MDEC and CIMB Islamic sign MoU providing RM25 mln to scale agtech pilot

• The partnership will enable farmers to step into the future of digital agriculture utilising AI, IoT and BDA
• Offering affordable profit rate in agricultural financing facilities, the agriculture industry in Malaysia is set to receive a timely boost Cements leadership in innovation and market share for Ringgit bonds amid difficult market conditions

Cyberjaya, 2 April 2021 - The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad (“CIMB Islamic”) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on extending an extensive micro-financing programme with an allocation of RM10 million as an initial funding package to catalyse Digital Agriculture Technology (Digital Agtech) in Malaysia. This allocation has the potential to be increased to RM25 million as the programme progresses. 

MDEC, a long-time proponent of digitalising the agriculture sector, via a public-private partnership with the Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan Kuala Langat (PPKKL), initiated a pilot project in 2018 to spur yield and quality of crops utilising the latest technologies. It has seen farmers adopting an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled fertigation system that helped them reduce monthly fertiliser usage by 20 percent, lower monthly manpower requirements by 25 percent and increase the overall quality of yield (Grade A chilies) by up to 90 percent. 

The culmination of this joint-effort, the MoU signed today with CIMB Islamic, will enable this initiative to go nationwide at scale and thereby contributing to the nation’s food security and sovereignty. The facility will lower the access barrier for Malaysian farmers to embark on the digitalisation journey and spur the growth of the agriculture sector for overall improvement, advancement and optimisation.