When Khmer farmers touch the digital world

Opening the “2Nong” application on his smartphone, Mr. Thach Minh Sang, a resident of Chau Thanh commune, can update agricultural market prices and diagnose pests and diseases on crops using AI image recognition technology. Mr. Sang said: “Now I just need to use my phone to take a picture of a worm or disease on a rice plant, look it up on the application, and I will know what kind of worm it is, how harmful it is, and the specific medicine to treat it. The opening and closing of the irrigation pump is also remotely controlled through smart technology, thanks to which all of my family's pineapple and rice fields are well protected, production costs are reduced by more than 30%, and productivity is quite good.”

Mr. Danh Tran Duy Can controls a drone to spray pesticides on rice fields. Photo: CAM TU

For many Khmer farmers, smartphones are now not only a communication tool but also a “digital notebook” that helps manage crops, shop online, and make convenient payments. The majority of people are popularizing the use of smartphones to have access to digital utilities. To date, 71.3% of the province’s adult population has smartphones. Through the application of technology and digital devices, Khmer people are opening the door and confidently entering the digital era.

Realizing the benefits of technological equipment for agricultural production, Mr. Danh Tran Duy Can, residing in Dinh Hoa commune, invested in buying a drone to serve the needs of his family and surrounding farmers. Drones replace the labor of many farmers in sowing, fertilizing, and spraying pesticides on rice.

With quite skillful control movements, Mr. Can only took about 1 hour to complete spraying pesticides on an area of 6 hectares of rice. According to him, previously, he had to spend several days spraying pesticides manually, and the cost of hiring workers was not small. Thanks to drones, spraying pesticides not only saves time and production costs, but also brings efficiency in disease prevention and pest control. Farmers limit exposure to chemicals, do not affect health, use less water, meeting the requirements of ecological agricultural production, and are friendly to the environment.

The era of industry 4.0 requires farmers to boldly apply digital technology and digital devices to get closer to modern agriculture. With dynamism, diligence and hard work, many Khmer farmers are making efforts every day to keep up with the digital transformation trend, constantly learning new models and good practices in agricultural production, improving the quality of life. Digital technology is not only applied in production but also applied by farmers to introduce, promote and consume products through social networks and e-commerce trading floors. Non-cash payment activities have become popular, and are regularly used by Khmer farmers to pay for agricultural production and living expenses anytime, anywhere.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology Nguyen Xuan Kiem, the benefits of digital transformation have actually entered the awareness and actions of people, especially in places with a large population of ethnic minorities. More and more production models applying high technology, using modern, integrated equipment, closed production processes; accessing e-commerce to increase productivity, improve product quality. Through the application of technology in production, it contributes to creating a generation of dynamic farmers, modern countryside, narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas, improving the quality of people's lives.

The digital transformation process is taking place strongly, affecting all aspects of social life. Models of soilless vegetable gardens, automated farms, e-commerce, drones spraying pesticides, product traceability stamps, etc. are gradually being introduced by farmers into the production and consumption process to improve production efficiency and the value of agricultural products.

CAM TU

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/khi-nong-dan-khmer-cham-vao-the-gioi-so-a466985.html