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Economic Feasibility and Water Footprint Analysis for Smart Irrigation Systems in Palm Oil Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Arivintharan Chalvantharan

    (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, 1, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia)

  • Chun Hsion Lim

    (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, 1, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia)

  • Denny K. S. Ng

    (School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, 1, Jalan Venna P5/2, Precinct 5, Putrajaya 62200, Malaysia
    School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, No. 5, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya 47500, Malaysia)

Abstract

The Malaysian palm oil industry is the second largest global producer of palm oil products in the world after Indonesia. However, oil palm plantation activities are typically very labour-intensive and inefficient. The rapid development of technologies, especially Industry Revolution 4.0 technologies, has brought forward a variety of advanced smart technologies and systems that can be adapted in the palm oil industry to improve the efficiency and yields in the industry as well as create better economic performance. This work aims to explore and quantify the potential of adaption and implementations of smart irrigation system in oil palm plantations. The proposed approach considers economic performance (return of investment, ROI) and water footprint (additional water usage) of smart irrigation. In addition, the analysis also includes the consideration of different server setup options and plantation sizes. The results show that smart irrigation is a feasible method to be implemented in oil palm plantations with positive economic performance for plantation with land size more than 1.5 ha. The findings also show a significant reduction in water footprint and costs in the smart irrigation system to achieve optimal moisture conditions in a plantation. This paper provides insight for oil palm stakeholders to understand the feasibility and performance of smart irrigation systems as a feasible option to transform oil palm plantations with Industrial Revolution 4.0 technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Arivintharan Chalvantharan & Chun Hsion Lim & Denny K. S. Ng, 2023. "Economic Feasibility and Water Footprint Analysis for Smart Irrigation Systems in Palm Oil Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:8069-:d:1147900
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ratna Wardhani & Yan Rahadian, 2021. "Sustainability strategy of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil industry: a qualitative analysis," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 1077-1107, May.
    2. Mason, Brooke & Rufí-Salís, Martí & Parada, Felipe & Gabarrell, Xavier & Gruden, Cyndee, 2019. "Intelligent urban irrigation systems: Saving water and maintaining crop yields," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 226(C).
    3. Ratna Wardhani & Yan Rahadian, 2021. "Sustainability strategy of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil industry: a qualitative analysis," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(5), pages 1077-1107, May.
    4. Tri Nugraha Ramadhani & Rokhedi Priyo Santoso, 2019. "Competitiveness analyses of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil exports," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 11(1), pages 46-58.
    5. Tri Nugraha Ramadhani( & Rokhedi Priyo Santoso, 2019. "Competitiveness Analyses Of Indonesian And Malaysian Palm Oil Exports," Economic Journal of Emerging Markets, Universitas Islam Indonesia, vol. 11(1), pages 46-58, April.
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