Malaysian farmers now have free access to satellite data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, according to an initiative by Mimos Berhad, a government agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti)
Mimos on 5 September, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with German crop protection and fertiliser group HELM AG and its local partner, chemical manufacturing group Ancom Nylex Berhad, to use HELM’s precision farming platform SKYFLD, to apply digital agriculture solutions which can help farmers monitor their crops and map their fields, thereby improving overall yield. Besides this, the inputs derived from the platform can help farmers monitor biomass performance and health, identify critical zones and take countermeasures.
In addition, HELM’s mobile crop doctor Plantix, is also part of the digital agriculture initiative. By utilising AI, the app identifies 400 different types of plant pests, diseases and nutritional deficits and covers a total of 30 major crops, allowing farmers to upload pictures of sick plants for analysis.
According to a report by Malay Mail, HELM CEO, Stephan Schnabel said, “With this partnership, we aim to increase agricultural productivity across the country, support farmers and thereby contribute socially and environmentally by reducing the footprint of agriculture.”
