The Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has developed a motorized cutter popularly known as Cantas^TM for harvesting fresh fruit bunches (FFB) at less than 4.5 m height. Cantas^TM is a hand-held cutter powered by a 1.3 hp petrol engine.
Trials carried out on Cantas^TM revealed that the productivity of the machine was 560 to 750 bunches per day (equivalent to 9.50 to 12.6 t day^-1 at a bunch weight of 17 kg). The productivity very much depends on the cropping level, the topography of the estate and the operator’s skills. By comparison, the productivity of manual harvesting (using a conventional sickle) is only 250 to 350 bunches per day (4.20 to 6.00 t day^-1). Therefore, the productivity of Cantas^TM is equivalent to two to three human harvesters. Using Cantas^TM, the estate would be able to reduce 50% of its labour requirement in the harvesting operation. Another advantage of this cutter is that the terrain or topography of estates does not restrict its usage. Saving on fringe benefits amounts to RM 238 120 per year or RM 29 765 per person due to savings in housing, housing maintenance, levy, electricity and water bills, and medical leave.
As for the economics of the machine, based on the machine cost of RM 4500 per unit plus its operational, repair and maintenance costs, the harvesting cost comes to about RM 22.10 t^-1. The cost-effectiveness was calculated at RM 0.70 t^-1.