Farmers get smart to improve business

HẬU GIANG — Võ Văn Trưng has become the first person in his village to go high tech and introduce modern facilities on his farm.

A farmer takes care of cantaloupe in a glass house in the southern province of Hậu Giang. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Chí Tưởng

Trưng has given up producing rice and is now growing fruit.

He has spent VNĐ700 million (US$30,400) in 2015 to build a greenhouse system over 2,000sq.m to grow cantaloupe melons.

But business was so good he expanded creating an extra 1,000sq.m of greenhouse area.

Trưng, lives in Tân Long B Village, Bình Thành Commune, Phụng Hiệp District in the southern province of Hậu Giang.

Trưng harvests four times per year. His profits made up more than 70 per cent of the total takings.

So far many models of agriculture applying high technology have been successful.

In the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, , a smart watering system is applied in Cần Thơ City and Bến Tre Province and the model of rice and shrimp crop rotation is applied in Cà Mau, Bạc Liêu, Sóc Trăng and Trà Vinh provinces.

Associate professor Lê Anh Tuấn, from the Cần Thơ University, said modern production could not be successful and sustainable without close coordination between the State, scientists, enterprises and farmers.

He added that agricultural production needed an integration of six sectors including mechanics and automatic, meteorology and hydrology, biotechnology, chemistry, preserving and processing agricultural products, finance, business administration and information technology.

Smart agriculture

Hậu Giang Province has conducted different measures to change chemistry agriculture into organic agriculture, and apply modern science into production to help the environment and improve living standards for local farmers.

The province founded an agriculture applying hi-tech centre in Long Mỹ District covering an area of 5,200ha.

It plans many policies to support farmers and investors in the future.

Lê Tiến Châu, chairman of the Hậu Giang People’s Committee, said the province is aiming for a green and smart agriculture network.

The province focused on giving guidance to change old working habits helping local farmers adapt to changes in the Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Châu said setting up a high-tech green agriculture model was an urgent duty that was suitable to the province’s natural condition.

Farmers played the most important role in the process, said Châu.

“The farmers should have aspirations to enrich themselves and hope for success. They should change their awareness and habits based on guidance from experts, scientists and management offices,” he said.

The farmers should not hesitate to learn new things, and should be active in studying hi-tech science.

Trần Chí Hùng, director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the department was teaming up with institutes, enterprises and universities to give training to the work force, and help local farmers apply hi-tech science into their work.

Associate professor Nguyễn Duy Cần, an expert from the Cần Thơ University, said the province should renew policies on investment, and call for more investment for goods which apply hi-tech.

The province should also give priority to training workers, and support enterprises and individuals who want to develop green agriculture.