With the practice of precision agriculture, coffee and pepper farming requires less input costs, reducing labor pressure in the face of challenges from climate change.
Diversify crops and reduce input material use
In the 10-year cooperation strategy (2017 – 2027) signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Central Highlands is identified as one of the priority areas for research investment. and develop agricultural and forestry farming techniques.
The Central Highlands is an area specializing in coffee and pepper cultivation in Vietnam, accounting for 88% and 63% respectively. However, when looking at the situation, the area of coffee and pepper increased rapidly, people massively developed areas even on unsuitable soils and terrain, disrupting the ecological balance.
Dr. Phan Viet Ha, Deputy Director of the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Science and Technology Institute (WASI) shared: “Up to now, coffee and pepper have developed quite well and we have mastered many techniques in them. However, there are still some long-term challenges such as the problem of underground pests and diseases for coffee and pepper, which we have not really overcome.”
Coffee is intercropped with pepper, macadamia, durian… Photo: Linh Linh.
The representative of WASI also pointed out some shortcomings in coffee and pepper cultivation such as challenges from climate change and labor shortage in the future. Besides, the soil is degraded after a long time of cultivation (acidic soil, loss of organic matter, loss of soil texture, loss of nutrients), which reduces the health of the soil, leading to productive capacity. poor, low and precarious crop yields…
Since then, the project of Improving the sustainability, productivity and economic value of the value chain farming system of coffee and pepper in the Central Highlands region (V-SCOPE Project) was born with the desire. overcome the shortcomings in the unsustainable production system of coffee and pepper in the Central Highlands.
The project seeks directions for the use of biological and environmentally friendly methods to control pests and diseases in the ground, reduce input costs, improve production efficiency and connect agents to improve the chain. production and product value.
MSc Chau Thi Minh Long, Deputy Head of the Department of Agricultural Systems at WASI Institute, said, with 4 experiments on measuring nutrient leaching and 30 trials on soil restoration using lime and biochar in farming. For coffee and pepper, the initial results show that this study will be the basis for proposing reasonable fertilizers for crops in order to save inputs and protect the environment.
Mr. Do Van Anh shared that intercropping coffee, pepper and fruit trees has cheaper input costs and helps avoid income risks when coffee prices fluctuate. Photo: Linh Linh.
Within the framework of the project, the conversion from intensive farming to intercropping of coffee, pepper, and fruit trees has shown some positive results such as higher plant densities, higher total yields, and higher yields. equivalent while profitability and adaptability increase.
Through an experiment to measure water demand for coffee plants using SAP-FLOW technology, the avocado intercropped coffee model uses about 30% less irrigation water than the coffee monoculture model. Meanwhile, it is possible to reduce the amount of water for irrigation from 400 liters/plant/season (according to high recommendations) to 250 liters/plant/season because there is no difference in transpiration and coffee yield.
In the project areas, the quality of inputs (fertilizers) is the most concerned issue for farmers. However, up to 53% of farmers have difficulty in distinguishing fertilizers and fertilizer quality. Therefore, the project is also coordinating with a pilot design partner to improve the supply of input materials.
Project funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR); The International Agro-Forestry Research Organization (ICRAF) in Vietnam, the French Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) together with research partners and private partners.
The project will be implemented in 3 provinces of Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Gia Lai in the period of 2021 – 2025, with the participation of nearly 300 coffee and pepper farmers.
Applying technology to practice precision agriculture
At Mr. Do Van Anh’s coffee garden in Tan Phu village, Ea Toh commune, Krong Nang district, Dak Lak, the V-SCOPE project has experimented to study water demand for coffee plants using SAP measurement technology- FLOW (the technology of measuring sap flow).
Experiment to study water demand for coffee plants using SAP-FLOW measurement technology (the technology of measuring sap flow). Photo: Linh Linh.
One of the major challenges today is climate change and lack of irrigation water in the dry season for coffee and pepper. In the past, Vietnam has had many studies on watering and technical procedures that have made recommendations that are relatively consistent with practice. However, Dr. Phan Viet Ha said that with increasingly harsh conditions, we need to study to improve and set thresholds that can save more water for irrigation.
“This research activity is one of the main research activities in the V-SCOPE project funded by ACIAR. In this activity, we aim at a very serious and important challenge for agriculture in the Central Highlands in the present and in the coming years, which is the problem of irrigation water,” said Mr. Ha.
The sap flow measurement system is installed in each coffee and pepper tree, helping to calculate the exact amount of water the plant uses at different times. Photo: Linh Linh.
Experiments put into the tree sap flow measurement system, calculate the exact amount of water used by the plants at different times, from which it is possible to make certain calculations and decide to irrigate, reducing almost the amount of water. losses during the dry season, consistent with precision agriculture practices.
According to Dr. Phan Viet Ha, the experiment includes many devices in the system such as a tree sap flow measuring device coupled with a garden microclimate system to handle the correlation. The tree sap flow measurement system is quite expensive, about 4,000 – 5,000 USD, but with the system measuring microclimate conditions, it is quite cheap, about less than 1,000 USD. After completing the studies, the production recommendation only needs to use the research results of the experiment and the data of the meteorological stations to be able to make accurate decisions in watering.
These experiments are carried out by experts from ICRAF, CIRAD and the Central Highlands Agro-Forestry Science and Technology Institute. With the sensor system, the control center system connects the line with sensors that measure the flow of sap flowing through each tree trunk and the data will be sent through cloud technology to the processing unit, from which the experts Experts can process statistics and make different irrigation decisions.
The technician in charge of the microclimate meter was installed in Mr. Do Van Anh’s garden. Photo: Linh Linh.
Explaining the importance of microclimate measurement equipment here, Dr. Nguyen Quang Tan, National Coordinator of the International Agroforestry Research Organization (ICRAF), said that meteorological stations to measure micro-weather are closed. the role of localization of weather information, thereby making it possible to give more accurate recommendations on the amount of water for irrigation and production for each area and each region.
“The future of national hydrometeorological services will provide guiding scenarios for the planning of weather and climate services that help farmers with cropping, irrigation and care choices. The plants are suitable for the local weather,” said Mr. Tan.
Assessing the effectiveness of the experiment, householder Do Van Anh shared that if before, his garden was watered according to his senses, if he saw that the soil was dry, then the irrigation is now deployed more rationally, saving money. cost savings. Besides, the process of intercropping coffee, pepper and fruit trees has cheaper input costs when using less fertilizer and helps him avoid income risk when coffee prices fluctuate.
