Currently, in the fields of Tan Phong commune, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province, there are many farmers growing moneywort. “Growing this medicinal plant has many risks and benefits. In lucky years, the profit is three times higher than growing crops. In unlucky years, we take it to traditional medicine stores,” said farmer Nguyen Dan Sanh.
Moneywort - an essential medicinal plant
Moneywort belongs to the legume family (Fabaceae), scientific name Desmodium styracifolium or also known as buffalo eye plant, hairy coin, dragon scale, dragon eye.
The stem crawls on the ground, the leaves grow alternately, are hairy, have grooves, the flowers grow in small clusters, the moneywort fruit is slightly curved down.
This is a traditional Vietnamese medicinal plant that is effective in treating many different diseases such as kidney stones and urinary tract stones. Moneywort can withstand drought and grows and develops in many places.
This plant is grown in many countries such as Laos, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and Southern China. In our country, the moneywort plant is present in many provinces such as Nghe An, Phu Tho, Lang Son...
In Tay Ninh, more than ten years ago, farmers in Tan Phong commune learned to cultivate this medicinal plant and have maintained it to this day.
Mr. Trinh Van Lap, residing in Xom Thap hamlet, is currently growing more than 2 hectares of moneywort. When we visited, this farmer was weeding and pumping water to irrigate the medicinal herb field.
Currently, his moneywort plants have matured, their stems cover the entire field, some plants have flowered, and it will be ready for harvest in about a month.
According to Mr. Lap, this plant is also easy to cultivate. When it is necessary to plant, farmers sow seeds in the nursery, then pull up the seedlings, take them to the field and hire workers to plant them like rice. Each crop of moneywort lasts about 3 months before harvesting.
However, this medicinal plant does not necessarily need to be harvested on the same day as other crops.
If there are severe storms, farmers can delay harvest by another month. After harvesting, farmers transport agricultural products home to dry. Then, traders will come to the house to buy and transport them to other places to process traditional medicine.
Mr. Lap, a farmer growing moneywort - a medicinal plant in Tan Phong commune, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province, is taking care of his moneywort field.
Mr. Lap added that although this type of tree is easy to cultivate, its output depends entirely on traders and market prices.
In years when the harvest is good, the price is good, the income is higher than that of rice, sugarcane, and cassava. In years when traders do not buy, farmers have to accept the loss of capital. Looking at the green medicinal herb field, Mr. Lap assessed: "This year the plants are growing well, but the current price is average, so the income may only be equal to that of agricultural crops."
Unstable output
A few hundred meters from Mr. Lap's herbal medicine field is Mr. Nguyen Dan Sanh's 4 hectares of land growing moneywort.
This man is also busy pumping water to irrigate his garden. Mr. Sanh said that his family has been growing moneywort for 5 years. In previous years, on the above mentioned rice field, his family used to grow rice, corn, and cassava.
"Compared to other agricultural plants, moneywort has higher productivity and economic value, but the output is unstable," said Mr. Sanh.
Moneywort plant is grown in Xom Thap hamlet, Tan Phong commune, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province.
This farmer said that there was a time when traders bought this plant for 32,000 VND/kg (after drying), after deducting costs, growers made 3 times more profit than growing rice, because the investment cost was lower. However, currently, the purchase price is only 20,000 VND/kg. At this price, after deducting production costs, moneywort growers do not make much profit.
Mr. Sanh said: “Last season, I had more than 5 tons of moneywort left over. I waited forever but couldn’t sell it, so in the end I had to give it to charity herbal medicine stores.”
Regarding the cultivation of medicinal plants in the area, Mr. Dang The Phuong - Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Tan Phong commune said that the profession of growing moneywort in this area has existed for more than ten years. On average, each crop, people grow about 15-20 hectares, concentrated in Xom Thap hamlet.
The cultivation time for each crop is only about 3 months, 3-4 crops can be grown in a year, giving higher income than growing rice, sugarcane, and cassava. For many years, moneywort growers have only sold to traders, no company has purchased the product, so the output is unstable.
Tan Phong commune has a large, flat, fertile agricultural land area, with sufficient agricultural water source from the Dau Tieng - Phuoc Hoa irrigation project.
Tan Phong people are hard-working, skilled and experienced in growing this medicinal plant. Moneywort can be used to make many valuable medicines.
If companies specializing in the production of oriental medicine contract to purchase products at stable prices, the profession of growing moneywort in Tan Phong promises to bring much economic potential to local people.
According to traditional medicine documents, Desmodium styracifolium also has the effect of clearing heat, detoxifying and diuretic. This medicinal herb is often used in the treatment of diseases related to the urinary tract such as removing stones, painful urination, frequent urination, and dark yellow urine.
Source: https://danviet.vn/kim-tien-thao-la-cay-gi-co-tac-dung-gi-ma-o-tay-ninh-dan-goi-la-cay-bap-benh-co-luc-nho-dem-cho-20250317091117687.htm
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