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| UMM students designed this technology to make it easy for farmers to use (Photo: Istimewah) |
The erratic spike in onion prices has made people nervous. This happened due to crop failures that occurred in several areas of Indonesia. Seeing this, a team of students from the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) created a technology called MONIKEL, an acronym for MONItoring Soil Moisture on Shallots, through the Telegram Message Chatbot. This technology was included in the Karsa Cipta Student Creativity Program (PKM-KC) and was successfully funded by the Directorate General of Higher Education (Ditjen Dikti).
One of the team members, Muhammad Iqbaludin Zaky, explained that the cause of the crop failure that hit the farmers was due to unstable weather conditions. From this, the Informatics Department student assessed that soil moisture affected the growth process of shallots. From this study, we concluded that shallots require an ample water supply but with due regard to soil moisture content.
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"The weather in Indonesia has been erratic lately. Sometimes it rains so that it soaks the farmers' onion fields. If the soil moisture increases beyond the standard, the onion plants are susceptible to diseases and pests. Meanwhile, if the soil moisture is less than the standard, the shallots will be small, reducing their selling power because the yield is not optimal," said the middle child of three siblings.
Furthermore, Zaky, his nickname, explained that this MONIKEL has an Internet of Things (IoT) concept using Arduino technology and a telegram message chatbot. How to use this tool is to connect the prototype of the means to the telegram of the farmers. After that, it will pair the device to several points of land. If the ground is dry, farmers will get a reminder notification.
"My team and I also want to combine MONIKEL with garden sprinkles. So later, this tool can water the land automatically if the farmers press the watering button in the telegram application. The integration of MONIKEL with garden sprinkles also helps determine the humidity that lasts every month," said the student from Serang.
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Currently, MONIKEL is still in the prototype development stage. Not alone, Zaky developed this tool with three other friends, namely Gilly Huga Anargya, Farli Nahrul Javier, and Wahyu Budi Utomo. Zaky explained that MONIKEL would have several advantages over similar tools circulating in the market when it is perfect. These advantages include lower equipment prices, exclusive available features, and saving electricity because it uses solar panels.
"I hope the farmers can be helped with this tool we have built. We also hope that the shallot yields can increase after using our designed tools and minimize the farmers' losses," he concluded. (apg/shi/wil)
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