A passion for mechanical engineering led this young farmer into manufacturing agricultural machinery. Concerned about farmers' hardships, after 11 years of innovation, he successfully invented an agricultural machine integrating 12 useful functions for use on varied terrains.
That talented farmer is Tạ Đình Huy (born in 1982), from An Mỹ hamlet, Thượng Vực commune, Chương Mỹ district, Hanoi. Still quite young, Huy is already well known in mechanical engineering.
Thinking Deeply to Create
After finishing high school, Tạ Đình Huy decided to learn motorcycle repair. Once trained, he returned home to open a repair shop and build his future. His skill, enthusiasm, and dedication kept the workshop busy. Although earning money was going well, the young farmer remained troubled by local farmers’ hardships. ‘Seeing people struggle with manual labor every day, I felt compelled to do something practical to help. Then I thought of making agricultural machinery,’ Huy shared.
Before he could celebrate the birth of his ‘first child,’ he was disappointed again. The first machine was still rudimentary, bulky, and not very efficient. His desire to create an affordable machine with multiple functions that could work on varied terrain and serve farmers kept Huy from eating or sleeping well. In 2005, Huy began ‘researching’ agricultural machinery. After 2 months observing farmers at work and tirelessly drawing, erasing, and drawing again, he successfully designed his first agricultural machine. Initially, it had only 1 function, tilling soil, before he added 2 more: spraying and pumping water.
Tạ Đình Huy
In 2010, leaving his motorcycle repair trade entirely despite its profitability, Huy traveled extensively through provinces and cities to study the terrain and people’s working techniques. In 2014, after dedicated efforts, he perfected an 8-in-1 multipurpose agricultural machine: plowing, harrowing, loosening soil, making furrows, sowing seeds, weeding, spraying pesticides, and pumping irrigation water.
After registering copyright and announcing his 8-in-1 agricultural machine invention, Huy became famous nationwide. The invention was praised for its technical and economic advantages. A machine costs from a few million to 13 million đồng, depending on its functions, yet delivers over 5 times a buffalo's work rate and over 10 times a person's. ‘Buying 8 separate machines with 1 function each would cost farmers around 50 million đồng. My 8-function machine costs only 13 million, saving them a great deal,’ Huy said.
A “Record” 12 Amenities
Not satisfied with his achievements, he quietly researched ways to modernize the machine further. Recently, he was overjoyed to finish the design for a 12-in-1 upgrade. In addition to its existing 8 functions, the machine gains 4 more: digging sludge for coffee cultivation, turning microbial fertilizer, transplanting rice and moving heavy objects in the garden.
Mr. Huy said this improvement is a breakthrough. At only VND 17 million, the machine has 12 functions and works on various terrains. “In one minute, the coffee mud-digging machine excavates 1.5 m, 40 cm deep and 40 cm wide; it easily moves objects weighing several hundred kilograms in the garden. One operator can clear 5 mẫu of grass in a morning or spray pesticides on 1 hectare in just 30 minutes.”
12-in-1 machine
The multipurpose agricultural machines come in 4 main designs depending on the number of functions. Their frames, parts and tools are made from industrial iron and steel. Standard dimensions are 50cm wide, 120cm long and 70cm high, with a total weight of around 90kg, or just 40–50kg with fewer functions. Size and weight are calculated to let them move through dense gardens and varied terrain.
Huy equipped the machine's frame with a motorcycle engine, gears, wheels and tires, a fuel tank, exhaust pipe, seat, controls, and an engine shaft for attaching tools with different functions. He revealed: “Designing the machine's form is most important. When integrating functions, some must be placed at the front and others at the rear to ensure coordination and balance. If it is unbalanced, the machine will not operate.”
While building the machine, the “rural engineer” always considered cost-effectiveness. He therefore used a motorcycle engine and repurposed a still-serviceable baffle from an old motorcycle exhaust as the machine's silencer. Huy says motorcycle engines are compact, lightweight, inexpensive, and easy for farmers to operate and repair.
Compact in design, the multifunction agricultural machine “made in Tạ Đình Huy” offers very high productivity. He said the machine's capabilities and output are 20 times those of human labor. “The body is fitted with a shaft. Simply attach the tool needed for a particular function, and changing the shaft speed switches to another function. For pesticide spraying, just attach the tank and nozzle and operate it. The machine stays in one place while hoses tens of meters long allow easy spraying over a wide area,” he said.
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