KUCHING, March 18 (Bernama) -- Motivated by its award-winning innovation, the "B2Y-Tech" banana harvesting equipment which helps to improve yields and quality, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak is keen to collaborate with interested parties for use of the technology in plantations.
The new technology by the university's Faculty of Applied Science in Kota Samarahan, near here, enables the harvesting of bananas to be carried out with much greater ease and reduces damage to the fruits up to 93 percent.
"With a pole adjustment of up to 4.8 metres to reach the fruits and a capacity of over 80kg, it has the added advantage of enabling the harvesting process to be completed much faster than the traditional method used by smallholders in Sarawak," the campus deputy director, Assoc Prof Dr Fatimah Bujang, told Bernama.
"UiTM Sarawak wishes to invite companies, farmers and the State Agriculture Department, including the Samarahan Integrated Agricultural Development Project (IADP), to manufacture the equipment which costs about RM600 per unit.
"Of course, we can work together on the cost and technology involved," she said, adding that it had also applied for a search patent with the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim Berhad) for the B2Y-Tech model to be commercialised.
UiTM Sarawak plantation manager Zulkifli Aswan said the prototype had won a gold medal in the Invention, Innovation and Design 2007 (IID 2007) competition organised by the Institute of Research Development and Commercialisation (IRDC) on Jan 24-25 at UiTM, Shah Alam.
He said his nine-member team would be representing UiTM at the Malaysian Technology Expo 2007 (MTE 2007) on March 29-31in Kuala Lumpur.
"At present the technology is applied at our five-acre banana plantation at the campus, through trial and error by the Applied Science students for practical training and by local farmers from nearby villages in Samarahan.
"Unlike cranes, which are widely used in western countries such as Australia, the B2Y-Tech is found to be more suitable here as most of the local fruits, including banana, are still being cultivated on smallholdings.
"Another 120 acres of plantation at UiTM's new campus in Mukah will benefit from the B2Y-Tech by this year," he added.
Abang Madihi Abang Anuar from Kampung Tanjung Tuang, Kota Samarahan, is one of the local farmers participating in the project.
He is satisfied with the B2Y-Tech, which he uses to pluck the bunches with an attached special knife aptly named "Hero" as his better quality bananas could now fetch RM1.20 per kg from only 40 sen per kg previously.
Apart from increasing his income, Abang Madihi is also happy that damaged fruits caused by the traditional harvesting method has been reduced significantly and he could save a lot of time in transporting them.
UiTM Sarawak has also introduced the Belitech applicator, a flowering inducer for pineapples to improve fruit quality and yields.
Practised by villagers involved in the IADP pineapple project in Kampung Mang, Samarahan, on a trial basis, it helps to produce Grade A pineapples, fetching RM2.50 per fruit, besides enabling the fruits to be harvested at the same time.
"In comparison to average-quality pineapples of RM1 per fruit, the participating farmers can now earn an average fixed income of RM4,000 to RM5,000 per month while the inducer, which is injected into the young fruits, costs about RM62.50," Fatimah said.
The faculty's students were also trained in applying this technology, said its lecturer, Sulaiman Man.
"While many graduates find themselves unemployed upon completion of their respective courses, UiTM's Planting Industry Management diploma holders are fully marketable as employers recognise their skills as relevant, especially in the plantation industry. "Some of our graduates are now employed by major plantation companies, including Golden Hope Plantations Bhd in Bintulu and SOP Plantation Sdn Bhd in Niah, as well as by state-run agencies.
"Our innovations to make agriculture more productive is in tandem with the government's strategy to boost the sector under the Ninth Malaysia Plan," he said.
The new technology by the university's Faculty of Applied Science in Kota Samarahan, near here, enables the harvesting of bananas to be carried out with much greater ease and reduces damage to the fruits up to 93 percent.
"With a pole adjustment of up to 4.8 metres to reach the fruits and a capacity of over 80kg, it has the added advantage of enabling the harvesting process to be completed much faster than the traditional method used by smallholders in Sarawak," the campus deputy director, Assoc Prof Dr Fatimah Bujang, told Bernama.
"UiTM Sarawak wishes to invite companies, farmers and the State Agriculture Department, including the Samarahan Integrated Agricultural Development Project (IADP), to manufacture the equipment which costs about RM600 per unit.
"Of course, we can work together on the cost and technology involved," she said, adding that it had also applied for a search patent with the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim Berhad) for the B2Y-Tech model to be commercialised.
UiTM Sarawak plantation manager Zulkifli Aswan said the prototype had won a gold medal in the Invention, Innovation and Design 2007 (IID 2007) competition organised by the Institute of Research Development and Commercialisation (IRDC) on Jan 24-25 at UiTM, Shah Alam.
He said his nine-member team would be representing UiTM at the Malaysian Technology Expo 2007 (MTE 2007) on March 29-31in Kuala Lumpur.
"At present the technology is applied at our five-acre banana plantation at the campus, through trial and error by the Applied Science students for practical training and by local farmers from nearby villages in Samarahan.
"Unlike cranes, which are widely used in western countries such as Australia, the B2Y-Tech is found to be more suitable here as most of the local fruits, including banana, are still being cultivated on smallholdings.
"Another 120 acres of plantation at UiTM's new campus in Mukah will benefit from the B2Y-Tech by this year," he added.
Abang Madihi Abang Anuar from Kampung Tanjung Tuang, Kota Samarahan, is one of the local farmers participating in the project.
He is satisfied with the B2Y-Tech, which he uses to pluck the bunches with an attached special knife aptly named "Hero" as his better quality bananas could now fetch RM1.20 per kg from only 40 sen per kg previously.
Apart from increasing his income, Abang Madihi is also happy that damaged fruits caused by the traditional harvesting method has been reduced significantly and he could save a lot of time in transporting them.
UiTM Sarawak has also introduced the Belitech applicator, a flowering inducer for pineapples to improve fruit quality and yields.
Practised by villagers involved in the IADP pineapple project in Kampung Mang, Samarahan, on a trial basis, it helps to produce Grade A pineapples, fetching RM2.50 per fruit, besides enabling the fruits to be harvested at the same time.
"In comparison to average-quality pineapples of RM1 per fruit, the participating farmers can now earn an average fixed income of RM4,000 to RM5,000 per month while the inducer, which is injected into the young fruits, costs about RM62.50," Fatimah said.
The faculty's students were also trained in applying this technology, said its lecturer, Sulaiman Man.
"While many graduates find themselves unemployed upon completion of their respective courses, UiTM's Planting Industry Management diploma holders are fully marketable as employers recognise their skills as relevant, especially in the plantation industry. "Some of our graduates are now employed by major plantation companies, including Golden Hope Plantations Bhd in Bintulu and SOP Plantation Sdn Bhd in Niah, as well as by state-run agencies.
"Our innovations to make agriculture more productive is in tandem with the government's strategy to boost the sector under the Ninth Malaysia Plan," he said.
( http://web6.bernama.com/client/fama/news.php?lang=&id=251914)
No comments:
Post a Comment