Business

Tuesday August 11, 2009

Computer-mapping takes root in agriculture

Commodities Talk - By Hanim Adnan


Plenty of room for growth locally, given that land is getting scarce

GLOBALLY, many agriculture-based companies are profiting from the advanced computer-mapping technologies using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS).

Both systems are becoming more prominent in the agriculture world, assisting companies to increase revenues and reduce costs in activities like identifying suitable crops by location and season, optimising fertiliser and pesticide quantities, accurately projecting the yield of a particular crop and – the most exciting of all – enabling precision farming.

In precision farming, the GIS software has tools designed to allow the display of detailed crop data and factors which may affect crop yield like soil fertility, soil types, insect infestations, weed locations and rainfall distribution.

GIS tools also allow planning for actions required to eliminate factors that may limit yield or waste agricultural chemicals by preventing application where the chemicals are not needed.

In a nutshell, GIS uses computerised maps to combine, analyse and display critical information while GPS is for satellite-assisted, remote-sensing data collection.

File photo of a GIS tool. In precision farming, such tools allow the display of detailed crop data and factors which may affect crop yield

Currently, companies in the US, Europe and even India are actively using computer-mapping technologies to source the most vital information, i.e. crop yield prediction.

While such technologies in the local agriculture scene may not be something new, the scope and extent of their application is still questionable.

Many believe that there is plenty of room for growth, given the fact that local plantation land is running scarce.

By using proper “mapping” technologies, the whole country can fully maximise the potential of its agriculture land, with specific zones targeted for planting cash crops like oil palm, rubber, cocoa and timber.

Even idle or swampy land holds the prospect for growing non-traditional but resilient cash crops like nipah palm and jatropha (for biodiesel feedstock) as well as kenaf once the detailed analytical assessment is made using GPS and GIS.

For example, computer-mapping technologies have led to proper identification for the production of specific crops in the various towns across India.

Having said that, the cost for such advanced technologies is also undeniably not for the faint hearted.

Throughout the world, governments, utilities and businesses are investing billions in computer systems that store, manage and analyse maps and geographic information via GIS.

GIS is fast growing in tandem with the widespread development and use of increasingly inexpensive, powerful computers.

In Malaysia, GIS has been accepted as mission critical for industries related to oil and gas, disaster management, utility and geointelligence.

Perhaps, it is also good for the Government and big plantation groups to put in more concerted effort towards developing a dedicated GIS unit for the commodity sector.

·Hanim Adnan is assistant news editor at The Star. She awaits patiently to see the success of GIS in the country.

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