Drone technology transforms farm management for Malaysian farmers

In agriculture, drones are being used to spray fertilisers and pesticides on crops like padi, speeding up processes and reducing reliance on manual labour.

For farmer Mohd Yazid Yusrah, 41, drones have become an essential tool throughout various stages of padi cultivation on his 40.4-hectare padi field in Kampung Sungai Bukit here, from pesticide application to fertilisation.

Mohd Yazid, who began using drones two years ago, shared, "I started experimenting with drones around 2022, which means I've been using them for four seasons now. Initially, it was quite challenging to operate, so I limited their use to spraying pesticides."

Learning to operate drones from friends without formal training, he admitted the early days were awkward.

FARMER-DRONE 2 TELUK INTAN

"However, I was determined to adopt this technology, answering the government's call to embrace Internet of Things (IoT) innovations," he told Bernama recently.

The benefits, he said, are clear - reduced costs and faster operations.

"Manually, it would take over an hour just to spray pesticides on a 0.4-hectare plot, but with drones, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes. For manual spraying on a 0.4-hectare plot, you'd need four workers at RM30 per person, spraying six to eight times monthly, including fertilising," he added.

Despite the efficiency of drone technology, Mohd Yazid remains committed to employing human labour, ensuring job continuity for his workers.

In addition, he appealed to the government to raise the padi floor price from RM1,450 to RM1,800 per tonne to balance rising production costs.

FARMER-DRONE 3 (LAST) TELUK INTAN

"If a price increase isn't possible, I urge the government to standardise the floor price nationwide to ensure fairness for us farmers. In some regions, prices vary - for example, Perak Tengah has different rates from Sungai Manik.

"Standardising prices would help us cope with rising costs for tasks like harvesting and ploughing," he said.

According to him, price standardisation could also prevent potential exploitation by millers.

"Initially, millers offer RM1,800, but during peak harvest, prices drop sharply to RM1,450. Yet, our investigations reveal that the same millers still pay RM1,800 to farmers in other areas.

"This lack of standardisation allows millers to set prices at will, causing ongoing losses for farmers who are already facing high production costs," he added.

Together with over 400 young farmers in Sungai Manik, Mohd Yazid appealed to the government to consider this request, which would help them sustain their livelihoods.

-- BERNAMA