InfoSAWIT, JOGJAKARTA - From the INSTIPER Yogyakarta campus, Dr. Ir. Andreas W. Krisdiarto, M.Eng has introduced a new breakthrough in the world of palm oil plantations. Together with his team, he designed a fresh fruit bunch (FFB) loading system based on smart technology—a cutting-edge solution for a sector that has long relied on manual labor.
As a lecturer at the Faculty of Agricultural Technology at INSTIPER Yogyakarta, Dr. Andreas is not just a teacher in the classroom. He is an active researcher with a main focus on mechanization for plantation harvesting and post-harvesting. His latest research, titled "Smart Truck for Palm Oil FFB Loading," is one of only 57 proposals that successfully secured funding from the Oil Palm Plantation Fund Management Agency (BPDPKS) in the 2024 Palm Oil Research Grant event—beating out around 700 other proposals from across Indonesia.
“So far, the process of loading FFB onto trucks has been done manually. In addition to being inefficient, the process is also prone to work accidents,” said Dr. Andreas in a statement to InfoSAWIT in early May 2025. Through a mechatronics approach, his team designed an automation system that combines mechanization technology, control systems, and a deep understanding of the physical properties of FFB.
The research involves a collaboration of three lecturers from INSTIPER—Eko Aris Budi Cahyono, Teddy Suparyanto, and Irya Wisnubhadra—as well as two other universities from the main and independent clusters. The project not only prioritizes results but also provides a learning space for INSTIPER Agricultural Engineering students, who are involved in the research as part of a process of knowledge transfer and technology-based research training.
Dr. Andreas is not a new face in the development of agricultural engineering. The doctoral graduate from Gadjah Mada University has received external research grants for eight consecutive years—proof of his consistency in building a sustainable research ecosystem. He is also an alumnus of the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, which enriched his approach to modern technology integration in the agricultural sector.
As the Head of INSTIPER's Research and Community Service Institute (LPPM), he emphasized the importance of students understanding the entire mechanization system, from plantation roads to waste processing and water management. “Agricultural engineering is not just about tractors or harvesting machines. We are talking about a sustainable and efficient industrial system,” he said. (T2)
