June 9, 2022

 

Malaysia-based agrotech firm Radiance to breed cattle using smart system

 

 

Malaysia-based agrotech company Radiance Assets Bhd is planning to breed cattle using a smart technology-driven closed barn system with a fully automated breeding environment in the states of Perak and Kelantan, the New Straits Times reported.

 

The firm is planning to acquire 2,832 hectacres in Perak. It has not finalised the land size it plans to purchase in Kelantan.

 

Radiance manages cattle imports, breeding, feedlotting, slaughtering, processing, packaging, and marketing through the development of a fully integrated livestock farming and beef production facility in Malaysia.

 

James Galloway Stevenson, the company's director and chief executive officer, said the company was raising MYR 980 million (~US$223 million; MYR 1 = US$0.23) through Islamic redeemable non-convertible preference shares (NCRPS-i) to fund its aggressive tech-driven objectives, which include the cattle-breeding projects.

 

He predicted that once the cattle business is up and running, it will be able to offset Malaysia's beef imports.

 

He said the company has set a goal of breeding 5,000 cattle, with the goal of increasing to 20,000 cattle in the next two years, making it the world's largest cattle farmer.

 

Stevenson said under the RediMeat brand, they intend to have an entire smart technology ecosystem in breeding, slaughtering, and finished products.

 

He said when compared to local and imported beef products, their technology, which uses carbon-neutral processes, guarantees better beef quality.

 

Radiance intends to construct three closed barn systems, each housing 5,000 cattle and including a halal-certified abattoir (slaughterhouse) capable of slaughtering 80 cattle per shift.

 

The company currently owns and operates a small cattle farm and abattoir in Bangi, Selangor, which it purchased earlier this year.

 

It's also planning to expand its closed barn system to produce a variety of goat breeds, as well as expand into aquaculture in the near future.

 

Stevenson said they have pushed plans for the firm's chicken breeding business forward by 18 months and will be running it in parallel with the cattle breeding business, citing the current storage of chicken in the country.

 

-      New Straits Times