The farmer and the straw turned into money

The straw winder runs with rubber chains that work on all terrain, from dry fields to muddy.

Farmer engineer and invent straw roll machine

Mr. Phan Tan Brau, 55 years old, living in Hamlet 5, My Dong Commune (Thap Muoi District, Dong Thap) is a farmer who invented 15 types of machines, shipped more than 2,000 units to serve farmers in the Mekong Delta and many other areas.

The product he is most proud of is the self-propelled straw rolling machine. The machine was born based on the idea of ​​turning straw into money, when he saw the vast source of materials in the area and the need to use straw for cattle to eat, make mushrooms, incubate dragon fruit trees, make compost . "The market needs me to provide it," he said simply.

The machine was studied for many years, based on the combine harvester . Machines running on rubber chains should work in muddy land and many other terrains, overcome the disadvantages of domestic and imported products on the market that can only run on dry fields.

Mr. Phan Tan Brai, farmer engineer has 15 inventions.(Photo: HP).

The straw coil is located in the front to help the driver easily manipulate and adjust the straw to be small and small according to demand. The finished straw is put into the container at the back. Large containers allow up to 30 rolls or a ton of farm produce to be stored. The machine runs on diesel engine for productivity of 80-120 rolls per hour. Every day, 2 operators can clean straw on 4 ha of field. Currently in the Mekong Delta, each roll of straw sold in the field costs 15,000-20,000 VND, if delivered in place, the price increases to 35,000- 40,000 VND.

The current price of self-propelled straw rollers is 286 million , which is still high compared to many farmers. But from the time he was brought to the market, he has sold more than 30 units. Workers at the assembly workshop could not keep up for sale. Last October, he took away the Techmart Science and Technology Market in Hanoi to introduce to many people. He is making patent registration for the machine.

As the owner of Phan Tan Agricultural Engineering Co., Ltd, but Mr. Brai still considers himself a farmer engineer, likes to make machines for people. Thanks to the machines, family life from poverty to stability, 3 children are fully educated. His eldest son graduated from the Faculty of Machine Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education also followed his father's path. The result he had was a journey of 30 years, with a starting point from a small mechanic shop in the hut with more than 4 m2.

Recalling the time of 1985, the engineer Phan Tan Brau graduated from Ho Chi Minh City Agriculture and Forestry University, then went to work at the tractor station of Dong Thap mechanical department. Life was so difficult that in 1991, the engineer left the station, opened a small mechanic shop in the remote area of ​​Thap Muoi district and worked on some fields to earn a living.

The self-propelled straw rolling machine is available at Techmart 2015. (Photo: Giang Huy).

"My father gave me a locomotive, my brother lent me some money. I went to Saigon to buy some gold tools. At that time, the mechanics were not developed, the tools were not much. In the hut I have more than 4m ² leaves, an apprentice and I have to fix the machines for my relatives, mainly to earn a livelihood, not to have a big thought about this invention, " he recalls.

Gradually, seeing the need to use agricultural machines of great relatives, he began to think of ways to make. The first product was a well-known water pump in the area, then a truck carrying agricultural products, agricultural product dryers, two-in-one corn harvesting machines . followed each other.

Over the past 30 years, thousands of machines have been born because he has to turn around his capital to do it without anyone supporting."Somehow, the state should have more supportive policies for non-professional scientists. To study for 30 years like me, many old people lose their opportunities," he said.

At the 9th Patriotic Emulation Congress recently held in Hanoi, he is an advanced example chosen to exchange and share experiences."I just know how to do my job well, I don't know what to say. When I was picked up, the talk was too bad," he said with a smile.