DEMA APP HELPS TACKLE LABOUR SHORTAGES IN PLANTATION SECTOR, SAYS NECTAR

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 (Bernama) -- Nectar Consortium Sdn Bhd’s digital plantation management application (app), called Digital Estate Management Application (DEMA), is designed to help tackle labour shortages and encourage more local workforce to drive the agriculture sector by leveraging Nectar’s technology.

Launched in July 2022 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, DEMA is aimed at making field data management easier and quicker for plantation operators.

Managing director Ahmad Tarmizi Mukhtar said its digital solution can also reduce operating costs and enhance yield between 30 and 40 per cent on average.

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“The problem we are facing now is that we rely heavily on foreign labour for the agriculture and plantation sectors.

“With DEMA, we are targeting locals to participate and capitalise on the available land by entering into contract farming offered by Nectar. Eventually, they would own a plantation and become business owners,” he said in a statement.

Ahmad Tarmizi said the whole idea behind digitalising the plantation business was to streamline the entire process and attract young talents as well as existing business communities to look at the sector as a lucrative business.

“Today we have a pool of young talents doing ride-hailing which may be tiring and, to some extent, a dangerous job.

“Here we are offering a ‘smart’ alternative where these young talents can play with technology and empower our food security sector,” he said.

Ahmad Tarmizi added that DEMA users would be able to access the application on their mobile devices anytime to track and operate their business.

For instance, any land or building owners can collaborate with Nectar’s farmers to develop agriculture using the TEROKA system, a mini version of DEMA.

“They could start with one acre and get used to Nectar’s system. In fact, many cooperatives are using TEROKA to grow chilli and cucumber.

“We have translated heavy capital expenditure into reasonable operating costs to ensure operational sustainability. Nectar has made the farm-to-table approach possible,” he said.

Ahmad Tarmizi also noted that the application would significantly help reduce manpower reliance and boost efficiency.

“If you are operating a 10-acre plantation through the conventional method, you may need about 10 workers.

“However, by using DEMA, you probably need to hire just an intern or a fresh graduate for support during the harvesting process while you can still monitor it through the app,” he said.

DEMA runs on mobile devices and allows planters to record data, run real-time business tracking and monitor activities on the field.

-- BERNAMA