Agriculture sector to use AI to maximise production

Attendees at the conference on AI Technology Application in Improving Agricultural Productivity in Hà Nội on Thursday (VNS Photo Tố Như)

Hồ Xuân Hùng, chairman of the Việt Nam Agriculture and Rural Development Association, has called for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to promote sustainable agricultural production and facilitate the successful development of new rural areas.

Despite being a relatively new concept in the country, the adoption of AI in Việt Nam's agriculture industry has gained significant interest from both the government and manufacturing firms due to its numerous advantages over traditional agricultural methods.

“So, how does AI come to life early?” Hùng asked at the Conference on AI Technology Application in Improving Agricultural Productivity, organised by the association in Hà Nội yesterday.

“AI helps to increase crop yields, make crops healthier, control pests and growing conditions, as well as builds data for farmers helping manage workloads and improve a wide range of agriculture-related tasks throughout the food supply chain,” Hùng said.

Currently, many farmers around the world are using AI technology to reduce the use of chemicals that affect the environment significantly, and advances in AI-driven robotics are also helping farmers increase production using less land and labour, he said.

Despite bringing many benefits, however, the application of AI in agriculture in Việt Nam is still very modest.

Nguyễn Quốc Toản, director of the Centre for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics, said that awareness and institutions of digital transformation in digital application management in agriculture are still limited.

“If there is no mechanism first, non-mandatory applications will not come to life," Toản told the conference. "On the other hand, awareness about this issue is still very limited.”

The agriculture sector has not yet built a database including a large traceability database, codes of growing areas, farming areas and commodity lines, while equipment infrastructure is still insufficient.

There are too many softwares but not enough data sharing and connecting, and investment resources are limited, Toản said.

Meanwhile, Professor Trần Quý, director of the Việt Nam Digital Economy Development Institute, said that the importance of AI in modern agricultural development is undeniable.

However, the price of hardware and software for AI systems is high. To successfully apply new technologies such as AI in agriculture, Vietnamese farmers need to be trained to use and understand these technologies, Quý said.

To fully utilise the potential of AI in agriculture, it is necessary to research and invest in training for farmers in the use of new technologies and raise awareness of both farmers and businesses, Toản said.

Moreover, he added that collaboration among technology manufacturers, governments and agricultural organisations is required to develop AI applications suitable for farmers' conditions and market demand.

According to Toản, his centre will coordinate with the Việt Nam Agriculture and Rural Development Association and other associations to promote digital communication for businesses and farmers.

The centre will build an operating app so that each farmer will have a virtual assistant sending daily information on their mobile phones and build a digital agriculture library, Toản said.

He added that the centre would strongly promote e-commerce and traceability and enhance digital logistics management for border trade infrastructure areas to improve cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and associations.

With comments from experts, managers, and scientists at the conference, the Việt Nam Agriculture and Rural Development Association will propose Government to issue specific policies to support enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas contributing to sustainable agricultural development and promoting the process of new rural construction as well, Hùng said.