Mr. Nguyen Hoang Phong, also affectionately known as Hai Lam, residing in Binh Long Commune, Chau Phu District, An Giang Province, is a typical example of creative labor spirit in agriculture. For many years, he has been recognized as a good farmer and has been awarded many certificates of merit by the People's Committee of An Giang Province, Chau Phu District, Binh Long Commune and the Provincial Farmers' Association for his valuable technical initiatives in agricultural production. He is not only "good at doing" but also "good at thinking, good at improving", always looking for ways to innovate to improve labor efficiency and reduce hardship for farmers.

From the difficulties in producing water spinach - a typical local crop - Mr. Hai Lam has personally created extremely practical agricultural equipment, saving costs and time for farmers.He started participating in the Provincial Technical Innovation Competition in 2012 and has continued to do so over many years. In his first participation (2011-2012), he received the Second Prize with his initiative “Fresh rice spreading system in the drying kiln” - a device that automates the entire rice drying process, helping to reduce labor, increase efficiency and protect workers’ health. Since then, he has sold more than 300 systems to the market and the operating principle of this initiative is currently being applied by many drying kilns across the country - demonstrating the high applicability and strong spread of this solution.

Continuing that success, at the XIII Competition (2022-2023), he continued to win Second Prize with the initiative "Water spinach cutting machine to get seeds" - a device manufactured based on the hardships of farmers during the hand-harvesting vegetable seasons, which is both tiring and inefficient. This device has contributed to improving labor productivity and saving costs for local vegetable growers.

Not stopping there, at the XIV Provincial Technical Innovation Competition (2024-2025), he continued to impress when he registered to participate with two new, highly applicable topics:

Water spinach threshing machine improved from combine harvester: A solution to completely mechanize the process of threshing spinach to get seeds - which is a labor-intensive and prone to yield loss process. This innovation not only solves the labor problem but also has a mechanism to loosen the vegetable stems to make good soil fertilizer for the next crop.

Equipment for separating broken seeds and cleaning water spinach seeds using mechanical and air suction: Instead of spending a lot of time selecting each seed by hand, the selection process can now be automated, saving labor costs up to tens of millions of VND per crop, improving the quality of water spinach seeds for the entire region.

Mr. Hai Lam's innovations not only bring economic efficiency to his family but also spread benefits to the farming community in the region. That is the core value that the An Giang Provincial Technical Innovation Competition has been aiming for over the years: Discovering, encouraging and honoring individuals with practical initiatives - those who achieve success not because of high academic degrees, but because of their vision and heart attached to the countryside and farmers.

What is more valuable is that Mr. Hai Lam has not stopped yet. He is cherishing the idea of creating a tiller with a conveyor belt and a mechanism to crush the soil, helping to completely remove the remaining rice grains from the previous crop in the soil - the cause of "rice stalk" disease affecting the next crop. This solution promises to help farmers avoid the costs of having to "weed" rice by hand - a hard, inefficient job that affects the normal growth quality of rice plants. He shared sincerely, "Once I have an idea, I put all my effort into it. Many times while eating or sleeping, if I encounter a problem that I cannot solve, I just keep thinking about it. Sometimes while sleeping, I suddenly think of a way to do it, I wake up and write it down on paper, and continue to do it the next morning, and it turns out to be successful."

From the example of Mr. Hai Lam - a farmer who finished 5th grade but is constantly creative, the An Giang Province Technical Innovation Competition once again affirms: All classes in society, whether farmers, workers, intellectuals or students, can participate and contribute initiatives for the community.

The Union of Science and Technology Associations of An Giang province respectfully invites individuals and organizations in the province to continue promoting the spirit of innovation and register to participate in this year's contest. Because every initiative, no matter how small, can contribute to solving a practical problem, benefiting the community and promoting sustainable economic and technical development for the locality.

News by Van Nhanh

Translation by Hoang Oanh