Thai farmers can now climb coconut trees with a machine

To help farmers climb coconut trees without using monkeys, the Agriculture Department invented a device. In two minutes, 15 seconds to three minutes, a farmer could ascend a coconut tree. The system they developed in response to PETA’s findings to produce healthy agricultural practices, including monkey-free coconut farming, is a more feasible solution than selling little coconut tree sprouts. Although there aren’t any robots picking the coconuts, Thailand’s coconut industry is getting closer to automation. A farmer’s legs are strapped onto the device, which adds 5 kg to each. Three manufacturers are now producing the invention of the Agriculture Department. To order the system from the Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, interested farmers should dial (02) 579 2757.

The Agriculture Department anticipated that negative publicity from animal rights activists would damage Thailand’s coconut export sector, according to the department’s director-general. When collecting coconuts from trees two years ago, PETA claimed that Thai coconut farmers were mistreating monkeys. At 0.14 m/s, or 8.4 m/min, a farmer may ascend the tree. Despite being a long-standing Thai symbol, monkeys climbing coconut trees have drawn the wrath of PETA.

They demanded a stop to the use of monkeys for agricultural purposes in Thailand and other nations. An improvement over the older model in India, which lacked safety precautions, the product, which resembles leg braces but employs a belt to help farmers climb trees securely, looks like leg braces.