Go drink coffee and still water the plants
With just a few simple steps on his smartphone, Mr. Ong Minh Thuong - in Cu Lao Dung town (Cu Lao Dung district, Soc Trang province) has watered his family's entire 4-hectare grapefruit garden.
Mr. Thuong said that with this technology, labor is greatly reduced, especially being able to water plants at any time. “Previously, it took a whole week to water the entire garden. Now it only takes 1-2 hours, saving a lot of time, allowing me to prune branches, shape the canopy of trees and also rest to regain my labor,” Mr. Thuong said.
Mr. Thuong said that the smartphone-controlled irrigation software is also programmed to water during the day and at night to suit the weather and water source. This gradually helps families transition from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture, contributing to increased labor productivity, reducing dependence on environmental and weather conditions, and bringing high economic efficiency.
Similarly, in the nearly 1 hectare garden of sweet passion fruit of old farmer Nguyen Huu Cong in Song Phung commune (Long Phu district, Soc Trang province), a smart irrigation system is also applied.
Mr. Cong shared that with this method, whether he is drinking coffee, traveling or eating at home, he can still water the plants by simply controlling them on his phone via an IP switch connection. The system includes an electric pump, water pipes, a long-range wifi-controlled IP switch and a smartphone with a wifi and 4G connection. He researched, designed and installed this system himself.
“If you water this hectare of passion fruit, it will take 1 session, and the labor cost will be 200,000 VND/person plus 60,000 VND for gasoline. But watering with a smart system only takes 15 minutes, consuming 0.3 kWh/day, and a month costs less than 30,000 VND for electricity for irrigation,” Mr. Cong calculated.
Mr. Cong said that applying this model also overcomes the shortage of rural labor. The system is easy to make, can be customized and improved according to farmers' needs, is not expensive, and can last up to 20 years if designed properly. Farmers can replicate it in many places and apply it to many other crops. Mr. Cong is currently supporting the installation of this system for gardeners in Soc Trang province.
Adaptation to drought and salinity
Mr. Nguyen Huu Cong said that the smartphone watering model also helps save about 90% of water compared to manual watering, so it is very suitable in the context of water scarcity due to the effects of drought and saltwater intrusion as present.
“The water-saving irrigation system helps reduce the amount of water by adjusting the number and position of the nozzles, avoiding the washing away of fertilizers or nutrients on the topsoil due to the moderate amount of water. This does not destroy the soil structure, thus limiting the condition of the ground crust,” said Mr. Cong.
Similarly, Mr. Thuong said that before he watered with a motor or a homemade lawn mower, he lost a lot of water, the strong water jet eroded the surface of the soil, affecting the plants. But when watering with a smart system, the amount of water was just enough, the plants grew well. This helped farmers save water and reduce production costs.
