Hanoi’s farmers are using unmanned aerial vehicles to spray pesticides and plant rice to reduce costs and maximise profits. (Photo courtesy of the city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) (Photo: VNA) A smart agricultural model has been adopted in ruraldistricts like Phu Xuyen and Chuong My by the city’s Agricultural ExtensionCentre under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The centre has assisted cooperatives in applying hi-techmethods in their production by providing advanced equipment.
This includes unmanned aerial vehicles to assist in seedsowing, fertilising, and spraying pesticides in a safe and simple way; as wellas using remote sensing aircraft, and weather monitoring stations to assist inland surveying and mapping.
The smart agricultural model has helped farmers bettermanage pests and diseases, as well as monitor weather, soil, and water toplan the best care for their plants.
Vu Van Dinh, Director of the Phu Chuyen Agricultural Cooperativein Phu Xuyen district, said technology application in farming requires lots ofwork in which digitisation and field planning are decisive factors.
We face difficulties, but only a dozen households out of nearly100,000 oppose field boundary removal to apply modern equipment, he said.
Nguyen Van Ta, who leads the production team of Ha hamlet in PhuXuyen district's Chuyen My commune, said once the cooperative has appliedtechnology and provided quality agricultural services, farmers only need tocheck their fields and bring rice back home at the end of the harvestingseason. Meanwhile, they have time to do other jobs.
Thanks to that, local farmers can maintain proper crops whilebeing productive in other ways too and improve their livelihoods, he said.
Farmer Duong Dinh Giot from Dong Vinh hamlet, Chuyen My commune,said: “After observing unmanned aerial vehicles operating on the field, we seethat the hi-tech application in supervising, pest and disease control, andweather forecasting helps reduce costs and increase profits to farmers.”
“We hope the application will be multiplied in all fields inour area,” he added.
In order to fully cover farming services from watering, in-fieldirrigation, disease and pest control, and non-stop mechanised planting andharvesting, co-operatives must accelerate the application of hi-tech solutions.
Director of the Phu Chuyen Agricultural Cooperative Vu Van Dinhsaid in order to master advanced high technology, agricultural cooperativesneed capital to buy machinery and equipment and launch training courses toimprove farmers’ qualifications.
Hoang Van Tham, Director of Chuc Son Clean Fruit and VegetableCooperative in Chuong My district said, human resources are important toagricultural cooperatives to apply advanced technology on a large scale.
Vu Thi Huong, Director of the Hanoi Agricultural Extension Centre,said: “If we want to apply high technology in agriculture, we must start withfarmers. Digital technologies must be relevant to conditions, circumstances andcharacteristics of farmers.”
The centre has linked local authorities, technology suppliers andco-operatives in an effort to promote hi-tech applications.
A number of co-operatives applying high technology have basicallymet requirements.
They include the Chuc Son Clean Fruit and Vegetable Cooperative inChuong My district and Huong Ngai Agricultural Cooperative in Thach That district.
These cooperatives have made a digital transformation inagricultural production, better arranging plants, and introducing higherquality varieties. They have also introduced livestock with highproductivity into production.
The cooperatives have invested in equipment and machinery toimprove productivity and product quality, and gradually expanded production,subsequently increasing their collective incomes.
Nguyen Trong Vinh, Vice chairman of the Phu Xuyen DistrictPeople’s Committee, said local authorities will assist agriculturalcooperatives to gradually make digital transformation on field plots anddigitalise land management data, serving as a basis for modern and smart agriculturedevelopment.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment Nguyen Manh Phuong said Hanoi has a large area of agriculturalland, while the agricultural labour force is in shortage due to the labourshift movement to craft villages and the service sector. This leads to anincreasing area of abandoned agricultural land.
He said it is necessary to establish co-operatives and groups thatapply synchronous mechanisation and high technology in production. This alsohelps to maintain the national database of agricultural producers, he said./.
VNA
