Mekong Delta should adopt digitisation in agriculture: experts
The embrace of digitisation is necessary to cope with saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, experts have said.
Seminar participants check out facilities used in smart agriculture. (Photo: VNA)
Tra Vinh (VNA) - The embrace of digitisation is necessary to copewith saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, experts have said.
The delta, the country’s largest rice, fruit and seafood producer, is affectedby saltwater intrusion from the sea up rivers every year in the dry season.
Nguyen Hieu Trung, deputy rector of Can Tho University, said the delta has beenaffected by climate change in recent years, especially by drought and worseningsaltwater intrusion which cause severe damage to agriculture.
Speaking at a seminar in Tra Vinh Province earlier this week, he said it shouldtake advantage of the fourth industrial revolution to create new value foragricultural production.
This would reduce the risks and improve the value of agricultural produce andfarmers’ incomes, he added.
Experts at the seminar analysed and presented solutions for using informationtechnology to cope with droughts and saltwater, increasing the efficiency offarmlands and reducing labour costs.
Nguyen Thanh My, chairman of the My Lan Group in Tra Vinh province, unveiledhis company’s invention of a digital agriculture eco-system to be used withsmartphones to develop a digital farm economy.
It also has many other apps that are used in the delta such as smart stationsfor monitoring brown plant hoppers and buoys for inspecting saltwater intrusionautomatically, he said.
With the use of smart phones, farmers can stay at home and monitor brown planthoppers in their fields and the salinity of water used for irrigation, he said.
Brown plant hoppers are the main rice pests in the region.
The company also sells smart fertilisers for rice cultivation and this helpsreduce labour. It also applies digital technology in super-intensive shrimpfarming and manufactures smart machines for feeding shrimp, he said.
Tran Trong Khiem, deputy director of the Soc Trang Province Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development, said relevant agencies should strengthenadvocacy about digitisation to change farmers’ mindsets and practices.
He hoped scientists would do research that could be applied in agriculture./.
VNA
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Seminar participants check out facilities used in smart agriculture. (Photo: VNA)