Born and raised in a poor area, Do Trong Hoc (born in 1985), residing in Cat Van commune, Nhu Xuan district (Thanh Hoa) dreamed of passing the university entrance exam to reduce his suffering in the future. He tried very hard and passed the entrance exam to the University of Physical Education and Sports in Bac Ninh province.

More than 10 years ago, with a bachelor's degree in hand, Mr. Hoc went everywhere to apply for a job but was unsuccessful. Too frustrated, he returned to his hometown to apply for a part-time job in the commune's culture and sports department.

During his time working in the commune, Mr. Hoc always had a burning desire to do something to change his life. Once, reading in the newspaper about the model of growing macadamia trees that brought high economic efficiency, in his mind he began to have the idea of ​​growing this type of tree.

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Mr. Hoc owns a 5-hectare macadamia garden. Photo: Le Duong
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Macadamia trees are flowering, yielding one harvest per year. Photo: Le Duong

“After studying the climate and soil, I realized that this place was suitable for growing macadamia trees. In 2013, I decided to try planting them. In my hometown, the land was mainly used for growing sugarcane and acacia, so at that time my family objected because they were worried that this variety of tree was too new and that I would fail,” Hoc recalled.

At first, he planted 1.5 hectares on his family's sugarcane hill. After 3 years, seeing the plants growing well, Mr. Hoc decided to expand the area to 5 hectares. Due to lack of experience in caring for the plants, the fruit trees were sparse and the yield was not as expected.

“To find the cause, I joined macadamia growing groups and learned the method of grafting branches from fruit-bearing trees onto trees with few fruits. Thanks to that, macadamia yields increased significantly. By 2017, I had my first successful harvest,” said Mr. Hoc.

According to Mr. Hoc, macadamia is not a difficult tree to grow. However, in Thanh Hoa, the output of this nut is still limited, so people have not seen the economic efficiency.

According to Mr. Hoc, the reason he calls macadamia the “billion dollar tree” is because macadamia nuts are known as the “queen of nuts” thanks to their high nutritional value. At one point, the selling price of this nut was up to 2.5 million VND/kg, and a macadamia garden brought in billions of dollars.

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Dried macadamia nuts. Photo: Le Duong

Up to now, in addition to his family's 5 hectares, Mr. Hoc has also cooperated with households growing macadamia in districts such as Thach Thanh, Ngoc Lac, Thuong Xuan, Lang Chanh... with an area of ​​over 75 hectares. Each year, he harvests, processes and brings to market more than 15 tons of macadamia nuts.

He is currently focusing on investing in processing to increase the value of the product, instead of just selling it raw. Linking production and finding consumption markets through online channels helps him reach customers quickly, so macadamia develops sustainably and brings high profits.

After harvesting, macadamia nuts are dried, canned and sold for 140,000 VND/box. After deducting expenses, he earns about 500 million VND per year.

Mr. Le Quang Diep, Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Cat Van Commune, said that Mr. Hoc was the pioneer in bringing macadamia trees to the locality. Thanks to this model, his family’s economy has developed steadily over the years. In addition, he also built a macadamia growing cooperative, bringing in a large source of income for the people.

“Macadamia has become the crop with the highest economic value in the locality. The People's Committee of Nhu Xuan district has a project to support Mr. Hoc's cooperative to expand the growing area," said Mr. Diep.