Attracting enterprises, awakening medicinal plants' power

Linkage in medicinal herb production

As the terrain is divided into sub-regions, each with its own sub-climate which is suitable for some certain plants with high medicinal properties, Cam Lo district (Quang Tri province) has focused on directing its localities to review and transform the structure of crops, at the same time proactively inviting enterprises to take part in the linkage models to produce and consume the products

Accordingly, an organic farming area which plant jasminum subtriplinerve and  solanum procumbens has been established on nearly 80 hectares to developed the OCOP products. The target yield is 60 quintals/ha for jasminum subtriplinerve and 40 quintals/ha for solanum procumbens. A 3.5 hectares helicteres hirsuta lour-growing area has also been expanded to 12 hectares to provide raw material for processing and exports.

Cam Lo district has newly planted 20 hectares of five-veined paperbark in hi-tech zone of Cam Thuy commune to provide raw materials to Truong Son Cooperative to produce essential oil. In particular, the district is planning to grow 100 hectares of cinnamon tree aiming for establishing an organic material area and linking with Vietnam Staraniseed Cassia Manufacturing And Exporting Joint Stock Company (Vinasamex.,JSC)

Along with area expansion, the quality of the herbal products has been improved significantly. Many products were even rated OCOP stars at provincial level for example the products made from Solanum procumbens Lour manufactured by An Xuan Company Limited  and a number of herb products made by Dinh Son Mai Thi Thuy Company Limited and Truong Son Cooperative.

According toTran Hoai Linh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cam Lo district, apart from soil and climate suitablility, local farmers have actively applied advanced technologies to the production of medicinal herbs in the area. Typically, jasminum subtriplinerve and solanum procumbens  Lour could create revenue of  VND150-200 million/ha/year.

For Helicteres hirsuta Lour, nearly 2 tons of Helicteres hirsuta Lour glue have been sold to the US for VND1.7 millio per kilo through the linkage with Agri Dynamics Vietnam Joint Stock Company, bringing revenue of nearly VND300 million per hectare.

Nguyen Hong Phuong, Deputy Director of Quang Tri's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development  said statistics showed that more than 230 medicinal species were cultivated on over 3,555 hectares of land mainly in the districts of Huong Hoa, Dakrong, Cam Lo, Gio Linh and Vinh Linh ( Quang Tri province).

For the some medicinal plants with huge volume such as turmeric, Ming aralia, ginger, many local enterprises and processing facilities have made various medicinal products from them such as turmeric starch, lemongrass essential oil, melaleuca essential oil. These products have been popular to consumers inside and outside the province, briging high economic efficiency.

Aiming for exports

Tran Hoai Linh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cam Lo district said in addition to Helicteres hirsuta Lour glue product that has been exported to the US, Agridynamics Vietnam has been actively connecting with its stakeholders to bring other herbal products onto the US market.

According to a memorandum of understanding with Vinasamex JSC., Cam Lo district commited to mobilize the locals to convert low-value crops to more profitable ones, aiming for growing 9,000-10,000 hectares of organic cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and pepper by 2025.

Linh said Cam Lo district had more than 22,000 hectares of land planned for forestry and there were around 1,500 hectares of forest and rubber trees needed to be replaced each year. Therofore, the district's competent authorites planned to transform that ineffective  area into concentrated organic cinnamon plantations. Initially, 100 hectares of cinnamon will be planted under an experimental program in 2022. On the side of the People's Committee of Cam Lo district will support farmers with 50% of the cost of seedlings and fertilizers. On the side of Vinasemex JSC., it will be responsible for sending experts to train farmers on farming, caring and harvesting  techniques in line with organic standards, at the same time committ to buy all organic cinnamon raw materials.

To develop large-scale raw material area, apart from the concentrated medicinal plant area, the province can expand  the area by growing medicinal herbs under canopies or intercropping in protection forests.

"From the result of  the experiment in 2021 we can sconvert forestry land and rubber plantations into cinnamon cultivation at a rate of 300-500 hectares per year," Linh said.

Recently, in the expendition to assess the potential of medicinal plants led by Quang Tri's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Van On, a leading expert in the field of medicinal herbs suggested that  Quang Tri should focus on  some indigenous medicinal plants such as jasminum subtriplinerve, melaleuca quinquenervia and cinnamon.

As for Jasminum subtriplinerve, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Van On said it's nescessary to do futher researches on its heath benefits and at the same time improving technical standards and forming supply chain-based linkages.

As for Melaleuca quinquenervia, according to Tran Van On it's important to promote the advantages of Melaleuca essential oil extracted from the indigenious trees and experiment some types of cinnamon such as Tra My and Thanh Hoa varieties to assess their suitability with soil conditions as well as the content of essential oil.

Deputy Director of Quang Tri's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hong Phuong said the province's agricultural authority was developing a project to promote medicinal plant cultivation associated with the development of OCOP products in the 2022-2025 period with a vision toward 2030. Fourteen herbal species with potential for development including some varities in the melaleuca family, turmeric, lemongrass, jasminum subtriplinerve, solanum trilobatum, codonopsis celebica and cinnamon are now under consideration to bring into cultivation in the next time.

Deputy Director of Quang Tri's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hong Phuong said the quality of the medicinal plants grown in the province was equal or higher in comparision with those grown in other provinces.