Smart Irrigation, Fertigation IoT & Plant Factories for High-Value Crops

When Zura Huzali, Business Development Director of Favoriot, began preparing her presentation for RISDA (Seminar Agropreneur RISDA 2025, Crystal Crown Hotel PJ, 9 Dec 2025), she was not thinking about slides, charts, or sensors.

She was thinking about farmers.

Smallholders who wake up before sunrise.
Those who rely on instinct more than instruments.
Those who feel the weight of climate uncertainty every season but still show up to their land with hope.

“How do I speak technology without sounding like technology?” she asked herself.
“How do I make data feel human?”

That question became the heart of the presentation delivered at the RISDA Agropreneur Seminar in December 2025. It was not a sales pitch. It was a story about confidence. About control. About moving farmers from guessing to knowing.

RISDA Presentation-Zura Huzali

Starting with Reality, Not Technology

Zura did not open with IoT diagrams or system layers.

She opened with pain points that farmers quietly live with every day.

Water that comes too early or too late.
Fertiliser mixed by experience and memory.
Yields that change without warning.
Pumps that fail at night, unseen and unheard.

She spoke about rising production demands and shrinking margins. About unpredictable weather. About labour shortages. About how manual processes drain both time and spirit.

“If technology does not reduce stress, it has no place on the farm,” she told herself while shaping the narrative.

The room leaned in. Because she was not describing a future. She was describing their present.

Reframing Smart Agriculture as Common Sense

Instead of calling it “advanced systems,” Zura framed smart agriculture as something very familiar.

Listening.
Observing.
Responding at the right time.

She explained smart irrigation as water that arrives when the soil actually needs it. Not when the schedule says so. Smart fertigation as nutrients delivered with care, not guesswork.

Sensors were not introduced as devices. They were introduced as helpers.

Eyes in the soil.
Ears in the climate.
A quiet assistant that never sleeps.

The message was simple. When farmers measure, they worry less. When they see patterns, they plan better. When they trust the data, they sleep at night.

High-Value Crops as a Pathway to Confidence

Zura made a deliberate choice to focus on rock melon, chili, and premium ginger.

Not because they sound attractive on paper.
But because they reward consistency.

She explained how these crops respond to precise moisture and nutrient control. How small deviations affect sweetness, size, and market price. How data helps farmers repeat success instead of chasing it.

Rock melons need steady moisture to achieve uniform sweetness.
Chillies react fast to water stress and nutrient imbalance.
Ginger thrives when root-zone moisture is kept calm and predictable.

“When the crop is sensitive, the system must be steady,” she reflected while refining her slides.

In this context, technology became a stabiliser. Not a disruptor.

Making IoT Feel Less Scary and More Supportive

One of the most powerful moments in the presentation came when Zura spoke about automation.

She was careful with her words.

Automation was not about replacing farmers.
It was about removing repetitive worry.

She showed how alerts can notify pump failures instantly. How dashboards allow farmers and officers to see conditions without being on-site. How simple overrides keep humans in control.

The system listens first.
Acts second.
And always leaves the final decision with the farmer.

That balance mattered. Especially in a room filled with people who value independence and lived experience.

From Individual Farms to Agency-Level Vision

Zura then widened the lens.

She spoke about how agencies like RISDA could support hundreds of farms through shared visibility. How fleet-level dashboards help identify struggling plots early. How training becomes targeted instead of generic.

Remote insights reduce unnecessary travel.
Data highlights where help is needed most.
Support becomes proactive instead of reactive.

The presentation gently shifted from tools to trust. From devices to decisions.

This was not just about farming better. It was about governing smarter.

Plant Factories as a Symbol of Possibility

When Zura introduced plant factories, she did not present them as replacements for traditional farming.

She presented them as laboratories of learning.

Controlled environments.
Repeatable results.
Year-round predictability.

She described IoT as the nervous system of these setups. Constantly sensing light, temperature, humidity, EC, and pH. Adjusting quietly. Learning from every cycle.

For smallholders, this was not a mandate. It was an invitation.

Start small.
Install sensors.
Add automation when ready.
Scale only when confident.

“Growth should feel empowering, not overwhelming,” she reminded herself.

The Message That Stayed with the Room

Near the end, Zura returned to a single phrase that anchored the entire presentation.

From Guessing to Knowing.

It captured everything.

Knowing when to water.
Knowing how much to feed.
Knowing why a yield changed.
Knowing what to do next season.

The data were not presented as cold or distant. It was positioned as clarity.

And clarity, she believed, is one of the greatest gifts technology can offer farmers.

More Than a Presentation

What Zura delivered at RISDA was more than a technical session.

It was reassurance.

That technology can be kind.
That data can serve people.
That farmers do not need to become engineers to benefit from modern tools.

Behind every slide was a quiet respect for the people in the room. For their experience. For their resilience.

By the time the session ended, the message was clear.

Smart agriculture is not about complexity.
It is about confidence.

And confidence grows best when knowledge replaces guesswork.

If you were in that room, or if you work with farmers navigating the same challenges, what part of this story resonated with you most?
Share your thoughts. Conversations like this are where real change begins.