19/07/2023 (Daily Express), Ranau - Palm oil smallholders need to adopt drone technology to better manage their plantations.

Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister and Paginatan Assemblyman, Datuk Abidin Madingkir, said this is to address the main issue faced by small oil palm farmers, which is low productivity.

“Low productivity, uneconomic farm size, less suitable land (steep and hilly), far inland farm locations, limited road network and in poor condition are among the main constraints faced by small oil palm farmers in the State.

“Drone technology is seen to be able to optimise the use of poisons and fertilizers and further help the sustainability of the environment.

“This will reduce operating costs, increase crop yield and increase income,” he said.

Abidin said the cost of adapting this technology may be high, but by organising a partnership strategy, especially in cooperatives, it is easy to achieve and the benefits can be shared.

“One drone unit can spray an area of more than 12 hectares per day, compared to four hectares per day by a human, which is three times more productive.

“Spraying using drones can reduce the amount of pesticides by up to 80 per cent, as well as reduce water consumption by 82 per cent,” he said.

This, he added, is also in line with the recommendations of Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor, at the Sabah Technology Transfer Exhibition and Seminar.

“He said the Sabah Government will maximise the use of technology and innovation to increase productivity, competitiveness and development in the palm oil sector in Sabah,” he said, when

officiating the 2nd Annual General Meeting of the Ranau District Sustainable Oil Palm Growers Cooperative at Kg Kinapulidan Ranau.

He said the area of oil palm in the entire State is 1.5 million hectares and an area of 17,883 hectares is in Ranau district where 8,704 hectares are cultivated by smallholders.

“The number of smallholders in the whole of Sabah is 32,566 who cultivate 210,707 hectares (Data 2020).

“Based on that number, the average farm area of small oil palm farmers in Sabah is 6.5 hectares.

“According to the definition of the Malaysian Government, palm oil smallholders are farmers who cultivate oil palm plantations with an area of less than 40.46 hectares (100 acres),” he said.

Meanwhile, Abidin explained that according to the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil Certification (MSPO), the percentage of area that has been certified so far is still very low at 11.6 per cent.

This, he said, would affect the competitiveness of smallholders and may not be able to sell palm fruit.

“Referring to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil-Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO-CSPO) implemented through the Jurisdictional Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (JCSPO) Sabah initiative, improvements need to be made to penetrate sensitive markets such as Europe.

“Therefore, the cooperative needs to inform about these regulations and always provide information to all members of the cooperative.

“The cooperative must always be concerned and monitor the health of the oil palm plants, especially disease attacks that are difficult to control and bring huge losses,” he said.

Abidin also recommended the cooperative conduct a learning session to update their members about the problems of disease that may occur.

“It must be remembered that Ranau is famous for its hilly terrain and mountains. These areas are very ‘fragile’ and development needs to be implemented by following the recommendations of the authorities.

“Landslides can happen at any time and this will affect the environment, especially our water resources,” he said.

https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news/216560/up-palm-oil-output-via-drones-abidin/