An IT expert promotes 'smartphone farming'

ABO/VNA - An IT engineer in central Vietnam is demonstrating the value of hydroculture as an effective way to build climate change resilience in the storm-prone region.

Hi-tech farms are set to change the agriculture sector (Photo: VNA)

After working with the military-run telecom group Viettel for seven years, Nguyen Quoc Phong decided he wanted to do something else.

The 33-year-old man from Nui Thanh district in central Quang Nam province has since used his IT know-how and experience to study and promote hydroponic farming, launching a startup of his own.

Phong surfed the internet for information and solutions, found suppliers in the Netherlands and Israel, imported materials and quality fertiliers and seeds.

Phong said the package, including recycled water mixed with fertiliser, a pumping system and pipes made with durable material, would help farmers save a lot of time working with soil, manual watering and dealing with pest problems.

Phong explained that water at all the farms have to be tested to eliminate hazardous contaminants, while seeds and fertilisers from the Netherlands and Israel would offer suitable material for hydroponic farms.

He said 24-hour programmed pumping system will help carry a mixture of water and nutrition to grow saplings.

“It’s like a stream running day and night. Roots will absorb nutrition from the water running through pipes. Each sapling grows in a plastic box, and farmers can harvest easily by moving it up after 25 days,” he said, adding that a small household’s hydroponic garden could produce 40kg of greens each month.

Tran Thi Anh Thu, a Da Nang resident, said she installed a 6sq.m hydroponic garden on her rooftop eight months ago, growing vegetables for her family.

Her family needs at least 3kg of fresh vegetables a day. “I invested 10 million VND (442 USD) for installation of the hydroponic system including water pipes, beds, pumps and seeds. I just spend a little money (around 5 USD) for buying new seeds or fertilisers a month.”

Thu said she did not spend a lot of time on the garden, and had more time now for housework and caring for children.

The 42-year housewife also said she had planted vegetables in soil on plastic trays or styrofoam boxes, but that required more time to water, protecting the plants from pests and rats. She said the hi-tech garden was really suitable for household that wants safe vegetables.

Phong said his company can design a household hydroponic garden of just 2 to 6sq.m at minimum costs of 6 million VND (265 USD) to 8 million VND (354 USD).

He reiterated that hydroponics can help prevent the alarming overuse of stimulants in agriculture.

He said he plans to expand hydroponics into mountainous areas in Quang Nam, where farms are destroyed by disasters every year, and promote household gardening in Da Nang and Tam Ky cities.

“Household hi-tech gardening can supply safe greens to supermarkets or directly to urban communities, and its expansion would also reduce investment.”

(Source: VNA)