Engineer brings initiatives into each coffee garden

Attached to Ia Sao 2 Coffee Company - an economic unit directly under Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (under the Vietnam Agriculture and Environment Trade Union) since 2012, Mr. Phan Hong Luan, Head of Planning - Agriculture Department, Head of Production Team No. 2, is always concerned about finding new ways to improve production efficiency.

For him, every difficulty arising from the garden can become the starting point for an initiative, each technical advance is only truly meaningful when it helps workers work more conveniently and brings practical efficiency.

As an agricultural engineer, directly managing 59.11ha of coffee, Mr. Luan regularly closely follows the facility, grasps the growth situation of the orchard, provides technical guidance and works with workers to remove obstacles in the production process.

From that reality, he researched and proposed many improvement solutions, among which the most prominent is the initiative to improve the rain sprinkler irrigation system using electric pumps.

Previously, watering coffee with a large pipe system combined with spillway discharge caused workers to spend a lot of effort transporting, installing and moving equipment. Not only is it heavy, this method also makes it difficult to ensure uniform water distribution on the garden area.

From those inadequacies, Mr. Luan researched and improved the irrigation system in the direction of reducing the use of large pipes, replacing them with a butterfly beaker system combined with an electric pump. The solution helps the equipment to be more compact, convenient to arrange and move, significantly reduce labor, and at the same time improve the uniformity of irrigation water.

The effectiveness is not only reflected in labor saving but also recognized through the growth status of the orchard. Evenly distributed water helps coffee flower more concentratedly, increases the fruit setting rate, and contributes to maintaining stable yield over the years.

From a very specific requirement in production, the initiative has brought practical benefits, showing the value of creativity when it originates from daily work.

Not stopping at improving production equipment, Mr. Phan Hong Luan also proactively approached digital technology, gradually innovating planting area management methods.

When the Rainforest Alliance (RA) and 4C sustainable coffee standards set increasingly high requirements for traceability, area management and data transparency, he directly participated in collecting, testing and exploiting GPS and Polygon data for about 464ha of commercial coffee of the Company.

It is worth noting that the application of technology does not stop at mapping or digitizing records. He focuses on linking planting area coordinate data with garden care, inspection and actual production process.

Thanks to that, area management becomes more accurate, monitoring each production area is more convenient, and at the same time creates a basis to meet the requirements for traceability and sustainable coffee certification.

Along with that, he coordinates with the collective of the Planning - Agriculture Department to strengthen guidance for workers to implement production processes according to RA and 4C standards; focusing on caring for and cleaning gardens, using materials reasonably, protecting soil and water sources, and ensuring labor safety.

Seemingly isolated tasks are connected into a unified management process, aimed at improving the quality and value of coffee beans.

The effectiveness of innovation in production organization is shown through specific figures. In 2025, Ia Sao 2 Coffee Company achieved about 8,700 tons of fresh fruit, equal to 116.8% of the plan assigned by the Corporation; average yield reached 18.75 tons/ha. Notably, there are 175 union members and workers achieving yields from 20 tons/ha to over 30 tons/ha, accounting for 39.5% of contract workers.

In addition to professional tasks, he always proactively grasps the thoughts and circumstances of union members and workers, especially those who are still in difficult circumstances. He coordinates with the Trade Union department and the Women's Affairs Committee to maintain funds to help each other develop the economy, support workers to have more conditions to invest in taking care of gardens, improve income and stabilize their lives.

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