Agriculture Dept launchs GeoTanaman, GeoTanih, for a more efficient farming industry
Hajar Umira Md Zaki
SHAH ALAM - Malaysia Agriculture Department aims to have more participants in its GeoTanaman and GeoTanih systems after receiving great responses with 1,200 participations from the early stage from February until June this year.
The systems can be accessed through the department’s website platform to ease the farming industry's key players.
Its director general Datuk Zahimi Hassan said the initiative was already developed in 2012 however as it involves cooperation from many agencies, the systems were only finally launched today.
“GeoTanaman is a system that completes the food chain where it involved the farmers and other parties, and it also includes support from the supplier as well as supported by the customers.
“We are hoping this system will facilitate the marketer better in order to get the supplier for the crops they need, as this will show the suppliers within their area.
“Hence, they do not need to go far to find suppliers for the fresh crops and vegetables,” he said during a press conference here at Geno Hotel.
As for the farmers, GeoTanaman will benefit them in terms of analysing whether they could cultivate or should they farm in a particular area by using the system.
Zahimi said the farmers themselves could choose what they wanted to plant, especially the crops with more demand but less supply, and they could jump in to solve and gain profits.
“Meanwhile, GeoTanih is a system developed by the Agriculture Department to enable the industry players or whoever wanted to develop farm or projects, so they can analyse the area they wanted to develop in terms of the soil fertility and all.
“The department can analyse until one meter deep from the soil, whereby soil condition is significant in doing farming projects,” he said.
Zahimi added that the department had spread the initiative to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, and hoped to focus on more significant projects in the future, such as the huge vegetable suppliers in Malaysia.
