Regaltech is a leading integrated solution provider that uses digital and smart solutions to help its customers become more efficient and sustainable. Founded in 2006 as an engineering and automation company in Malaysia and later expanded to Singapore in 2014, Regaltech has over the years developed a full-suite of capabilities to support its customers in the Asia Pacific region.

Regaltech ventured into "Farm Cloud Data" in 2020, differentiating itself from traditional solution providers. With the Regaltech Durian Cloud platform hosted on Alibaba Cloud, this enabled farmers to have a seamless experience in analyzing agricultural information accurately.

Unlike many existing IoT solutions, the uniqueness of Regaltech's durian information compilation throughout Malaysia helps farmers transform the art of durian cultivation into a masterpiece by supplying valuable information back to every farmer.

The durian plantation industry is a multibillion-dollar business and is growing aggressively every year. In 2020, the export value of durian from Malaysia to other countries amounted to RM 144.7 million, which translated into a growth of 107% from 2016. Most durian farmers are now focused on cultivating the Musang King & Black Thorn varieties as they are highly valued.

However, durian cultivation is challenging especially when the plantation expands to a larger scale. Although Malaysia presents a geographic advantage to farmers, durian trees are sensitive to weather and soil conditions, and most owners are dependent on obtaining advice from traditional experienced farmers. There are no formal analysis or methods used to support them in performing daily activities such as fertilization and irrigation. By relying solely on traditional plantation methods, the yield and growth rates are low.

The number of durian farmers is growing rapidly in Malaysia and many have experienced the wonders of the Regaltech Durian Cloud platform. Regaltech Durian Cloud platform gathers soil information digitally from the root zone as a benchmark throughout the tree growth cycle. Digital intelligence analysis is then used to identify the required amount of water and nutrients based on the age and health condition of trees.

The information collected has aided farmers in growing healthier trees that bear higher harvest volumes. This also provided farmers with proper guidance on using the right amount of fertilizer for better growth and yield rates.

The Regaltech Durian Cloud platform is hosted on Alibaba Cloud Elastic Compute Service (ECS), which allowed the company to provide cloud-based services at prices as low as the cost of 1-2 kg of Musang King Durian per annum.

Apart from that, Alibaba Cloud also fulfilled the international ISO standards in terms of data security and maintained a 100% uptime based on its industry-leading service level agreement (SLA).

IoT for farming has been in the market for many years. Unfortunately, the technology is not commonly used due to high initial investment and lack of expertise in information interpretation. There are several market players around the world but most are focused only on "popular" crops such as corn and wheat.

The team at Regaltech understand needs of local farmers through years of experience. They have designed a series of affordable, entry-level smart farming solutions, which are affordable enough to be owned and operated by any farm, defeating the typical mindset of smart farming needing high investments.

Success Story of Sam in Raub, Pahang
With full-cycle digital intelligence analytics using Regaltech Durian Cloud, the customer was able to detect significant differences in soil moisture profile between lower and higher yield trees. Trees with lower yields tend to have inconsistent soil moisture patterns at the root zone.

Information analysis have also led the customer to a better irrigation solution. The improved irrigation dripping system enabled a 30% increase in yield compared to the previous solution. Regaltech Durian Cloud allowed the customer to monitor soil moisture closely in order to keep track of the irrigation system at all times. The system can also notify the customer in case of abnormalities in moisture levels to prevent trees from dying.

Success Story of Kebun Sam Hoe, Penang Island
Albert, a 4th generation farmer, was contemplating on whether to take over the family’s business in growing Black Thorn durians. With Regaltech Durian Cloud hosted on Alibaba Cloud, he can rest assured knowing that his plants can be cultivated with high yield rates. He now uses soil nutrient and soil temperature historical information analyzed by Regaltech as a benchmark to take care of his high value durian trees.

It is undeniable that the durian industry in Malaysia shows a huge market potential due to the high demand for both raw and durian-based end products globally. The opportunity for technology adoption in durian plantation is immense as digital intelligence analytics provides granular information which enables farmers to make smarter decisions.

Regaltech's Durian Cloud smart farming solutions, together with Alibaba Cloud's infrastructure, lower costs and barrier to entry for more farmers to benefit from the technology. The team at Regaltech foresees the rise of high quality "Digital Farmers" in the near future, capable of producing healthier and more productive trees with the help of technology.

Digital intelligence can truly revolutionize the agricultural sector through a cloud-based ecosystem, which can provide farmers with the right tools and right solution. The challenge for many farmers today is to "micromanage" farming and all its accompanying activities, even before planting crops. Digital intelligence provides farmers with more granular information on rainfall patterns, water cycles, fertilizer requirements. By leveraging these information along with digital intelligence analytics capabilities, farmers can plant durian trees with higher growth and yield rates.

In addition, a cloud-based analytics solution allows farmers to stream information from multiple sources in real-time to derive crucial insights. This can guide farmers on how to quickly adjust their production levels based on market demands and how to improve their profitability while at the same time bridging the gap between supply and demand.