SEREMBAN: The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has commercialised more than 200 technologies, encompassing various innovations, in the country's palm oil and agri-commodity sectors to date, thereby contributing to the sustainability and progress of the sector.
MPOB director-general Datuk Dr Ahmad Parveez Ghulam Kadir said the technology includes farm mechanisation and automation, oil palm biotechnology and genomics, science-based crop protection, processing and manufacturing technology, value-added products and oleochemicals, as well as digital systems and farm management platforms.
"At MPOB, we have developed a lot of technology. The latest was two years ago when we introduced technology that can detect fruit ripening. We used drones and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) to assess the condition of trees and other factors.
"The technology that we developed has been mostly utilised and practised by the industry. So we are opening up opportunities for companies and industries involved to evaluate and employ the technology to increase productivity,” he said.
He said this to reporters after the opening of the MPOB National Agricultural and Food Engineering Convention (NAFEC) 2026, themed "Revolutionising Field Operations: Automation, Digitalisation, AI and Future Ready Technologies”, here today.
Meanwhile, he said MPOB has introduced nine new technologies this year through the palm oil technology transfer programme, which focused not only on the plantation sector but also on the development of food products and palm oil-based industrial applications.
"Among the new technologies are oil palm-based mayonnaise -- which is suitable for vegans because it does not contain eggs or animal products, red palm oil-based food technology and oleochemical technology, such as lubricating oil for data centres,” he said.
Besides that, Ahmad Parveez said MPOB's research is now being strengthened with a focus on developing technologies that support data-driven field operations, including the use of Internet of Things, drones, and artificial intelligence.
He said the technologies not only increase productivity but also control consistent production quality, optimise input usage and strengthen supply chain transparency. - Bernama
