GEORGE TOWN, Aug 29 — Local startup BoomGrow Productions Sdn Bhd has taken the lead in transforming the country’s agriculture industry by integrating 5G connectivity, Artificial Intelligence (Al), and Extended Reality (XR) with precision farming technology.

The local company collaborated with CelcomDigi Berhad to enhance its Machine Farms with real-time monitoring, precise control of farming environments, and predictive analytics that led to increased crop yields and overall resource efficiency.

BoomGrow’s chief executive officer and co-founder, Murali Krishnamurthy, said the integration of 5G technology into their operations will ensure high-quality produce and more reliable outcomes.

He said their machine farms can operate on 4G but due to the existence of multiple farms around the country, they need 5G connectivity for data analytics.

"Currently, two of our machine farms have 5G connectivity, including this one in Penang,” he said.

He said they need data analytics that is supported by machine learning and AI models so that they have access to real time data to make predictive decisions around plant growth, plant health, yield management, and nutrition content.

He said they could also implement virtual training programmes via extended reality in which agronomists were trained in a centralised physical manner in the Klang Valley before they were deployed to the decentralised farms.

In the launch of the collaboration between BoomGrow and CelcomDigi at Paragon Mall here today, a machine farm contained within a 45-feet container, was placed just outside the mall.

The vertical farm is expected to yield 500 kg to 700kg of vegetables each month to supply to restaurants in the mall and nearby hotels and restaurants.

"BoomGrow has managed to grow vegetables in containers,” Digital Minister Gobind Singh said in his speech at the launch.

"I’ve been made to understand that the produce from one container is equivalent to an acre’s supply of an outdoor farm,” he added.

He said the produce is fresher, tastes better and more importantly, such a concept is able to feed more people in Malaysia, and across the globe, through the use of technology.