The district has 11 thousand hectares of organic cinnamon.

YEN BAI_ Van Yen district currently has over 11,000 hectares of cinnamon certified organically and is continuing to increase strongly in the coming time to target high-end export markets.

Currently, Van Yen district has nearly 11,000 hectares of cinnamon certified as organic. Photo: Thanh Tien.

Cinnamon value increases by 10 - 15% thanks to organic production

Van Yen district is considered the cinnamon capital of Yen Bai province with a total area of ​​over 57,000 hectares, accounting for over 60% of the province's cinnamon area. In recent times, thousands of households in localities in the district have signed contracts with businesses to build organic cinnamon material areas to both build product brands and increase income value per unit of cultivation.

Mr. Tran Van Trang’s family in Vien Son commune (Van Yen district) has nearly 10 hectares of hilly forest land, the entire area is planted with cinnamon. Previously, Mr. Trang’s family and other households in the commune often planted and cared for cinnamon in the traditional way, selecting seeds and sowing young trees themselves to expand the area.

The land in Vien Son is fertile, suitable for cinnamon trees. However, when planting, people used to use chemical fertilizers. During the care process, people mainly used herbicides to reduce labor. This method not only affects the health of cinnamon growers, but also destroys the ecological environment and makes it very difficult to sell products. Even export enterprises to high-end markets do not buy products, and the products are often forced down in price by traders.

In 2016, Mr. Trang's family and some households in the village were trained and instructed on organic cinnamon growing techniques by agricultural extension officers and technical staff of Olam Vietnam Company. Instead of using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, when applying organic farming, people are supported and guided in choosing seedlings with guaranteed quality genes. The cultivation process mainly follows nature, using organic fertilizers or letting the cinnamon trees grow on their own, people only handle weeds manually or with a weeding machine.

Households apply manual measures to manage weeds for organic cinnamon areas. Photo: Thanh Tien.

According to Mr. Trang, organic farming not only contributes to protecting the soil environment, water resources, and people's health, but also creates safe products for consumers, while reducing costs of buying fertilizers and pesticides. Cinnamon products are purchased by companies at prices 10-15% higher than those of households without organic certification.

Vien Son is a highland commune, considered the ancestral land of Van Yen cinnamon trees. Currently, the commune has over 900 households, of which the Dao people account for 75%. Cinnamon trees have been with the people for many generations, and are the main crop that brings the main income to the people. Currently, the whole commune has nearly 2,500 hectares of cinnamon, providing the market with over 600 tons of cinnamon bark, over 4,000m3 of cinnamon wood and hundreds of tons of essential oil each year, bringing in nearly 100 billion VND in revenue. Since 2010, the Vien Son cinnamon area and neighboring communes have been granted geographical indications by the Intellectual Property Office (Ministry of Science and Technology).

Mr. Ban Phuc Hin - Chairman of Vien Son Commune People's Committee said that cinnamon is considered the "green gold" tree on the mountain of the people. In recent years, the commune government has coordinated with the agricultural sector and businesses to mobilize and guide people to develop organic cinnamon material areas to increase product value and meet the purchasing requirements of processing and exporting enterprises.

Currently, the whole commune has over 1,300 hectares of cinnamon certified organic, accounting for over 50% of the total area. In addition, the locality always focuses on preserving superior cinnamon trees and perennial cinnamon hills to build seed gardens, provide quality seeds, and manage the harvesting and sowing of cinnamon in the area to supply to people for production.

Van Yen is the largest cinnamon granary in the country, growing in a land of pure and fresh air, and enjoying special soil conditions, so Van Yen cinnamon is considered "the number one high mountain cinnamon". For a long time, cinnamon has become a familiar crop, bringing a prosperous life to the people.

Cinnamon trees bring a prosperous life to thousands of households in Van Yen district - considered the cinnamon capital of Vietnam. Photo: Thanh Tien.

Currently, the total cinnamon area in Van Yen district is more than 57,000 hectares. In recent years, the district government has directed the agricultural sector to actively mobilize and support people to grow cinnamon in concentrated areas and produce organically. The district has coordinated with businesses and units such as NEDSPICE Binh Duong Company, Son Ha Spices Company, Olam Vietnam Company, Forest Protection Research Center (under the Vietnam Forestry Science Institute), the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center... to organize training for thousands of farmers on sustainable cinnamon production techniques in an organic direction to create quality raw material areas and expand the consumption market.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Van Yen district, the district's agricultural sector has directed the team of grassroots agricultural extension officers to coordinate with local authorities to conduct propaganda, mobilization, training, and transfer of technical advances in cinnamon production from the stages of selecting seed forests, nurturing seedlings, planting, caring, harvesting and processing products; and mobilizing people to produce cinnamon in an organic and sustainable manner.

Van Yen district has planned a cinnamon growing area focusing on organic production with an area of ​​over 35,000 hectares. Up to now, the cinnamon area certified with organic standards is nearly 11,000 hectares. In addition, the district has built 4 cinnamon value chains, in which enterprises participate as a bridge between cooperatives and export markets. The district also promotes the formation of cooperatives and cooperatives to promote links with farming households, create raw material areas and close links with enterprises in product consumption.

Nurseries select cinnamon seeds from native superior trees to ensure quality for mass planting. Photo: Thanh Tien.

On average, each year, Van Yen district supplies the market with about 6,000 tons of dried cinnamon bark of all kinds, collects over 65,000 tons of cinnamon branches and leaves, over 50,000m3 of cinnamon wood, over 300 tons of essential oil... Total revenue from cinnamon products reaches over 800 billion VND/year, creating jobs for thousands of workers.

Towards collective organic certification

Mr. Pham Trung Kien - Vice Chairman of Van Yen District People's Committee said that the district's goal is to continue to increase the output and quality of cinnamon products. Gradually move towards demanding markets to increase the income value for people.

According to Mr. Kien, expanding the organic cinnamon material area cannot be done overnight but is a long-term process from selecting varieties, intensive cultivation, care, preliminary processing... Households and production areas that are granted organic certificates must undergo a strict process of sampling, testing buffer zones, soil, water, bark, cinnamon leaves... An independent unit will test to issue the certificate, Yen Bai province will support 100% of the cost of hiring a consulting unit to do it. In addition, a number of businesses have signed contracts with people to build their own organic cinnamon material areas for export.

To increase export products to high-end markets, Yen Bai has a long-term and systematic plan to build raw material areas. Photo: Thanh Tien.

The change in production methods from small-scale to organic production not only helps to increase productivity, quality and value of cinnamon products but also helps the locality reduce environmental pollution, protect natural water sources and ensure community health.

In the coming period, Van Yen district authorities will continue to focus on building specialized cinnamon growing areas, focusing on communes that have been granted geographical indications, focusing on the production of organic cinnamon and cinnamon products that meet export standards to high-end markets such as the US, Japan, Korea and European countries.

Currently, organic certification is granted directly to households, however, by 2025, organic cinnamon entering the US and EU markets must be collectively certified. Therefore, the requirements for raw material areas will be higher, requiring the joint coordination of all households in a production area, not being able to be implemented individually by each household.

In the coming time, the local government will continue to coordinate with businesses and scientists to propagate and guide people to produce cinnamon with organic certification, striving to build a cinnamon area that meets international standards with an area of ​​over 15,000 hectares by 2025.

Source: https://nongsanviet.nongnghiep.vn/huyen-co-11-nghin-ha-que-huu-co-d380430.html