Feature: China-ASEAN cooperation seeding agritech revolution with smart durian farming

Durian orchard owner Leong Pui Sam (C) talks with Alex Ch'ng (L), general manager of Regaltech, and Derick Choe with Alibaba Cloud, next to the sensor node at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

RAUB, Malaysia, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Standing in his 10-acre durian orchard in Malaysia's central Pahang state, Leong Pui Sam, who calls himself Sam, said the collaboration with Regaltech and Alibaba Cloud in smart farming is life changing.

"Back in the days, there were no exact ways to determine when to irrigate or to fertilize the durian trees, it really depends on our planting experience," said Sam, a durian farmer with nine years of planting experience, told Xinhua.

Sam planted the famed Malaysian Musang King durian, the thorny "king of fruits" with strong smell and flavor.

"Sometimes we were betting our luck if we could harvest great quality durians or not, as the unforeseen manipulating factors such as weather are really out of our control," he said.

Ever since he adopted the smart farming system co-developed by Regaltech and Alibaba Cloud in 2020, Sam noticed significant improvements in crop productivity, and "durian plantation are now much cost-and-time efficient with less haywire moments."

Located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, Regaltech is a digital agritech service company which specializes in smart farming. In 2019, Regaltech collaborated with China's Alibaba Cloud in developing a cloud-based smart platform for durian plantation.

Alex Ch'ng, general manager of Regaltech, said that sensor nodes were provided to farmers, assisting them in monitoring the plants' condition without the need to be physically present at the orchard.

By collecting data through sensor nodes at the orchard and analyzing data such as Electric Conductivity, PH, soil moisture, weather, irrigation schedule on their cloud, the smart platform helps to provide professional guidance for durian farming.

"The smart farming system would suggest if irrigation or fertilization is needed after analyzing the data from the cloud. Now, farmers can easily improve their productivity and efficiency by making accurate data-driven decisions with help from the smart fertigation system developed by Regaltech and Alibaba Cloud," said Alex.

Alibaba Cloud has entered the Malaysian market for about four years. Jordy Cao, general manager for Alibaba Cloud of Malaysia, expressed the wish of Alibaba in helping more local businesses take digital transformation forward with the Chinese technology.

Cao said Malaysia has a unique geographical advantage in durian plantation. On the other hand, he noticed that the traditional fertigation techniques somehow barricaded the durian farmers when they tried to escalate the production in meeting the demand from the market.

"Alibaba Cloud is here to bridge the gap, hoping that our affordable smart farming technology could help to ease the burden of all the farmers," Cao said.

The spiky tropical fruit, especially the premium Musang King species from Malaysia, has been in demand on the Chinese market as the import of this pungent delicacy has grown steadily over the past few years.

At the same time, the leapfrogging technology from China has equipped Malaysian farmers with high-tech digital solutions, a fruitful achievement of the cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.

"For sure we will have more big data platforms for durian plantation in the future. All this 'big data' could be seen as a navigating system that assists the farmers, leading them to the agritech future," said Alex. 

The Musang King Durian fruit is seen at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

Durian orchard owner Leong Pui Sam (L) talks with Alex Ch'ng, general manager of Regaltech, next to the smart fertigation system at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)

Durian orchard owner Leong Pui Sam (C), Alex Ch'ng (L), general manager of Regaltech, and Derick Choe with Alibaba Cloud, check the durian fruit at a durian orchard in Raub, Malaysia, Nov. 21, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Wei)