Sustainable Hrvest Sdn. Bhd. has deployed Semtech Corp.’s long-range, low-power sensors across its durian farms in Malaysia.
According to Semtech, the purpose-built chip-to-Cloud sensor platform monitors the flow rate and pressure of irrigation systems to maintain soil moisture levels. It also tracks the nutrients in the soil.
The data-driven farming practice gives Malaysian farmers the ability to remotely care for their crops and helps to deliver a more sustainable planet for future generations, Camarillo-based Semtech said.
Han Wei, a co-founder and chief technology officer at Kuala Lumpur-based Sustainable Hrvest, said that the company, in its drive to address farming barriers in Malaysia, knew it needed to improve farming practices, reduce operational costs and help farmers deliver better yields.
“The land includes many steep hillsides, which make managing the crops challenging,” Wei said. “LoRa (the de facto wireless platform of Internet of Things) monitors the trees, alerts the farmer if there is an issue, and allows them to take immediate action. This response saves not only time, but also mitigates potential tree loss and revenue.”
Currently, there are 30 LoRa-powered farms in Malaysia with new plantations expected to go live in the coming 12 months. Designed by Sustainable Hrvest, the IoT node- utilizing LoRaWAN (wide area network) implement LoRa’s low power, long-range sensors and last upwards of four years.
LoRa-enabled sensors now give Malaysian farmers real-time data on the health of their farms every step of the growth cycle from pre-harvest, harvest, and post-harvest.