KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC) is coordinating vital data of the industries under it by utilising big data analytics to maximise the country’s resources.
MPIC Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin (pix) said the data collected would make it easier for ministries and industry players to get the latest data on the country’s commodity sectors.
“Information collection is still not comprehensive so a more comprehensive method needs to be taken to obtain data and input such as the use of drones to see (the area).
“I have also prepared consultants who are able to perform (data collection) so that we have big data regardless of palm oil or rubber commodities,” she said on Radio Television Malaysia’s INKLUSIF programme entitled “Mensejahterakan Sektor Agrikomoditi Negara”.
Zuraida said, for example, Malaysia had set the total oil palm plantation area at 6.5 million hectares and big data could provide an updated figure.
“This is because there may be smallholders who have stopped planting oil palm and their data had not been updated.
“Without the latest data, we do not know which farmers have stopped planting and with no yield on the crops. So, if the area of oil palm is less than the set limit, we can add,” she explained. — Bernama