Medicinal plants change highland people' lives

Income increased 3-4 times

Mr. Thao Quan Thanh (San Tra village, Lung Cai commune, Bac Ha district, Lao Cai province) said that in the past his farming land was only used for growing corn and cassava. However in 2017 he went to a training course on medicinal plants and decided to grow medicinal plants in 2019.

"Rice and corn are heavily dependent on the weather, so the efficiency is not high, and there are heavy losses in some crops. Since growing medicinal plants, my family earns about VND 200 million each year, enough to cover living expenses and buy necessary items", Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Thanh's family currently has 3 hectares of panax pseudoginseng, and 5 hectares of kaempferia galanga. Both of these plants take only two months to harvest. Pharmaceutical enterprises purchase all medicinal plant output.

In the growing process, farmers have to follow strict procedures. Before that, enterprises sampled the soil for testing and analysis to ensure there were no harmful contaminants.

With medicinal plants, farmers do not use toxic pesticides or herbicides. As a result, the environment is protected and improved.

Mr. Ngai Seo Pha's family in La Di Thang village, Ta Van Chu commune, Bac Ha district, has 5 hectares of radix platycodi grandiflori, 3 hectares of kaempferia galanga, and 2 hectares of panax pseudoginseng. His family built a new house from the income of growing these medicinal plants.

Most highlanders have low incomes, so changing their lives through agriculture is their dream. When switching to medicinal plants, people's lives have been significantly improved, with income increasing 3-4 times.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue, Director of Bac Ha District Agricultural Service Center, said that the Center has cooperated with many organizations and the People's Committees of communes to set up groups and transfer science and technology to people through agricultural officers.

Changing production thinking towards organic and sustainable

Mr. Sung Seo Senh, Deputy Director of Co De Chai Agricultural Cooperative, Bac Ha district, the unit that buys medicinal plants from farmers, said that the cooperative built a workshop specializing in the preliminary processing of medicinal plants. In addition, every 2-3 months, the cooperative organizes training for households involved in growing medicinal plants.

Bac Ha district's natural conditions and weather are very suitable for medicinal plants. The process of harvesting medicinal plants requires that all kinds are not mixed together and that the tools are clean and dry.

"The cooperative has recently started implementing drip irrigation and mist irrigation models on the medicinal plant growing area. This is Israel's irrigation technology, which has been tested in the cooperative and will be deployed to households," Mr. Senh said.

In Bac Ha district, the cooperative model of growing medicinal herbs is widely used, with many farmers participating. The district now has 35 groups associated with 722 households and 1,622 beneficiaries.

Of the total area of ​​​​about 100 hectares of medicinal plants, the Ministry of Health granted the Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) certificate for 26 hectares.

Along with Co De Chai Cooperative, Lung Phinh Hi-Tech Cooperative supports farmers in planting, taking care of and picking medicinal herbs, and managing herbal drying houses. The cooperative has also connected and mobilized households to grow herbs according to its models of growing vegetables and strawberries.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Giang, Director of Lung Phinh Hi-tech Cooperative, said that the model of growing medicinal plants had changed people's thinking. Many households have converted from growing traditional crops such as maize, vegetables, or mixed gardens to growing medicinal plants.

Due to a lack of water sources, some abandoned areas have also been used to grow new medicinal plants after being connected to the irrigation system.