Getting more done with fewer workers

 

Companies such as Sime Darby Plantation have mechanised operations in a big way, and the strategy has yielded savings in labour cost. (Mosta Pic)

PETALING JAYA: The labour crunch that many industries in Malaysia face today has led some companies to automate their operations.

One of those in the plantation sector that is reducing its dependence on human labour in favour of mechanisation is Sime Darby Plantation Bhd (SDP).

In response to a query from FMT Business, an SDP spokesman said the move to automate several aspects of their operation – from the application of fertilizers to the picking of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) – has led to greater efficiency and lower costs.

The need to find an alternative to human labour has never been so urgent. Recently, plantation industries and commodities minister Zuraida Kamaruddin revealed that an estimated RM10.46 billion worth of fruits had been left unpicked in the first five months of 2022 as a result of the plantation companies’ inability to get new workers.

Rather than wait to recruit more workers, SDP has introduced mechanisation in its plantations to harvest fresh fruit bunches and to apply fertilisers. It has also deployed drones to deal with the menace of pests and diseases in its nurseries and immature fields.

The plantation group also uses satellite imaging, geospatial mapping and monitoring systems to identify problematic or underperforming areas so that corrective action can be taken to improve yields.

The efforts have borne fruit. The spokesman said that as of May, each worker is able to manage the equivalent of 16.5ha of planted area, more than double the 8ha the same worker could achieve in 2021.

“With our accelerated mechanisation initiative, we hope to achieve a man-to-land ratio of one to 17.5ha by 2025,” the spokesman said.

The labour crunch has been costly for SDP. According to estimates by the company, as of May, it was short of 4,000 workers. That was 36% off its total harvester requirement, the prime contributor to its decline in production.

To illustrate the severity of the impact, SDP said FFB production in the first quarter (Q1) of this year declined 13% year-on-year (y-o-y) compared with the corresponding period last year. In 2021, it saw a 1.6% decline compared with the year before.

Taking it to another level, SDP has set up an in-house team that will utilise advancements in robotics to develop their own solutions.

However, the group conceded that there are technological challenges.

“For example, agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have limited payload capacity and flight-time, making the drones less productive for operations in oil palm plantations compared with other crops,” it said.

To overcome these challenges, SDP is collaborating with start-ups and research institutes to jointly develop new solutions.

However, the road to full automation is expected to be long. According to MIDF Research, it is not expected to be feasible in the immediate future. “Mechanisation is limited to certain activities and workers are still needed for harvesting, depending on the tree’s maturity,” it said.

It noted that moving into the second half of the year, production would typically pick up as the sector moves into the high cycle months in the second and third quarters but production this year is expected to be lower than last year.

“Our checks show that as a result of the acute labour shortage, compounded by the impact of wet weather last year, there has been a low application of fertilisers,” it told FMT Business.

Data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board confirms the findings. It shows that while crude palm oil (CPO) production improved 5.8% to 1.55 million tonnes on a month-to-month basis, it retracted by 3.8% and 1.1% on a y-o-y and year-to-date basis, respectively.

In fact, MIDF Research pointed out, FFB yield fell 7.5% to 1.24 tonnes per hectare in June this year from 1.34 tonnes in the same month last year.

Looking ahead, it has maintained its average CPO price forecast of RM5,500 per metric tonne based on several factors.

It expects to see a disruption in the price of sunflower oil as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, subdued production outlook for soybean in 2022/2023 due to the La Nina effect in South America, lower planted area in the US and better demand outlook on improved economic activities. - FMT