Ho Thau develops medicinal plants

BHG - Ho Thau commune (Hoang Su Phi) has an average altitude of over 1,000 m above sea level, with a cool climate all year round, very suitable for the growth of medicinal plants. Realising this as a great potential for economic development, the commune has focused on encouraging, mobilising, and guiding people to expand the area of medicinal plant cultivation to increase income and become rich.

Ho Thau people replicate the Amomum planting model.

Ms Xa ThiOi’s family, Tan Thanh Village, Ho Thau Commune, started growing Amomum in 2017. Currently, her family has nearly one hectare of Amomum with stable harvests. Oi shared that Amomum is a medicinal plant with a high economic value, it only needs to be planted once and in the following years, after applying good care techniques, it can produce fruit for many consecutive years. The tree is easy to grow, does not require much care or weeding, and has a low investment cost, after 2-3 years of planting, it can be harvested. Traders often buy fresh fruit for 60,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, and dried fruit can reach 150,000 - 200,000 VND/kg. Compared to traditional crops such as corn and soybeans, the income is much higher, so now in the village, more and more households are expanding the area of growing Amomum. The whole commune currently has over 48 hectares of Amomum, many crops have begun to be harvested with quite high selling prices, so people are very excited, actively taking care of and expanding the area. According to the leader of Ho Thau Commune, Amomum is suitable for the local climate and soil conditions, taking advantage of the land under the forest canopy, requiring little care, with it being harvested within 10 - 12 years. In addition to economic efficiency, planting Amomum under the forest canopy also contributes to preventing soil erosion and leaching, creating a diverse vegetation cover, and contributing to protecting forest resources.

In addition to Amomum, Ho Thau Commune also promotes the development of precious medicinal herbs, such as Vu Diep ginseng, Ngoc Linh ginseng, Panax notoginseng, and Cinnamon. Ho Thau Commune has over 200 hectares of Cinnamon, more than 2 hectares of precious medicinal herbs, such as Ginseng and Panax notoginseng, and hundreds of hectares of Cardamom under the forest canopy. The communal Party Committee and administration have actively coordinated with the district's specialised departments to guide people on planting and care techniques, ensuring quality according to new standards for clean and safe medicinal herbs, and expanding the area in suitable places. At the same time, cooperate with enterprises and cooperatives inside and outside the province, to develop medicinal herbs into commodity production, and build a chain of links from production, purchasing, processing, and product consumption, to bring high and sustainable economic efficiency.