With the spirit of self-study and innovation in agricultural production, Mr. Nguyen Huu Cong - a farmer in Nhon My commune, Can Tho city - has researched, installed and successfully operated the Sweet Clam lemon growing model combined with a remote controlled automatic fog spraying system via smartphone. The model helps save water and reduce labor. At the same time, it opens up a new direction for rural agriculture in the direction of digitalization and modernization.
According to Mr. Cong, the idea of an automatic irrigation system came from the actual needs of his family in the 3,500 m2 lemon garden. Handmade watering takes a lot of time and effort, especially in the dry season. Taking advantage of knowledge from books, the internet and sharing from friends, he researched, bought equipment and installed an irrigation system himself.
Accordingly, the system includes an electric pump, a 4 meter spraying pipe, a Wifi control switch connected to the application on the smartphone. The total cost is only about 5.8 million VND per 1,000 m2.
"The biggest advantage of the system is that it can be remotely controlled at any time, anywhere with just a smartphone. Whether I am eating or attending a wedding, as long as I have a phone signal, I can turn on and water with just one touch," Mr. Cong shared.
Talking about the efficiency, Mr. Cong said that if in the past, a canteen irrigation worker took up to 10 hours to water 3,500 m2, now it only takes 10 minutes. Electricity consumption per day is only 0.3 kWh, equivalent to about 750 VND, or about 22,500 VND/month. If you water with a small pump, it will take 3 - 4 hours and cost about 200,000 VND in labor plus 70,000 - 80,000 VND in gasoline. Meanwhile, the automatic irrigation system has an initial investment cost of about 30 - 40 million VND/ha, but the operating cost is only about 5,000 VND/irrigation. According to his calculations, after only 1 to 1.5 years, the investment capital can be recovered.
Mr. Cong also said that the system helps save significant time, free up labor, and no longer worry about caring for crops that are interrupted due to busy or lack of labor. More importantly, the smooth mist spraying mechanism helps save water, keep soil moist effectively and reduce evaporation. Just 10 minutes of watering is enough to wet the ground, maintaining high humidity. Meanwhile, manual irrigation is often uneven, some places are too wet, some places are dry, causing waste of water and not achieving optimal efficiency.
Mr. Cong said that the easy-to-make system can be customized and improved according to farmers' needs, and the life expectancy can reach 20 years if designed properly. Farmers can replicate it in many places and apply it to many other crops.
From the practical effectiveness of home gardening, Mr. Cong has proactively shared the model with many other gardeners in the area, especially poor households, people with disabilities, lonely elderly people or those without labor. He not only guides installation techniques but also supports application installation and water quality monitoring through software. Thanks to that, many people from having to carry each bucket of water can now water the whole garden with just a simple operation on the phone.
As in the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Ang in Phong Nam commune, Can Tho city, who is old and has a disability in one leg, making it very difficult to move. In the past, every time she watered the plum garden, she had to use a duck or a can, and later having a small machine was still very difficult. With the support of the local Farmers' Association and Mr. Nguyen Huu Cong who directly installed it, Ms. An was able to easily water right at home without having to go to the garden.
Mr. Cong confided: "I do not help people with money, but by showing them to master technology, reduce effort, and save costs. That is the most precious thing to me."
Not only successful in applying science and technology to production, Mr. Cong is also a pioneer in bringing agricultural products to the digital environment with the brand " Chanh thang sweet Sau Cong" on Facebook, Zalo. His personal page not only introduces products but also shares growing experiences, direct videos from the garden, helping customers believe in quality. Thanks to that, many lemon crops before harvest have been fully booked, helping him reduce sales costs, avoid renting premises and expand markets across the country.
