Installing smart irrigation systems: A new mindset for farmers in Nghe An.

Applying new technologies in livestock farming and crop cultivation is also an inevitable direction in the current Industry 4.0 era. In Nghe An province, many farmers have applied digital technology in brackish water shrimp farming, pig and chicken breeding, etc., reducing labor costs and bringing high economic efficiency.

In Tan Ky district, some households in Tan Huong commune that cultivate forestry seedlings have also applied smart irrigation, bringing many benefits.

The family of Mr. Tran Van Tu in Chau Nam hamlet, Tan Huong commune (Tan Ky district) has been engaged in the business of cultivating forestry seedlings since 2017. Mr. Tu said that in the early years, his family watered the trees manually, which was not only tiring, requiring them to stand in the sun for hours to water the plants, but also affected the crops, especially the newly germinated seedlings, and wasted water. On days when the family had to travel far away, they couldn't water the plants.

In 2020, after consulting various documents and finding that smart irrigation systems are easy to implement and offer many benefits, Mr. Tu's family invested 20 million VND to install a smart irrigation system for their 500m² forestry seedling nursery.².

According to Anh Tú, one of the biggest advantages of smart irrigation systems is their ability to save water. The system is designed to distribute water efficiently, avoiding waste and ensuring the precise water level for each irrigation area.

Another major advantage is that the system can be remotely controlled and adjusted via mobile applications, allowing for monitoring and management of the garden from anywhere. This is because the entire process is programmed into the smartphone, and surveillance cameras are also installed in the garden.

Thanks to this, Mr. Tú's family no longer has to struggle when watering their nursery. During hot weather, they can simply sit indoors, open their phones, and perform a few simple actions on the screen to turn on the entire sprinkler irrigation system at their desired time. Similarly, when the family has to go away, the nursery is automatically watered as needed.

Recognizing the benefits of installing smart irrigation systems, many households in Tan Huong commune have come to learn from and follow suit. Mr. Cao Xuan Loc, also from Chau Nam hamlet, Tan Huong commune, recently invested in installing a smart irrigation system for his family's forestry seedling nursery.

Installing a smart irrigation system is not only a smart investment for farmers but also brings many great benefits to modern farming, from saving water to increasing productivity and protecting the environment, while reducing the burden of manual labor for farmers.

Mr. Le Duc Thuyen, Chairman of the Tan Huong Commune People's Committee, said: Currently, the commune has 286 nurseries belonging to companies and households, covering an area of ​​nearly 35 hectares, with a total capacity of 160 million seedlings per year. From manually caring for the nurseries and watering with hand hoses, most households have now invested in installing sprinkler irrigation systems, with some even installing automatic irrigation systems controlled via smartphones, bringing many practical benefits.