Pilot the software to identify harmful organisms on rice

The software to identify pests on rice by smartphone deployed by the Plant Protection Department has begun to be piloted and put into pilot use in An Giang province.

Building an Application to "catch diseases" for plants on phones is the solution to apply 4.0 technology in agriculture. Photo: Le Hoang Vu.

From January 11 to 13, 2022, in An Giang province, the Plant Protection Department, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang province, held a conference on "software to identify harmful pests and diseases on rice in An Giang province".

Participating in the conference were also Viettel Business Solutions Corporation, Mismart Smart Technology Joint Stock Company, representatives of the public-private partnership, business associations, and media agencies, and especially farmers' representatives - the primary users of this software.

According to the Department of Plant Protection, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Information and Communications at the Online Conference on Digital Transformation in Agriculture held in June 2021 identified digital transformation as agriculture's critical task, towards the goal of building a "transparent - responsible - sustainable" agriculture.

Along with the strong development of science, technology, and innovation, digital transformation is one of the three pillars of fast and sustainable development; it also contributes to the breakthrough in productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

From June 2021, the Plant Protection Department has cooperated with Viettel Enterprise Solutions Corporation and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang province to build software to identify harmful organisms on rice. Thereby, the software helps farmers self-identify harmful organisms in the field and proactively apply preventive measures to protect production.

Software development was carried out simultaneously, including building applications to identify harmful organisms on phones using AI (artificial intelligence) technology combined with a system of compatible experts interacting with users online. These are tools to assist farmers in identifying and diagnosing problems related to plant pests and being advised and guided on the use of pesticides economically, safely, and effectively.

The rice pest identification application was built with an in-depth consultation with stakeholders, including farmers, to ensure users' simple, effective, and convenient content and straightforward interface design to use.

The software has been completed and is being piloted in An Giang province, ensuring compliance with the law. This software can be easily downloaded from the above database on Android and IOS mobile platforms.

This application will allow farmers to automatically identify pests through photos and look up information about pests, including images, morphological characteristics, biology, and preventive measures; documents, documents on plant protection; the process of preventing harmful organisms promulgated by the Department of Plant Protection; warning information, warnings about harmful organisms...

In particular, the pests library page provides information on images, morphological characteristics, biology, and control measures for 112 species of harmful organisms on rice. Meanwhile, the news site helps farmers see news about agriculture, agricultural products, and plant protection news on the app. In addition, the application also has a function for users to self-enter to reflect on application errors and problems as a basis for software completion.

Farmers who have difficulties and need support or want to find out more information can ask themselves questions on the virtual assistant tool using artificial intelligence technology, language processing technology integrated with the application to be ready to support 24/7, anytime, anywhere.

According to the plan, from January 11 to 13, 2022, relevant units will deploy the application of "Recognition of harmful pests on rice" in practice in the fields in Chau Thanh and Chau Phu districts of An Giang province to help farmers grow experience.

At the conference, Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, said: The Plant Protection Department is making efforts to coordinate with stakeholders to assess the accuracy of AI in identifying harmful organisms to meet actual pilot requirements; Also, collect feedback from farmers to continue to improve and add features of the application in the next version.

In particular, it is possible to evaluate the feasibility, the ability to practically meet the needs of farmers in identifying and controlling harmful organisms on rice, and assess the operating capability of the system.

According to Mr. Huynh Tan Dat, Deputy Director of the Plant Protection Department, hoping that the software will be widely applied, it is necessary to join hands with local authorities to guide people and support propaganda on information channels and funding to farmers so that the use of the software is safe and effective.

In the coming time, the software and database will be updated regularly from the users/farmers' feedback and will also expand the application on other key crops.