Nur Ariff (right) and Mohd Jefri with their awards at the ceremony on Oct 30. – BERNAMApic
KUALA LUMPUR: A plantation company’s system that uses sound and lights to curb wild elephant attacks has won an award in the Plantation Innovation category at the Felcra Visionary Awards 2024.
Felcra Bhd Sri Mahkota area manager Nur Ariff Sahah, 27, said his team bagged a cash prize of RM8,000, a plaque and certificate of appreciation.
"I am thankful that the innovation has helped planters as well as estate and small farmers.
"We have carried out this project for two years and praise be to God, it successfully helped our farms from being targets of wild elephant attacks,” he told reporters at the awards ceremony here on Wednesday (Oct 30) night.
Nur Ariff said the inspiration for the Siren SM Mammoth system came about after an 800ha farm in Endau, Johor was frequently targeted by wild elephants from nearby areas.
"You could say that our farms were attacked three to four times a month, and this prompted us to develop a suitable innovation.
"The Johor Felcra director also provided us with some tips," he said.
Nur Ariff said elephants have sensitive hearing, and their invention uses sirens at a certain frequency in combination with blue LED lights to keep them away.
"Elephants are actually afraid of blue light, so with the LED lights and siren installed with a closed-circuit TV camera, we can fully monitor a farm," he said.
"Previously, about 200 trees in the farm would be damaged by the elephants but now the number has been reduced to just nine or 10, so this is a good development," added Nur Ariff, whose team bagged the Plantation Quality Award.
Meanwhile, the winner in the Best Palm Oil Mill category, Felcra Bhd Nasaruddin Perak, dedicated its success to the company's staff who worked hard to realise innovations in its palm oil mill operations.
Factory manager Mohd Jefri Amat said through the new direction and management methods implemented since the beginning of the year, they provided profitable returns to Felcra.
The awards, held to recognise and appreciate outstanding initiatives in innovation and management by Felcra leaders and staff, featured two other categories: Factory and Infrastructure Quality, and Subsidiaries.
Deputy Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Rubiah Wang presented the awards, witnessed by Felcra chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and chief executive officer Datuk Idris Lasim. – Bernama
