Northwest macadamia have a turning point soon

On 11 November, working with the People's Committee of Dien Bien province, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh assessed: In some northern mountainous provinces such as Dien Bien and Lai Chau, macadamias have gradually asserted their position. Not only creating local jobs for farmers, but the development of macadamias also brings in an income of about VND 300 million per hectare.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh noted the testing, garden selection, propagation and fertilization, and highly appreciated the linkage and technology transfer between enterprises and people.

As a unit planning for macadamias across the country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assessed that the northern mountainous areas, especially Dien Bien and Lai Chau provinces, have a suitable climate and soil for macadamia growing.

According to Deputy Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development supports the Northwest provinces and advises the provinces to have a precise orientation in disseminating on a large scale, closely linking development with planning, and limiting the rampant testing.

"In the 2025 orientation, we need an open plan for macadamia trees. The provinces need to do the process methodically and pay close attention to the actual efficiency, and simultaneously calculate and properly allocate the existing land fund," said the Deputy Minister.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh explained the "open planning", which is creating an open corridor, attracting investment capital, technology chains, processing from the business sector in the development of macadamia. Besides, the provinces considered the capital of macadamia, like Dien Bien, are not sure to go anywhere.

Technically, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh highly appreciated the implementation of Dien Bien and Lai Chau over the past time, but emphasized the need to pay attention to the management from the top of the line, how to get more grafted eyes. Thanks to the thick soil layer, the northern mountainous provinces can cultivate macadamia in terraced fields but must pay attention to water conservation measures such as mulching with straw.

Investing in macadamia nuts is an investment for the long-term future. Therefore, we need to do more research on-chain development, incorporating more advanced agricultural models such as circular agriculture, smart agriculture, and improve governance", the Deputy Minister shared.

Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, said that, in the immediate future, it is advisable to focus on developing macadamia trees on production forest land.

With protection forest land, even without trees, the locality needs to encourage native species. Depending on natural conditions, the provinces can intercrop macadamia with other species, but it is necessary to prevent erosion and ensure the ecological system.

Macadamia trees will be harvested heavily within the following year because Dien Bien, Lai Chau, and many other localities have organized planting on a large area since 2016, 2017. Thus, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said this would be a turning point for the macadamia sector.

Taking the example of Bac Giang consuming lychee and Son La consuming longan in 2021, Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh noted that provinces that grow macadamias need to develop many scenarios early in the processing and consumption, and export.

He said: "Now is the time for us to take the business as the core, help farmers cultivate professionally, and at the same time study a plan to harmonize the interests of the two sides. When macadamia becomes a commodity, agriculture will work closely with the locality to strictly manage from the beginning, establish and build value chains to increase value for this tree".

Vice-Chairman of Dien Bien People's Committee, Mr. Lo Van Tien, affirmed the province's determination to develop macadamia. 4 reasons are that Macadamia trees have been effective in practice and are highly assessed for both quality, efficiency, and productivity.

Dien Bien has a large land area. Farmers easily cultivate macadamia due to the habit of going to the forest. Enterprises investing in the province are enthusiastic. The development of macadamia helps the province stabilize rural security, reducing the phenomenon of free migration in districts such as Muong Nhe and Nam Po because people have a way of attaching assets to their land.

Mr. Le Van Duc, Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production, said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development had determined the scale and area of ​​net planting and intercropping of macadamia in localities. Cultivation leaders also noted that some provinces with experience in developing rubber, such as Dien Bien having fiscal space for a multi-purpose plant as macadamia.

To sustainably develop macadamia trees, Mr. Duc suggested that relevant ministries, departments, and agencies work with localities to find the best growing areas. Some of the technical measures he recommends include the design of terraces, maintenance of mulch between rows, canopy technique, pruning, and treatment when the plants are in bloom.