Benefits from digital transformation in agriculture

With the practical benefits that digital technology brings, in recent years, many households, businesses, and agricultural production cooperatives in the province have gradually promoted digital transformation (DCT), helping to improve productivity, increase the value of agricultural products and protect the environment.

Living in Bao An ward, cultivating organic agricultural products in Xuan Hai commune (about 8km from home), Mr. Pham Van Nhi's family has researched and installed a water-saving irrigation system controlled by a smartphone for the family's vegetable garden and apple garden since he started gardening. According to Mr. Nhi, the cost of installing the irrigation system is about 4 million VND/sao. To connect this system to a smartphone, he invested about 700,000 VND/controller for each water pump. Thanks to that, watering his family's plants has become simpler and more convenient. “The smart phone-controlled irrigation system helps my family save water, labor and travel time. When staying at home or traveling for many days, we can still water the gardens adequately. The smart irrigation system management software installed on the phone has a timer function, so it is very convenient and easy to use, avoiding wasting electricity and water,” Mr. Nhi shared.

High-tech apple orchard of Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhan's family.

From the technology transfer of Nha Ho Cotton Research and Agricultural Development Institute ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ), Mr. Nguyen Trong Nhan's family in Luong Cang 2 village (Do Vinh ward) invested 500 million VND to install a water-saving irrigation system, misting irrigation to cool and humidify, greenhouse... for his family's 1.5-sao apple garden. The above system was connected and controlled remotely by Mr. Nhan through software installed on a mobile phone. Mr. Nhan said: “The investment cost for the apple orchard is quite large, but I think this is the right decision, meaningful in the long term. In recent years, the weather has changed erratically, greatly affecting the quality of agricultural products. Many of my family's apple crops were close to harvest when heavy rains caused the fruit to crack, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage. After 2 months of operation, the system has helped my family save a significant amount of labor and irrigation time. In addition, I can combine fertilizer and watering, so I can save fertilizer; there are no more stem borers or fruit borers. On days of frost, harsh sunlight or heavy rain, even when I am not in the garden, I can still control the irrigation system and greenhouse via mobile phone to help the apples grow well and improve the quality of agricultural products.”

It is known that, along with investing in technology, in the past 2 years, Mr. Nhan's family has also used social networks to sell agricultural products. Currently, the amount of agricultural products his family sells through online channels accounts for about 30 - 40%, reducing dependence on traders.

Implementing digital transformation in agricultural production, Lam Son Tourism - Agriculture Cooperative (Lam Son commune) has applied Internet of Things (IoT) technology to automate the process of caring for 16 hectares of purple taro; using drones to monitor crops, fertilize, spray pesticides... In addition, many production facilities, enterprises, cooperatives, and farmers in the province have registered stamps, labels, codes, and barcodes to trace the origin of goods; promoted the promotion and sale of agricultural products on e-commerce platforms, social networks... to access the market more quickly and effectively.

Dr. Phan Cong Kien - Deputy Director of Nha Ho Cotton Research and Agricultural Development Institute said: "Digital transformation in agriculture is an inevitable trend to maintain sustainability and build agricultural product brands. Programs, software, and digital technology solutions applied will help optimize the control of microclimate in greenhouses and greenhouses; use water and nutrients optimally; monitor and manage pests; minimize labor... Thereby, helping to reduce environmental impacts, save input costs, improve productivity, product quality, increase competitiveness and especially gradually change the mindset of traditional, fragmented, small-scale, inefficient production to modern, sustainable production, linked to the agricultural ecosystem value chain, export agricultural products, conquer demanding markets".

Mr. Pham Van Nhi waters his apple orchard using a smartphone.

In addition to transferring smart water-saving irrigation technology to an apple growing household, Nha Ho Cotton Research and Agricultural Development Institute has now transferred to 2 high-tech melon farms in 2 southern communes of Khanh Hoa province modern production processes and technologies such as: Temperature and humidity sensors, data analysis systems, precise watering systems combined with nutrition, management of microclimate factors (light, temperature, soil humidity, air) in greenhouses... to optimize productivity and improve the quality of agricultural products.

Although there are still difficulties and challenges, especially in terms of infrastructure and investment costs, with practical benefits and values, digital transformation in agriculture is increasingly being promoted by enterprises, cooperatives, agricultural production establishments and farming households, contributing significantly to the goal of developing sustainable agriculture in the province.

LAM ANH

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/202508/loi-ich-tu-chuyen-doi-so-trong-nong-nghiep-7f63478/