JITRA: The adoption of smart agriculture technology not only eases farming tasks for agri-entrepreneurs but also sparks interest among potential new entrants to the industry, says Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
He said the use of digital technology in crop production, in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution policy, such as IoT, big data analysis and AI, has the potential to attract more parties to venture into agriculture.
"Malaysia is undergoing rapid digital transformation. Technology has proven effective in boosting the country’s competitiveness, accelerating economic growth and opening up new opportunities for the people,” he said during a visit to the AI Technology-Based Aquaculture (Digital AgTech) site, as part of the Malaysia Digital Tour, in Ayer Hitam near here on Monday (Feb 10).
Gobind said the agricultural sector was often associated with dirty, dangerous and difficult and was commonly seen as a high-risk sector with low returns on investment, Bernama reported.
"However, our mission today is to change this perception and elevate the agricultural sector to a more modern and productive level through digital technology, in line with the Digital Ministry’s focus on creating a Digital Government, Digital Economy and Digital Society,” he said.
According to Gobind, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) had been appointed by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry as the National Digital Technology (Digital AgTech) strategic validator to support the digital transformation of the agricultural sector.
He said the digital agricultural system was one of the programmes under MDEC, aimed at enhancing the use of digital technology in the agricultural sector, thus facilitating the marketing of agricultural products and enabling farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to reach the market more swiftly and effectively.
"The use of this technology can also enhance the competitiveness of the country’s agricultural exports globally, thus helping Malaysia penetrate the international market with high-quality products,” he added.
