In Long Busang, a remote village located in Kapit, in the interior of Sarawak, the use of technology in agriculture is still foreign.
It is therefore not surprising that Cooplay Nyipa Ali (pictured) initially felt doubtful that the knowledge sharing that was to be done would “reach the ears” of the residents. Her misgivings were misplaced, because the residents, who are from the Kenyah Badeng community, not only responded positively but also showed deep interest in the knowledge being imparted.
The residents continued to ask Cooplay, 58, questions after questions, even though the time allocated for the sharing session had long expired.
“It’s already lunch time. Do you want me to continue?” he asked. “Continue,” the residents replied almost in unison.
Cooplay was one of the speakers in the Digital Program to Long Busang organized by the Sarawak Multimedia Board (SMA) recently, which aims to empower the rural community with digital knowledge and skills, thus encouraging their participation in the digital economy and utilizing government services online.
Long Busang is located almost 400 kilometres from Sibu town, a journey that takes about eight hours by land. The settlement is home to about 1,400 residents, most of whom work as farmers, cultivating crops such as vegetables and fruits.
“I know the agriculture sector is very close to the hearts of the people here because they have been practicing it for generations, but I am impressed that they are willing to learn new technologies in the field of agriculture,” Cooplay told BERNAMA.
FORMER ENGINEER, NOW A “GURU” OF SMART AGRICULTURE
Cooplay graduated in civil engineering from the University of Malaya, but agriculture has been deeply ingrained in him as his family has been involved in the sector for several generations.
After graduating in 1994, he worked briefly at a palm oil mill in his hometown of Saratok before joining an oil and gas company in Bintulu. After his contract there ended, he worked as a civil engineer - also on a contract basis - at an infrastructure company and was involved in several port and bridge construction projects in Sarawak, before being offered to join the smart agriculture programme as a pilot participant in the Rampangi Permanent Food Production Park (TKPM) project in Kuching in 2017.
Since then, he has been seriously involved in the field of agriculture.
During his mentorship at TKPM, he was exposed to new approaches in agricultural practices including the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology and smart fertigation systems with a focus on chilli, ginger and golden melon crops.
(TKPM is a large-scale and commercial agricultural project developed on state or federal government land with the aim of creating a permanent food crop production zone.)
TECHNOLOGY CHANGING THE WAY OF FARMING
Cooplay said the smart fertigation system involves the use of rain protection structures, the preparation of fertilizer solutions according to a specific formula, humidity and temperature control integrated with IoT technology.
"As a smart farming participant, I do not need to be at TKPM full-time. Temperature, fertilizer use, amount of resources for planting and others are monitored through an information control center at TKPM.
"Information from this control center can be accessed by participants through their personal computers or smartphones," he shared, adding that the Sarawak government has provided a fairly large allocation for the infrastructure.
Smart farming offers real economic opportunities for rural youth. Through the use of rain protection systems and the use of controlled technology, young farmers can earn much higher incomes than the starting salaries of most regular jobs, thus encouraging Cooplay to share knowledge.
GOOD YIELD, INCREASED INCOME
“As a youth, it is difficult to earn RM6,000 a month if you only work for wages. But, with smart farming, the yield is much higher,” he said.
According to him, 1,000 chilli trees planted in a rain shelter system can produce a yield of about two metric tons with a market price of RM10 to RM12 per kilogram (kg).
“So, farmers can generate more than RM20,000 in one season (approximately three months), with good disease and insect control,” he said.
For golden melon, he said each greenhouse with 1,500 trees can produce a yield of up to 1.2 metric tons with a market price of about RM15/kg, generating a gross income of RM18,000 for each harvest, which is about three months after planting.
“For ginger crops, one greenhouse can produce up to 9,000 kg which if sold at RM10 per kilogram, can provide a gross return of up to RM90,000 per year,” he said.
However, every job certainly has its challenges, including smart farming, and according to Cooplay, one of them is in terms of marketing, in addition to participants having to take their own initiatives to expand their marketing network.
“Although there is no need to work hard like conventional farming, smart farming practitioners need to be committed to monitoring the status of their crops until they can be harvested,” he said, adding that some participants failed to do so because they were tied up with other commitments.
TRADITIONAL FARMERS, NEW METHODS
Kasim Tega, 50, a resident of Long Busang who attended the knowledge sharing, was eager to put the knowledge gained into practice.
“Cooplay’s explanation involved many new things and methods that we did not know. I gained a lot of new knowledge, especially in carrying out agricultural activities involving small areas but giving quite good returns,” he said.
For Kelen Belarek, 51, through smart farming he no longer has to use a lot of energy or sunbathe in the heat and rain like before.
“The important thing is that we must monitor our crops from planting until harvest time. The results are very encouraging,” he said.
Senior citizen Dana Bilong, 70, was also not left behind, who was enthusiastic about farming again after hearing about smart farming.
“At my age now, I can’t afford to work hard in the middle of the garden like I did when I was younger. Now I just need to use a smartphone and I think I can still do it,” he said.
SHARING KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT CONDITIONS
As a pioneer in the field of smart farming in Sarawak, Cooplay has not only successfully practiced modern technologies such as fertigation and IoT-based monitoring systems, but has also emerged as an educator who is committed to spreading knowledge to the rural community.
For Cooplay, success in agriculture is not just about the harvest, but also the success of instilling knowledge in the young generation in rural areas.
"The principle I hold is that agriculture does not only depend on technology to progress, but also sincerity in sharing knowledge. I was trained for free by the government, so I hold to the principle that this knowledge should also be spread for free," he stressed.
