Technology and digital transformation in agriculture have not yet exploded

Transparency of production and management

In the context of agricultural production increasingly under pressure in terms of costs and productivity, applying technology is a strategic solution.

Ms. Dao Thi Nhu He, Director of Saigon Kim Hong Trading and Service Company Limited, affirmed that modern agriculture cannot lack the role of machinery and automation.

One of the prominent technologies being deployed in rice production today is cluster sowing, which helps to significantly reduce the amount of seeds. According to the traditional method, farmers usually sow 120 - 200kg of seeds/ha. However, with cluster sowing, the amount of seeds is only about 50 - 60kg/ha. This not only helps to save costs but also helps the rice plants grow better, reduces lodging and limits post-harvest losses.

Cluster sowing - a mechanized method that is highly appreciated in rice production in the Mekong Delta. Photo: Kim Anh.

In addition to reducing costs, this technology also helps save about 30% of fertilizer compared to the traditional sowing method. When the amount of fertilizer is reduced, the number of times of spraying pesticides is also reduced by 2-3 times/crop because the rice plants are healthier and have fewer pests. Cluster sowing has helped reduce production costs by 20-30%, increasing profits for farmers.

In addition to cluster sowing, the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in agriculture is also considered to help farmers save a significant amount of time and effort. If in the past, spraying pesticides mainly relied on manual labor with a maximum productivity of only about 1 hectare/person/day, drones can handle an area of ​​up to several dozen hectares per day. In particular, farmers limit direct contact with toxic chemicals.

To expand the application of drones in agriculture, Ms. He proposed a linkage model between service providers.

“Instead of each farmer investing in a drone individually at a high cost of 400-500 million VND/unit, the local agricultural sector needs to establish a coordination center to optimize the equipment, ensuring that any area in need will have a drone operating immediately,” Ms. He emphasized.

Drones in agriculture are effective and produce quickly on a large scale. Photo: Kim Anh.

Sorimachi Vietnam Company is currently building and deploying many softwares serving agricultural production. These include cooperative accounting software (WaCa), production diary software (Facefarm)...

These applications allow farmers and cooperatives to plan production, trace product origins using QR codes; manage, support, and monitor rice growing areas using maps; compare revenue and profits between cooperatives; manage internal credit, and prepare financial reports...

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Mong - Market Development Director of Sorimachi Vietnam Company shared that the application of digital technology will help state management agencies have an overall view and transparent information in managing agricultural production activities. When data is synchronized on a digital platform, management agencies can quickly determine the financial situation of cooperatives, crop productivity by region, thereby having timely support policies.

At Ba Dinh General Agricultural Cooperative (Bac Lieu province), Mr. Nong Van Trach, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of the Cooperative, said that in the past, due to the Cooperative's limited ability to access technology, it encountered many difficulties in managing production and recording farming diaries when participating in the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project.

After accessing the two software Facefarm and WaCa from 2022 to present, the cooperative has been trained to participate in 12 training sessions. Through the technology platform, members can easily monitor and control production costs, ensuring profits. Especially, there is the opportunity to approach more partners to expand output.

Barriers in connecting and sharing data

Although the benefits of technology and digital transformation have been proven, when applied in practice, there are many challenges.

One of the biggest problems pointed out by Mr. Nguyen Thanh Mong is the difficulty in connecting and sharing data between management agencies and technology solution providers.

The benefits of technology and digital transformation have been proven, but practical expansion is challenging. Photo: Kim Anh.

Typically, many important information such as growing area codes are still managed internally by the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), making it impossible for technology businesses to exploit them effectively.

Mr. Mong emphasized that if there is no connection between the digital platform of technology enterprises and the data of the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, tracing the origin will still be a big barrier. Similarly, the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection also needs to open a data portal on pesticides so that farmers can quickly look up the list of pesticides allowed for use in each export market.

In addition to data issues, awareness and capacity to use technology among farmers and managers is also a challenge. Currently, many cooperatives are still unfamiliar with digital management software, while some local officials do not have enough skills to guide farmers in implementing new technology.

To address the above challenges, training and capacity building for farmers and cooperatives are essential.

Mr. Le Duc Thinh - Director of the Department of Cooperative Economics (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) encouraged technology enterprises to continue organizing training programs. Through this, farmers can get acquainted with technology and effectively exploit digital transformation tools.

In fact, Sorimachi Vietnam Company has implemented a pilot project on digital transformation and green transformation of agriculture. The project aims to guide farmers and cooperatives to effectively use Waca and Facefarm software, supporting cultivation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when participating in the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project.

Applying technology is an important solution to successfully implement the 1 million hectare high-quality rice project. Photo: Kim Anh.

To date, the project has trained 70 ToT officers for 12 provinces and cities participating in the 1 million hectares of high-quality rice project and plans to expand online training for ToT officers in the remaining 51 provinces across the country; build 30 typical cooperatives to implement digital transformation and green transformation of agriculture.

In particular, this approach has changed the awareness of local officials and cooperatives in applying software. Currently, there are more than 7,000 units with accounts using the two software Waca and Facefarm; more than 600 cooperatives and units have proactively invested funds to equip software for use and 15 departments of agriculture and environment have included in the plan to allocate funds to equip this software to support cooperatives in the area.

Technology and digital transformation are becoming the key to sustainable development of the agricultural sector. These advances help farmers and businesses better adapt to the increasing demands of domestic and international markets. However, to achieve optimal results, close coordination between parties, from solution providers, management agencies to direct producers is needed.