On 23 October 2025, MMU hosted an international webinar titled. “Harnessing Technology for Climate-Resilient Agriculture”, focused on how digital technologies, data-driven farming, and sustainable innovations can help build resilience, protect ecosystems, and ensure food security for future generations. Three invited speakers underscored the importance of context-appropriate innovation in designing digital tools that match local infrastructure, traditional ecological knowledge, and farming practices to improve productivity, information access, and sustainable agriculture, rather than widening the digital divide.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Andri Prima Nugroho, the Head of the Agricultural Energy and Machinery Laboratory and the Research Coordinator of the Smart Agriculture Research Centre Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Indonesia, presented on ‘Smart Farming for Tropical Agriculture: Cultivating Resilience and Sustainability in a Changing Climate.’ He explained about how precision agriculture and smart greenhouse technology can help tropical-region farmers adapt to climate variability, enhance yield stability, and embed environmental stewardship into production cycles.
The second speaker, Engr. Mark Alexis O. Sabines, the Director of the Masterson Food and Agriculture Development Office at Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, Phillipines, shared on ‘Developing Appropriate ICT-based Agri Technologies for Remote Agricultural Communities: Lessons from the XU I-CHIVES Project.’ Drawing on the university’s XU I-CHIVES initiative, he illustrated how ICT solutions can empower remote farming communities, reduce food waste, and extend access to information, connectivity and tailored agri-technologies.
The final speaker, Mdm. Zahanita Binti Kamsani, the Assistant General Manager of Emerging Technologies under the Smart Services Unit at TM One, Telekom Malaysia Berhad, Malaysia, addressed ‘Smart Monitoring in Agriculture.’ She focused on how AI, data analytics and IoT platforms are transforming decision-making, enabling real-time oversight, predictive management, and enhanced sustainability of farm operations and harvests.
A lively Q&A session, facilitated by the moderator, Dr. Goh Mei Ling, from the Faculty of Business (FOB), enabled participants to engage directly with speakers, raising questions on topics, such as the scalability of smart-farming solutions, strategies for technology capacity- building, and pathways for multi-stakeholder collaboration and engagement, including researchers, agri-practitioners, ICT developers, policy-makers, and the community.
Aligned with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), this international webinar, organised by MMU’s Sustainability Development Committee, reflected the university’s commitment to purpose-driven innovation, community-centred solutions, and sustainable development, and the insights shared clearly align with the university’s strategic focus on research and practice that benefits society and the environment.
