**SERDANG**: Agrobank menjalin kerjasama strategik dengan FarmByte Sdn Bhd, sebuah syarikat agromakanan digital di bawah Johor Corporation (JCorp) melalui peruntukan RM12 juta sebagai tanda sokongan kepada Program Pembiayaan Pertanian Ladang Kontrak FarmByte yang merangkumi perbelanjaan operasi ladang.

Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) Agrobank, Datuk Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin, berkata kerjasama itu adalah sebagai usaha mentransformasi dan memperkukuh landskap pertanian Malaysia selain bertujuan memperkukuhkan sektor agro-makanan negara.

Katanya, kerjasama itu juga bertujuan memperkasakan petani kecil dengan menyediakan sokongan pembiayaan dan akses kepada pasaran sekali gus memacu ke arah pertanian yang lestari dan menguntungkan.

"Kami amat berbesar hati dapat bekerjasama dengan FarmByte dalam inisiatif baharu ini. Dengan menawarkan sokongan kewangan dan jaminan pasaran untuk 50 petani dengan bantuan kewangan maksimum sehingga RM239,940 bagi setiap peserta, kami bukan sahaja meningkatkan taraf hidup petani tetapi juga menyumbang kepada jaminan bekalan makanan Malaysia.

"Kerjasama ini adalah langkah penting ke arah membina sektor pertanian yang lebih berdaya tahan. Selain itu, Agrobank berharap untuk melihat lebih ramai usahawan terbabit dalam sektor pertanian dan kami percaya MAHA (Pameran Pertanian, Hortikultur dan Agropelancongan Malaysia) adalah salah satu platform untuk mendekati komuniti yang kurang mendapat perhatian," katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada majlis menandatangani perjanjian rakan niaga strategik Agrobank dengan Farmbyte sempena MAHA 2024 di sini, hari ini.

Perjanjian itu ditandatangani oleh Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah mewakili Agrobank, manakala FarmByte oleh CEO, Syed Aiman Kifli Syed Jaafar.

Sementara itu, Syed Aiman berkata, kerjasama dengan Agrobank selari dengan visi syarikat untuk merevolusikan pertanian dengan menyediakan sumber kewangan dan teknologi kepada petani.

"Matlamat kami adalah untuk memperkasa petani dalam menghasilkan tanaman berkualiti dan bernilai tinggi, seterusnya memastikan rantaian nilai agromakanan yang lebih mampan dan menguntungkan.

"Dengan sokongan Agrobank, kami bukan sahaja dapat menawarkan kepada petani bantuan kewangan tetapi juga alat dan pandangan yang mereka perlukan untuk berjaya dalam pasaran yang kompetitif," katanya

Perkongsian itu adalah perjanjian pengambilan atau 'offtake' yang terjamin, di mana FarmByte komited untuk membeli semua hasil tuaian daripada petani yang menyertai program ini pada kadar yang kompetitif.

Perjanjian terbabit menyediakan pasaran yang selamat dan stabil kepada petani, mengurangkan risiko kewangan yang berkaitan dengan pertanian dan memastikan rantaian bekalan yang konsisten.

Melalui FarmByte, petani akan mendapat akses kepada data masa nyata mengenai permintaan tanaman, trend bekalan, dan ramalan harga.

Gabungan pendekatan berasaskan data dan sokongan kewangan daripada Agrobank, ia dijangka akan meningkatkan hasil tuaian dan kestabilan pasaran untuk petani-petani kecil.

Sumber: https://www.bharian.com.my/bisnes/korporat/2024/09/1297019/agrobank-farmbyte-bekerjasama-tingkat-taraf-hidup-petani-kecil 

CEO FarmByte, Syed Aiman (tiga dari kanan) bersama Presiden dan CEO Agrobank, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah (tiga dari kiri) memegang plak Program Pembiayaan Petani Kontrak pada majlis menandatangani perjanjian rakan niaga strategik di MAHA 2024, Serdang

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FarmByte, Agrobank bekerjasama tingkat taraf hidup petani kecil

**Serdang, 11 September 2024** – In a landmark move set to transform and strengthen Malaysia’s agricultural landscape, FarmByte Sdn Bhd (FarmByte) and Bank Pertanian Malaysia Berhad (Agrobank) have today announced a strategic partnership aimed at bolstering the nation’s agrofood sector. This collaboration is poised to empower smallholder farmers by providing crucial financial support and market access, paving the way for a more sustainable and profitable future in agriculture.

The partnership, officially unveiled at a ceremony in Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) as part of MAHA 2024, will see Agrobank allocate close to RM12 million in funding to support FarmByte’s contract farming programs. These programs will initially focus on key crops such as long brinjals, mini brinjals, bitter gourd palee, chilli akata, chilli kulai, and okra, with pilot projects set to launch in Johor before expanding nationwide.

Central to this collaboration is FarmByte’s commitment to leverage advanced technology to enhance farming practices. Through FarmByte, farmers will gain access to real-time data on crop demand, supply trends, and pricing forecasts. This data-driven approach, combined with Agrobank’s financial backing, is expected to significantly improve yield outcomes and market stability for smallholder farmers.

“We are thrilled to partner with FarmByte in this groundbreaking initiative,” said Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agrobank. “By offering financial support and market guarantees, we are not only improving the livelihoods of farmers but also contributing to Malaysia’s food security. This collaboration represents a critical step towards building a more resilient agricultural sector.”

FarmByte, a digital-first agrofood company under Johor Corporation (JCorp), is at the forefront of driving innovation in Malaysia’s agrofood industry. According to Syed Aiman Kifli Syed Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FarmByte, the partnership with Agrobank aligns with the company’s vision to revolutionise farming by providing farmers with both financial and technological resources.

“Our goal is to empower farmers to produce higher quality, higher value crops, ensuring a more sustainable and profitable agrofood value chain,” he shared. “With Agrobank’s support, we can offer farmers not just financial assistance but also the tools and insights they need to thrive in a competitive market.”

A key feature of the partnership is a guaranteed offtake arrangement, where FarmByte commits to purchasing all harvested crops from participating farmers. This arrangement provides farmers with a secure and stable market, reducing the financial risks associated with farming and ensuring a consistent supply chain.

The strategic partnership agreement was signed by Syed Aiman and Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah, witnessed by Hafiz Bin Sulaini, Head of Corporate Banking Agrobank, Sirajul Yusran Bin Hassan Head of Micro Department Agrobank, Syed Hairul Anuar Bin Syed Fadzil, Chief Business Officer Agrobank, Ahmad Tifli Mohd Talha, Chief Financial Officer Kulim (Malaysia) Berhad, Gene Lim Shoun-Jo, Chief Operation Officer FarmByte. 


FarmByte CEO, Syed Aiman (third from right), along with Agrobank President and CEO, Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah (third from left), holding the Contract Farming Financing Program plaque at the signing ceremony for the strategic business partner agreement at MA

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FarmByte and Agrobank Forge Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Malaysia’s Food Security

_Written by Mohd Fakhri Mohd Noor. This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 26, 2024 - September 1, 2024_

The agrofood sector plays an important role in Malaysia, contributing to over 11% of gross domestic product. This is significant, and among the many players in the sector, we have the heart and driving force of the sector — the farmers — to thank.

Our farmers play a crucial role in feeding our population. However, they face numerous challenges in doing so — and these trials are in addition to their current operating environment which has extreme weather events, rising geopolitical tensions and complex global supply chains all at play.


From our ongoing conversations with the farmers in our FarmByte ecosystem, we know that a key issue that farmers face is their vulnerability to market fluctuations. This, coupled with their weak market connections and a lack of transport options for their produce, means that farmers are often unable to access more lucrative markets. The consequence of this is their produce is sold at lower prices.

At the same time, many farmers still lack insights into the types of crops to plant and key information on current cutting-edge farming techniques that can help them increase their yield and thus earn better incomes.

How data-driven platforms can help farmers
In the face of these challenges, we believe that the need for data-driven technology or having a data-driven platform is more apparent than ever. This is why we at FarmByte, conceptualised and launched our FarmByte app, which leverages a data-driven approach.

A data-driven platform allows farmers to make informed decisions based on real-time data and predictive analytics. This data can range from soil health and weather patterns to current market trends.

By leveraging such information, farmers can get the insights and guidance needed to optimise their crop selection, planting schedules and resource allocation. For example, precise weather forecast data can enable farmers to make informed decisions about irrigation, planting schedules and crop management.

Additionally, having data on market trends, supply and demand fluctuations and historical pricing would allow farmers to grow crops that are more likely to fetch higher prices, thus increasing their profitability.

Another key pain point of the farmers whom we engage with is that they are often underpaid by intermediaries or the middlemen. However, with data-driven platforms, farmers can facilitate direct connections with buyers, bypassing the middlemen and, hence, reducing transaction costs.

By participating in digital marketplaces, farmers can also reach a broader audience and negotiate better terms for their products. This direct market access not only increases their revenue but also fosters stronger relationships with buyers, promoting long-term business sustainability.

With sustainability being a growing concern in agrofood, data-driven platforms play a crucial role in promoting environment-friendly practices. By providing insights into efficient resource use, these platforms can help farmers reduce their ecological footprint.

For example, data on water usage and soil moisture levels can guide precision irrigation practices, conserving water resources. Similarly, data on crop health can inform integrated pest management strategies, reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.

Moving up the value chain
It has become increasingly clear that farmers have a lot to gain from data-driven platforms.

These platforms serve as a catalyst for transforming traditional agrofood into a more efficient, sustainable and profitable sector.

By providing actionable insights, optimising resource use and facilitating market access, as well as improving financial inclusion, these platforms enable farmers to move up the value chain. As our agrofood sector continues to evolve, getting farmers to leverage and embrace data-driven platforms will be essential for farmers seeking to thrive in a competitive global market.



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Data Driven: Empowering and uplifting agrofood farmers

Johor Corporation’s (JCorp) digital-first agrofood company, FarmByte Sdn Bhd, is harnessing advanced cloud, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions from Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, to revolutionise the agrofood sector in Malaysia and uplift the livelihoods of farmers.

By building on AWS Cloud, FarmByte aims to further augment its digital infrastructure and data-driven approach to farming by offering farmers comprehensive crop monitoring solutions and insights, including weather information and fertiliser and pesticide application rates. These insights, provided through the innovative FarmByte app, allow farmers to plan and optimise their resources better for improved yield outcomes.

FarmByte is leveraging AWS’s cloud infrastructure for scalable and reliable hosting of data sources and applications, AWS Data Exchange for secure data sharing with partners, and Amazon S3 and AWS Glue Data Catalog for secure storage and management of a scalable data lake. By building and deploying a data lake on AWS, FarmByte can now conduct comprehensive analyses and generate actionable insights for Crop Pricing Analytics, Demand Forecasting, and Supply Chain scheduling.

Through AWS’s pioneering data aggregation and management services, FarmByte is also able to aggregate data from various sources within its ecosystem and externally to provide key insights to the farming community.

To enhance its demand forecasts, FarmByte is also leveraging Amazon Forecast’s ML capabilities to help farmers better estimate supply chain lead times, which will improve delivery schedules and optimise crop prices for efficient cost management. FarmByte is also employing vision analytics to grade crops such as pineapples using AI/ML capabilities running on Amazon SageMaker.

In line with its advanced and industry-first thinking, FarmByte is exploring the development of an application that uses machine learning to provide FarmByte’s network of farmers with insights into optimal pricing strategies and demand forecasting.

By analysing market trends, supply and demand fluctuations, and historical pricing data, the application aims to help farmers make informed decisions on what crops to plant and when, as well as how to price their produce to maximise profitability and reduce risks associated with price volatility.

FarmByte’s Head of Digital, Mohd Fakhri Mohd Noor (pic), said, “Our vision at FarmByte is to revolutionise Malaysia’s agrofood sector and expand further into the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance the nation’s food security and empower farmers with knowledge, tools, and near real-time insights to produce higher quality and value crops to uplift their livelihoods.     

“By utilising AWS’s world-class solutions, FarmByte can enhance our data aggregation, AI and ML capabilities to provide even more advanced predictive analytics and personalised insights to our farmers through our app, as well as innovative solutions that can transform farming practices to ensure a stronger, more sustainable agrofood value chain. With this, we are proud to be among the first in the industry in Malaysia to employ a digital-first approach to provide the farmers we onboard through our FarmByte app with comprehensive insights on crop demand, supply trends, and even future crop prices.”

“Agriculture is a data rich industry with a wealth of information that can provide actionable insights for optimising operations throughout the food system. Having a system that can respond in real-time to meet changing demands and conditions along the entire agriculture supply chain is critical,” said Azhar Abdullah, Malaysia and Brunei Sales Leader, AWS.

“As the agriculture industry adapts to the growing demand for innovation, it is inspiring to see how FarmByte’s digital transformation is elevating the agricultural sector by delivering transformative data-driven solutions that empower farmers to making informed decisions that optimize crop conditions and increase yields, while making FarmBytes operations more efficient.”

In addition to providing farmers with comprehensive farming and pricing insights, the FarmByte app digitalises and accelerates the finance payment process for farmers, and allows them to go through the entire process of off taking – from scheduling to communications with retailers and wholesalers – digitally.

Complementing the FarmByte app is a FarmByte B2B online marketplace that showcases our farmers’ product catalog and allows buyers to see and buy the available product range. This B2B marketplace will be fully launched by the third quarter this year.

Source : [https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2024/07/18/farmbyte-to-transform-agrofood-industry-in-malaysia-by-building-on-aws-cloud-services/](https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2024/07/18/farmbyte-to-transform-agrofood-industry-in-malaysia-by-building-on-aws-cloud-services/)

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FarmByte To Transform Agrofood Industry In Malaysia By Building On AWS Cloud Services

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FarmByte, Agrobank bekerjasama tingkat taraf hidup petani kecil

FarmByte and Agrobank Forge Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Malaysia’s Food Security

Data Driven: Empowering and uplifting agrofood farmers

FarmByte To Transform Agrofood Industry In Malaysia By Building On AWS Cloud Services