Preserving "specialties" to increase income for highland people

Bat Xat is district 30a of Lao Cai province, in the highland communes of the district, Shan tea has been grown by people for many years. Currently, the price of Shan tea is high compared to the general level of the tea market. To preserve and develop this precious tea variety and increase income for ethnic minorities, the district is continuing to implement many solutions. Located 13km southwest of Thai Nguyen city, Tan Cuong is a land that produces famous delicious tea products, known by many domestic and foreign tourists. The land is known as "The first famous tea" with many famous delicious tea products and has become an attractive destination for many domestic and international tourists. On the afternoon of March 26, at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Bat Xat is district 30a of Lao Cai province, in the highland communes of the district, Shan tea has been grown by people for many years. Currently, the price of Shan tea is high compared to the general level of the tea market. To preserve and develop precious tea varieties and increase income for ethnic minorities, the district is continuing to implement many solutions. Implementing the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2030 period, Phase I from 2021-2025, the Social Policy Bank (CSXH) of Tuyen Quang province has had many solutions to implement preferential credit policies according to Decree No. 28/2022/ND-CP of the Government. After a period of implementation, ethnic minority people in the province have had access to preferential capital, creating motivation to escape poverty sustainably. Nam Cuong sand hill, located in An Hai commune, Ninh Phuoc district, Ninh Thuan province, is recognized by tourism experts as one of the most unique "mini deserts" in Southeast Asia. Located about 8 km south of Phan Rang - Thap Cham city, Nam Cuong sand hill attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists to visit and explore the unique beauty of the flying sand area along the South Central Coast. Recently, Ta Ma stream suddenly became a "hot" destination not only in Binh Dinh province but also in the Central and Central Highlands regions. Ta Ma stream belongs to Ha Ri village, Vinh Hiep commune, Vinh Thanh district, Binh Dinh province, like a sleeping princess in the forest suddenly awakened, awakening the whole mountain forest. Located 13 km southwest of Thai Nguyen city, Tan Cuong is a land that creates famous delicious tea products, known by many domestic and foreign tourists. The land is known as "The first famous tea" with many famous delicious tea products, has become an attractive destination for many domestic and international tourists. General news of the Ethnic and Development Newspaper. The morning news on March 25th has the following notable information: Quang Nam issues land support policy for ethnic minorities. Vietnam's ancient cathedral gets new tiles. Farmers voluntarily leave poverty to become billionaires. Along with other news in ethnic minority and mountainous areas. For nearly 50 years, Mr. Pham Van Lac (66 years old), from Mang Lung village, Ba To commune, Ba To district, Quang Ngai province, has quietly lit a fire to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Hre ethnic group. As the best Hre gong player in the village, Mr. Lac has a deep understanding of many traditional gong pieces such as gong ba and gong nam. He has contributed to keeping the gong sound of the Hre people echoing in the great forest. With the desire to help the poor and disadvantaged people in society, especially ethnic minorities and mountainous areas, have housing and stabilize their lives, in recent years, Hoa Binh province has made efforts to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses for the people. Accordingly, 1,975 houses have been newly built and 223 houses have been repaired. After reviewing, currently, the whole province still has 996 houses that need to be rebuilt and repaired. The province has been implementing many solutions to focus all its efforts on completing the elimination of temporary and leaky houses by June 30, 2025. Responding to the movement "Lang Son Youth join hands to build new rural areas" (NTM), Bac Son District Youth Union has been implementing many projects and youth tasks to effectively implement the NTM construction program. On March 27, in Sa Pa town (Lao Cai), the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association for Promotion of Education presented 200 gifts worth 200 million VND to students in the mountainous areas of Lao Cai with difficult circumstances who have made great achievements in their studies. Attending the award ceremony were former Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan - President of the Vietnam Association for Promoting Education. In order to popularize and improve digital financial knowledge and skills for students and young people, helping students and young people manage their personal finances scientifically, proactively and effectively, on March 26, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Student Association, and Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) held a signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement for the period 2025 - 2028.

Shan tea has been grown by the people of Bat Xat highlands for many years.

Currently, in the highland communes of Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province, there are about 250 hectares of various types of tea. Of these, Shan tea is the most valuable because it is suitable for the soil, climate, water source as well as the altitude of hundreds of meters above sea level. That is why the quality of Shan tea here is different from many other places.

Shan tea trees have been planted by ethnic minorities for many years, so it can be called an ancient tea variety; to harvest, people have to climb up on a ladder. After being harvested by hand, the tea buds can be roasted by hand according to folk experience to preserve the flavor of the mountains and forests. Currently, the price of Shan tea fluctuates around 150 thousand VND/kg; this is quite a high price compared to the price of other types of tea currently on the market.

The family of Mrs. Chao San May in Muong Hum commune has nearly 50 ancient tea trees. Previously, the family only picked them for drinking; since Shan tea products have become popular in the market, she has been picking them to sell to the Cooperative. Thanks to that, she has also had money to cover family expenses.

“Now that tea is selling for a good price, my family regularly weeds and adds compost so the tea has more buds. That’s why the yield in recent years has been much higher than before,” said Mrs. May.

Tea plants are contributing to increasing income for farmers in the highlands of Bat Xat.

To ensure the output for people's tea products, Huong Tam Tea Cooperative (located in Muong Hum commune) and A Mu Sung Agricultural Products Production and Processing Cooperative (located in A Mu Sung commune) ... have invested in machinery and factories to consume products as well as produce many types of tea to supply to the market.

Along with that, to have quality raw materials for processing, the Cooperatives have sent staff to each household to guide them in following the process, from planting to harvesting. In the process of expanding the area, people must also comply with the hillside design, plant shade trees, apply intensive farming measures, apply organic fertilizers, microbial fertilizers, etc.

“We regularly send technical staff to supervise the fertilization, pest control, and harvesting stages to ensure good quality tea buds to increase the OCOP “star” for tea products, because having more “stars” makes tea easier to sell and more valuable,” added Mr. Truong Van Huong, Director of Huong Tam Tea Cooperative.

When tea products are commercialized, the demand for raw materials increases, the planting area is expanded, making tea a key commodity crop. Thereby, contributing to the implementation of Resolution 10-NQ/TU dated August 26, 2021 of Lao Cai Provincial Party Committee on the Strategy for developing agricultural commodities in Lao Cai province to 2030, with a vision to 2050.

To continue to preserve and develop valuable tea varieties, Bat Xat district has been developing raw tea growing areas in highland communes, and expanding to Y Ty district - the highest place in the district (over 2,000m above sea level). The tea growing areas will be produced according to VietGAP standards and aim for organic products to serve factories, cooperatives and processing facilities. At the same time, support will be provided to build sustainable tea production, processing and consumption chains.

Many activities to promote and advertise tea products are organized by local authorities.

“Organic agricultural production is considered an inevitable direction and the Government has a policy of linking the development of organic agriculture with the project of restructuring the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development.

Besides instructing people on planting, care, harvesting techniques... according to organic production processes; we also encourage people to participate in the production, processing, and consumption chain with businesses to increase income," emphasized Mr. Si Trung Kien, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Bat Xat district.

Along with expanding the area, Bat Xat district is also preserving the ancient Shan tea variety. Shan tea trees that are 10 years old or older, free of pests and diseases, and have high productivity are harvested for seeds and treated for sowing and potting. Once the seedlings meet the standards, they will be planted. When planting, the people will receive support from the state for seeds and fertilizers.

With this approach, the tea growing area in general and the specialty tea growing area in particular in Bat Xat district have been and are being expanded in the direction of commodities; thereby, contributing to increasing income for farmers in the highlands.

By 2030, the average income of ethnic minorities in Lao Cai will be at least half of the province's average.

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/giu-dac-san-de-nang-cao-thu-nhap-cho-dong-bao-vung-cao-1742978934016.htm