Youngsters manage six organic sustainable farms in Sabah

 By Olivia Miwil - June 3, 2021 @ 3:04pm

One of the six farms managed by Nutribah using technology. -- Pix courtesy of Preston Sean.

KOTA KINABALU: Technology has aided three youngsters from non-farming background to manage five farms around the state, upskilling farmers and reducing the cost of organic produce.

One of the partners, Preston Sean, 30, said they manage six farms located in Kalabakan, Kalumpang, Keningau, Lok Kawi, Kimanis and Penampang with a total area of more than 405 hectares.

"Our farms are all erected from scratch and have been operating for more than a decade in a conventional and traditional method with middlemen traders in the supply chain.

Nutribah cofounder Preston Sean inspecting the vegetables at its headquarters near Tun Fuad Park here. -- Pix courtesy of Preston Sean.

"In May 2020, we revamped and consolidated all farms under Nutribah for an organised restructure to ensure consistency of production - from crop plantation planning for each farm to downstream product development," he told the New Straits Times.

Although the existing 150 local farmers have their unique way of gauging plantation methods, the company hoped to upskill them by improvising their farm planning and boost harvest based on data collected through sensors.

"From the traditional way of farming, we now innovate and integrate our farms with the Nutribah Smart Organic Farming System with IoT (Internet of Things) under a precise and controlled environment.

"We could oversee essential details of our crops throughout our farms around Sabah all from the Nutribah headquarters located behind Tun Fuad Park, though being hundreds of kilometres apart.

"We monitor our farms' conditions and communicate with our farmers closely to understand the condition of each farm in real-time. With the help of sensors, they enable us to diagnose any potential issue effectively and efficiently," he said.

The concept of consolidating and digitalising all farms has not only given competitive prices for their organic produce but also benefited the farmers in terms of their incomes as Nutribah could eliminate the absence of middlemen traders alongside its in-house logistic fleet.

Preston, who practised law and ran a business development consultancy in Kuala Lumpur, returned home last year to set up the Nutribah with long-time friends Wallace Heng and Izzat Alexander, both 23, to create more value for Sabah through sustainable farming.

Together with Heng from real estate and Izzat with accounting and finance backgrounds, they faced a lot of hurdles in making Nutribah work under the guidance of their mentor who wants to be known as John.

"We strongly believe agriculture is the right industry for us to be involved in, especially for Sabah where there is an abundance of land and natural resources.

"Organic farming is not only a sustainable way of farming, but it also brings more value to consumers, in terms of health and wellness, and being environmentally responsible at the same time," said Preston.