SEJATI MADANI: DRONES GENERATE INCOME FOR KG TEBUK HAJI DOLAH JPKK

By Muhamad Azhar Tajuddin

BAGAN SERAI, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- With the aim of leveraging technology and reducing local farmers' costs, the Village Development and Security Committee (JPKK) of Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah, here, initiated a drone service for agricultural operators in the area starting last September.

Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah JPKK chairman Mohd Arshad Sabri, 43, said that this service has the potential to generate substantial income, considering there are about 400 hectares of padi fields cultivated by over 90 percent of the village's residents.

“The idea to start this drone service arose because, as padi farmers ourselves, we struggled to find human resources to help facilitate the spraying of pesticides, fertilising, and sowing of padi seeds, particularly through conventional methods.

"Here, we saw the issue as an opportunity to be utilised effectively to assist in streamlining the residents' padi planting process, making it more efficient and simultaneously generating income for the community,” he said when met by Bernama at Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah.

Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah JPKK is among the communities that successfully secured a grant of RM100,000 through the Sejahtera Komuniti Madani (SejaTi MADANI) Programme, provided by the Implementation Coordination Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department (ICU JPM).

The initiative spearheaded by Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah JPKK through this service was mentioned by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the presentation of Budget 2025 on Oct 18.

When tabling Budget 2025, the Prime Minister said that the government would allocate a total of RM1 billion for the SejaTi MADANI programme, which would be enhanced with broader collaboration involving top management of departments to lead the Kampung Angkat MADANI initiative.

Meanwhile, Mohd Arshad said that initially, three Mist Lite drones purchased through the SejaTi MADANI funds were used specifically for pesticide spraying services on the villagers' padi plots.

According to him, the price offered for this service is around RM25 per acre (0.4 hectare) compared to RM30 for the same area using conventional methods.

“For pesticide spraying, the price we offer is not only lower but it only takes 15 minutes per acre to complete compared to 90 minutes for the same area using conventional methods,” he said.

Discussing the advantages of using drones in padI planting activities, he said that besides saving time and energy, the technology also optimises the farmers' padi yield, thus increasing income generation.

“For example, pesticide spraying using drones is more even and can be controlled according to the desired spraying height. When the pesticide is sufficient, the planted padi is protected from insect attacks and harmful diseases.

“This situation indirectly results in high-quality padi with a larger yield compared to using conventional methods,” he said.

He added that the Perak Farmers' Organisation has also requested their assistance for pesticide spraying in Tanjung Piandang, covering more than 200 acres of land.

He noted that the spraying work was successfully completed in five days, with the income channeled into the Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah Community Welfare Fund and the Kampung Tebuk Haji Dolah Food Pantry.

Regarding future plans, Mohd Arshad said the community intends to expand the services offered throughout the state and extend beyond padi planting alone.

“We aim to add more drones and expand this service across the state, not just for paddy planting but for other crops that require pesticide spraying,” he said.

-- BERNAMA