InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – In the industrial era 5.0, technology development, automation, and digitalization encourage palm oil plantations to get in and implement every technology. It needs to adjust the technology to realize efficiency sustainably.
4.0 industrial revolutionary era has taken technology, automation and digitalization era in many industrial sectors. This progress can be seen with the fast development progress in technology information, automation, big data analysis, robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT). When many kinds of industries, including palm oil plantations adapt to 4.0 industries, the new phase gets in, which is, 5.0 industry.
5.0 industry is the concept which still needs development and raises debates. In general, the concept refers to the technology development that increases automacy and digitalization in industrial and production sectors. 5.0 industry emphasized sophisticated and integrated technology, such as, AI and IoT, and robot with man’s skills and innovations to create more efficient, flexible, sustainable, and socially responsible production system.
The concept would be about to get or create adaptive production system with the market demands, more focus on customers’ experiences, and optimize the utilization from the limited natural resources. 5.0 industry should also deliver big advantages for industries, customers, workers, and the people, such as, to escalate productivity, quality, and safety, create new employment, and minimize the negative impacts for the environment.
The question remains, how would palm oil plantation implement such technologies? Not every palm company can directly adopt the relatively new and expensive technology. But some companies started and get concept to implement the technology in phase as the chance to escalate efficiency and create the better results.
Sophisticated technology implementation, such as, AI and IoT in palm oil plantation would help in some aspects, for instance, to get big data analysis. AI can be applied to predict weather system, optimize fertilization schedule, and monitor the health of plants in real time. Robot and automatization can be used to escalate harvest efficiency and minimize the dependence on work manually.
Besides, drone (technology) can be used to get area map and monitor the plantation condition. Sensor of IoT can be put in the field to get data about soil moisture, air quality, and other condition. The data can be analyzed to make the better decisions fast and would escalate productivity and minimize the loss of resources.
Even though there would be many potential advantages by implementing 5.0 industry, the challenges are still ahead, for instance, the costs to implement it, which are very expensive and the needs of skillful workers to operate, maintenance the systems. Besides, there would needs to confirm that such technologies would be environmental and would not be negative for the people around.
From many palm oil plantation companies in Indonesia, PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) IV PalmCo, the government’s company has adopted the digital technology in its palm oil plantations.
Head of Information Technology Division, PTPN IV PalmCo, Muhammad Aji Priyatna said that through Palm Oil Digitalization Project or Digitalization for PalmCo 4.0, the company has implemented technology innovation.
The innovations are digital farming Palm and rubber, an application to record palm oil and rubber production result (harvest) holistically. Besides, mill indicator monitoring system is the monitoring system in IoT – base which is used to monitor the temperature, pressure, water pH, and laboratory sample in the mill. (T2)
for more, please read Majalah InfoSAWIT, July 2024
