoming the participants was the Organising Chairperson of Agriculture Technology Seminar Series XXII Dr Ali Yassoralipour, who enthused, “It is my great pleasure to welcome all the participants to the Agriculture Technology Seminar Series XXII with the theme— Smart Plantation Management and Sustainability. It is indeed an honour to share that the bi-annual Agriculture Technology Seminar, jointly organised by the Centre for Agriculture and Food Research and Faculty of Science, has successfully continued to its 22nd series this year. In conjunction with the addition of a plantation management programme under the degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) Plantation Management from October 2023, it is a good opportunity to hold this seminar with the theme focusing on smart plantation management and sustainability to introduce the degree programme and to edify the knowledge of students and the public on the smart plantation industry in Malaysia, emphasising on the sustainability and productivity aspect.”
He added, “Smart plantation is a modern farming concept that looks into the use of technology to improve agricultural production while lowering the inputs significantly. As it is, smart farming is an information-driven farming approach, which increases the need for it to be observed. This approach applies measures that are economically and ecologically meaningful to achieve improved output in production.”

In his opening speech, UTAR Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ts Dr Faidz bin Abd Rahman emphasised, “In the last decades, smart plantation management has become more industrialised, and technology-driven to the agricultural industry. Technological advancements, namely big data management, the internet of things (IoT), soil scanning, and Global Positioning System (GPS) are extensively used for tracking, monitoring, automating, and analysing operations in plantation management. Smart plantation is really of great value, especially with the increasing global population, increasing need for climate-smart agriculture. Smart farming is an emerging concept with software-managed and sensor-monitored technologies such as IoT, robotics, drones, and artificial intelligence (AI) to increase the quantity and quality of agricultural products. Smart plantation also can optimise human labour, help in reducing the overall agricultural costs, and improve the sustainability of agriculture and the experience for the consumer. In addition, the increasing control over productions leads to better cost management and waste reduction.”

Pro Faidz added, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee members for their efforts in making this seminar a success. I would like to thank the sponsors— Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), Edubest Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd and Sime Darby Plantation Research Sdn Bhd for their financial support, and all participants for your active participation in this seminar.”

The speakers included Board of Directors and Chairman Technical Education Scheme Committee Incorporated Society of Planters Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tuan Mohd Sabre Salim, FSc Department of Agricultural and Food Science academic Dr Pedram Kashiani, Universiti Teknologi Petronas academic Assoc Prof Dr Manzoor Ahmad Hashmani, and Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn Bhd Assistant Research Officer/Agronomist Wan Mohamad Hidayat.

While explaining the latest and advanced knowledge in plantation management, Sabre in his talk titled “Smart Plantation Management – Sustainability Matters”, shed light on how to manage plantations with sustainability principles. He emphasised that smart plantation is an emerging concept that refers to managing farms using technologies IoT, robotics, drones and AI to increase the quantity and quality, however, it is important for agriculturists to look into the aspect of sustainability in plantations.

“Application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Smart Agriculture” by Dr Pedram presented that the use of IoT and UAVs in cultivation fields is transforming traditional farming practices into a new era of smart agriculture. A UAV (also called a drone) is a remotely controlled aircraft that flies autonomously in the air without the involvement of a pilot on board.

Dr Manzoor spoke on “Halal Concepts and Principles – Halal Assurance System in Agriculture Management”. He explained that the agriculture and food supply chains are transitioning from local independent vendors to global interlinked business partners. Hence, the existing agriculture supply chains have revolutionised from single-acting authority to multi-actor linked authorities.

Last but not the least, Hidayat’s “Sustainable Practices in Oil Palm Plantation” explained that the oil palm industry has been under global scrutiny due to claims of tropical deforestation, contributing to the increase in carbon emissions. Although emissions from the agriculture sector are relatively low compared to other commodity-producing industries, they are still deemed significant.

The four key talks were moderated by former FSc academic staff Dato’ Dr Sim Yoke Leng and FSc lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Tee Chong Siang.

In his closing remarks, FSc Dean Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng said, “This seminar series started in 2011 to promote our Agricultural Science programme when it was first introduced as well as providing a platform for issues related to agriculture and food to be discussed. Throughout the years, a good response has been received either from the invited experts or the participants. The organising committee ought to be commended for continuing this effort yearly even during the pandemic. The theme for the 22nd Seminar is Smart Plantation Management and Sustainability. This theme has been selected mainly because the faculty will be offering a new programme on Plantation Management in 2023 to increase the manpower in this sector. In addition to that, we are aware of the importance of the plantation sector to our economy. In 2020, the agriculture sector contributed 7.4% to the country’s GDP and the palm oil industry alone already made up 2.7% of the GDP. For sustainability, we need more technologists who are trained in mechanisation and digitalisation in agriculture. Besides, management skills and decision makings with respect to the data collected and timely response will reduce the damage to the plantation and eventually the profit that can be derived.”

The Agriculture Technology Seminar Series XXII was sponsored by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), Edubest Plantation Holdings Sdn Bhd and Sime Darby Plantation Research Sdn Bhd. It ended with an interactive Q&A session.