Technology - the power for agriculture passion: Young man found joy in IoT and 4.0 technology

Continuing his father’s dream

In recent years, many farmers in Binh Phuoc have chosen avocado as one of the main crops, and the benefits are clear. The 12 ha avocado garden generates billions of dong a year for young grower Dang Duong Minh Hoang is considered one of the outstanding local farms that apply high technology to production, catching up with modern agriculture trends.

The 9X generation owner of Thien Nong farm (Cay Da village, Phu Van commune, Bu Gia Map district) originally comes from a farming family and the only son. From his early days, apart from the knowledge of agriculture passed down from the family, Hoang also received the best learning environment.

After graduating from the first course of Quang Trung High School for the Gifted - one of the schools with the most outstanding teaching and learning achievements in Binh Phuoc, Hoang was honored to receive a scholarship to study in France in the automation field.

After studying abroad, he became a full-fledged engineer and received many invitations asking him to stay in France to continue working. Harboring the desire to contribute his youth to the homeland, Hoang decided to return home and work at a joint venture company between Vietnam and a foreign country in the field of automation system management in the oil and gas industry, earning thousands of dollars a month and achieved many successes.

"Why agriculture then?" Stopping at an organic pepper garden of over 10 ha which supplies raw materials for Nedspice, Hoang continued, “To have my fateful encounter with agriculture and attain the results at present, I have to go through a lot.”

Previously, like many people in Binh Phuoc, Hoang's family mainly cultivated rubber and pepper trees using the usual method. But when agro-product prices remained low for a long time, Hoang's family was put into a stage of constant struggles.

Ma Duong avocado then appeared as a famous local plant variety, earning the trust of many farmers to grow and produce. Many households got rich from this plant, so Hoang’s family decided to convert part of the land to follow the trend.

However, during the land reclamation process, Hoang's father suddenly passed away, leaving behind many unfinished businesses. Not letting his late father's will and spirit go to waste, Hoang decided to engage in farming to continue his father's dream.

Taking a leap thanks to technology

For Hoang, the application of 4.0 technology to agricultural development is the fundamental solution to help Hoang go "both ways". Thanks to the knowledge that has been cultivated over the years, added with smart agricultural applications and utilities, Hoang can monitor, control and take care of crops automatically with just a phone in hand. This method helps him maximize productivity and quality of agro-products while at the same time being able to consume the products with high efficiency.

Accordingly, through the application of the Internet of Things (IoT), all data regarding soil moisture, irrigation water and plant growth can be collected via sensors and sent to the phone for algorithms to analyze and give users warnings and recommendations so that they can make appropriate crop care decisions.

If the user is busy, the system will automatically specify a preset to handle emergencies. And that's just one sensor type. If other sensors such as air quality and temperature sensors are installed, the algorithms can read more data. In particular, when more and more people use and collect this information, these algorithms can gain a better understanding of the natural conditions in the production area, thereby offering even more optimal plant care.

Bringing the local brand to a higher ground

The outbreak of Covid-19 is also the time for Hoang to focus more on brand development. Through the application of Blockchain technology in agro-product traceability, avocados from Hoang's garden can be linked with exchanges. Customers only need to scan the traceability code on the product to know information about the gardener, farming process, product harvest date and order. Thanks to these advances, avocado consumption can no longer be manipulated. The farm's avocados not only sell at high prices but also reach many potential customers both at home and abroad.

With the motto "From my farm to your home", "Mr. Hoang's Ma Duong avocado " is not only sold on Tiki, Lazada online channels and some clean fruit stores in Ho Chi Minh City such as Dalatfoodie and Wefarmer, but also spread to foreign markets such as Cambodia, Laos, and Taiwan. Loan, China, Japan.

“This type of avocado still holds ample potential, especially considering the European market’s demand. But the farm can only meet a part of the market's demand with the current output capacity. To solve this problem, I am planning to build a satellite raw material area to not only supply fresh avocados to the market but also produce avocado oil to diversify avocado-based products," Hoang said.