KOTA BHARU, Kelantan: An innovative coconut dehusking device developed by plantation entrepreneur, Che Adnan Che Kadir, 56, which received a four-star rating, could now be adapted for durians and commercialised to meet the needs of the agricultural industry.
Che Adnan said the judging panel at the Kelantan Department of Agriculture’s 2026 Agricultural Technology Innovation Competition proposed the idea after seeing the device’s potential for adaptation to other fruits.
“Durians and areca nuts were among the fruits suggested, with durians identified as the main target for further development because opening or cutting them open requires skill and careful handling.
“I feel even more motivated, and I never expected that something I designed for my own farm would now be considered for a wider market,” he told BERNAMA recently.
He said he received the farmer category award recently, which could see him selected to represent Kelantan at the national level during National Innovation Week in Putrajaya at the end of September.
Che Adnan said support from the Department of Agriculture allowed him to compete at the state level, where the invention was assessed by judges from the department, the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and polytechnics.
“To compete at the national level, we need to make several improvements based on the judges’ recommendations. We hope to secure an innovation grant to refine the design and develop the product according to production capacity and industry needs,” he said.
He said the device was initially developed in 2024 to overcome the challenges of dehusking coconuts with traditional methods on his six-hectare farm in Kampung Chetok, Pasir Mas, while reducing the risk of injury and speeding up the process.
According to him, the 3.5-kg device is portable and can cut the time needed to remove a coconut husk from 2 to 3 minutes by hand to about a minute, while skilled workers can do it in 40 to 45 seconds.
Che Adnan said he hoped that, once adapted for durians, the device could become a practical and safe home-grown innovation, while helping farmers and potentially reaching wider markets.
He said the national innovation grant, which comes with a RM10,000 prize, could help fine-tune the design and bring the innovation to market. – BERNAMA
