Considered a “national treasure” of Vietnam, Ngoc Linh ginseng is a precious medicinal herb, a plant that helps eliminate hunger and reduce poverty for the people. That is the reason why people in Ngoc Linh mountain area actively protect, preserve and develop this precious medicinal herb. However, preserving the source of seeds and developing the Ngoc Linh ginseng brand is a difficult journey.
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| People in Kon Tum province take care of Ngoc Linh ginseng plants. |
Tu Mo Rong District, Kon Tum Province is known to tourists as the “capital” of Ngoc Linh ginseng in Kon Tum Province. Ngoc Linh Range is covered with fog and cold rain all year round, where there is a large natural forest cover, which is an ideal condition for precious medicinal herbs to grow and develop.
Participating in growing ginseng on Ngoc Linh mountain range, Mr. A Linh (Pu Ta village, Mang Ri commune, Tu Mo Rong district) said: Every year, after harvesting, people will bring ginseng seeds into the old forest to grow. By March, the plants sprout and produce tubers. About 5 months later, the ginseng plants begin to grow well and can be transplanted under the forest canopy.
However, this is the beginning of the rainy season, ginseng plants are prone to rot and die, people have to wait until October-November, when the weather is drier, to start the new planting season. At that time, groups of households will go together to the forest, gently pull out the ginseng roots that have been planted in the nursery; pull very gently to protect the roots and then plant them in the prepared area. After pulling them up, the plants must be planted immediately, if left for two or three days, the plants will weaken and die.
According to Mr. A Linh, when sowing seeds, the success rate is only about 60% to 70%. When planting, the survival rate decreases every year. From planting to harvesting, the survival rate is only 30% to 40% of the plants. Therefore, although it is said to be cultivated ginseng, in reality the seedlings are sown from seeds and grown naturally in the forest. The planting process does not have any impact from drugs or fertilizers when the plants grow and develop.
Mr. A Duc (Long Hy village, Mang Ri commune, Tu Mo Rong district) said: Many people still confuse Ngoc Linh ginseng and wild ginseng. Ngoc Linh ginseng only grows halfway up the mountains, where there is often fog. The distinguishing feature is that Ngoc Linh ginseng has two round tubers at the bottom, the ginseng roots are like bamboo roots, yellow in color, the tubers are usually smaller and longer; the core inside is dark brown, indicating that the ginseng is old and has many active ingredients; as for wild ginseng, the tubers are often like a mouse's tail, slightly black in color.
Chairman of Tu Mo Rong District People's Committee Vo Trung Manh said: Ngoc Linh ginseng is distributed in two provinces of Kon Tum and Quang Nam. Currently, Tu Mo Rong District has developed more than 2,800 hectares of Ngoc Linh ginseng. In the past 5 years, Ngoc Linh ginseng has helped nearly 2,000 households of the Xo Dang ethnic group escape poverty; helped hundreds of households get rich, with some households earning tens of billions of VND each year.
In fact, there have been cases of fake Ngoc Linh ginseng being sold with tubers that look similar to Ngoc Linh ginseng. The first to suffer are customers who have to spend a large amount of money but do not buy the right product, while dedicated growers suffer losses. Currently, 1 hectare of Ngoc Linh ginseng brings in a value of more than 30 billion VND, a crop with high economic value, however, this plant is facing the problem of fake ginseng, causing great losses to people, businesses, and cooperatives.
Professor, Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc, Faculty of Pharmacy - Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City said: Due to the price difference of hundreds of millions of VND between some types of ginseng compared to Ngoc Linh ginseng, along with the situation of smuggling cheap wild ginseng, uncontrolled quality from China into Vietnam, the ginseng market is unstable, uncontrolled, leading to the situation of smuggled and counterfeit goods flooding the market, affecting the image and reputation of Ngoc Linh ginseng and causing damage to consumers. In addition, Vietnam's ginseng development strategy is not really strict and scientific... causing difficulties for the development of Vietnamese ginseng in general and Ngoc Linh ginseng in particular.
According to Decision No. 611/QD-TTg dated June 1, 2023 of the Prime Minister on the program to develop Vietnamese ginseng to 2030, with a vision to 2045, Ngoc Linh ginseng is oriented to become a commodity that brings economic value to ginseng growers.
In recent times, the leaders of Kon Tum province and especially the leaders of Tu Mo Rong district have issued many policy documents to protect Ngoc Linh ginseng but have not yet achieved the desired results. Preserving and developing Ngoc Linh ginseng is a difficult and arduous journey.
However, not being afraid of difficulties or hardships, only planting plants that have been tested to be pure Ngoc Linh ginseng genes on site, not helping bad guys take advantage of the Ngoc Linh ginseng brand, resolutely fighting against the situation of "disguising" Ngoc Linh ginseng... is what the Xo Dang ethnic people at the foot of Ngoc Linh mountain have been doing to protect, preserve and develop Vietnam's "national treasure".
Minh Nghia and Phuc Thang
Source: https://nhandan.vn/bao-ve-thuong-hieu-sam-ngoc-linh-post854200.html
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