Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Haji Sepawi
KUCHING: Sarawak Plantation Bhd
has developed its own innovative oil palm fruit harvesting machine to address the long-standing shortage of fruit harvesters faced by the industry and boost production efficiency.
Called the “Lipan”, the mechanised harvester was successfully developed after numerous testings and innovative work since 2015, according to executive chairman Datuk Amar Abdul Hamed Sepawi.
He said the breakthrough come in late 2018 with the technical expertise of a partner in China by designing a cutter that successfully harvested the fresh fruit bunches (FFBs).
“Initially, the prototype machine could only cut 20 FFBs per person per day. Improvements were made to overcome design limitations, including the incorporation of remote control to facilitate easier positioning of the cutter on the palm tree.
“Although the cutter managed to cut, it was still not 100% effective.
“Further improvement was made to the prototype, which resulted in the design of the H-cutter in December 2018 which is the ‘holy grail’ that we managed to put together the three in operation by one machine with one person was made possible.
“The harvesting machine is now capable of harvesting 38 FFBs per hour which is equivalent to 300 FFBs a day.
“With an average weight of 10kg per fruit bunch, this equates to productivity of three tonnes per day,” he added at the launch of the “Lipan” by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg at Sarawak Plantation’s Subis Estate along Jalan Miri-Bintulu last week.
These harvesting machines were put into operations at suitable harvesting areas last year, and their utilisation are being intensified.
Each machine can cover an area of five ha per day while consuming two litres of fuel per hour.
Sarawak Plantation group owns 13 oil palm estates, with total land size of 42,182 ha.
In addition, the group has another estate of 412 ha (planted 405 ha) under a joint venture with a Sarawak state agency. These plantations are located in northern and central Sarawak.
Abang Johari, who witnessed how the machine efficiently harvested FFBs using remote control and then placing the fruits into a large bin mounted on the machine, said it took barely two minutes to harvest and load 1.2 tonnes of the fruits.
He said Sarawak Plantation’s achievement in transforming the oil palm industry with cutting-edge technology is a game-changer for the industry.
Such innovation, said the Premier, aligns with his vision for transformation in the harvesting of FFBs, shifting from labour-intensive method to machine-based technology.
He said the “Lepan” harvesting machine will help to address the long-standing labour shortage which has hindered the growth of the oil palm industry.
Besides, he said manual harvesting of FFBs might result in the fruits falling to the ground and break, thus reducing productivity.
Sarawak has relied heavily over the years on migrant workers, particularly Indonesians, to harvest the FFBs.
Due to the shortages of fruit harvesters, a significant amount of riped FFBs were left to rot.
In 2016, it was reported that Sarawak lost some RM2.8bil in revenue a year due to the shortage of 12,000 fruit harvesters.
Based on Malaysian Palm Oil Board data, as at Dec 31, 2023, Sarawak had the largest oil palm planted area among producing states in Malaysia of more than 1.62 million ha (28.7%), Sabah 1.51 million ha (26.7%) and Peninsular Malaysia about 2.52 million ha (44.6%).
Nationwide, the total oil palm planted area amounted to 5.65 million ha.
