MPOB introduced the oil palm motorized cutter, Cantas, in 2007. Cantas is suitable for harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) from palms up to 5 m tall, which is the height normally reached by palms which are less then 13 years old. Canas is easy to use and is less strenuous for the worker compared to the current manual harvesting productivity by more than double, thus increasing the take home pay of the harvester, and reducing the number of harvesters required on the payroll, currently dominated by foreign workers. Cantas benefits the smallholder, the individual harvester, the contractor and the estate in term of increased productivity and income and reduced number of workers and operational cost.

Main Research: Abdul Razak Jelani