Building a "corridor" for cinnamon trees to develop sustainably

Mr. Vang A Thinh, Chairman of Nam Nhu Commune People's Committee (left) and local people inspect the new cinnamon growing area intercropped with upland rice.

Every house grows cinnamon

At this time, coming to many communes in Nam Po district, the most visible image is the excited faces of people in the process of planting and caring for cinnamon. In Nam Nhu 1 village, Nam Nhu commune, people are busy riding motorbikes to gathering points to receive fertilizer support. Mr. Vang A Thinh, Chairman of Nam Nhu Commune People's Committee, said: It is the rainy season, very suitable for growing cinnamon, so the local government is actively receiving seeds and fertilizers to distribute to people in time. According to the plan, it is expected that in 2023, the whole commune will plant 90 hectares of new cinnamon.

Accompanying Mr. Thinh, we visited a part of the cinnamon area that has just been intercropped with upland rice. Most of the trees are green and have begun to take root. “Although this crop has just been developed in the commune and the area is still small, it has been positively received by the people because it is suitable for the soil. The number of registered plantings is large, but to ensure planned development, we have to calculate and allocate appropriately. At the same time, we closely follow the people to ensure that there is no spontaneous development,” said Mr. Thinh.

Although not on the list of capital allocation for target programs to support cinnamon planting, at this time many people in Vang Dan commune are also busy receiving seedlings and planting.

Mr. Chao A Pao, Chairman of the People's Committee of Vang Dan Commune, said: "The seedlings were purchased by the people themselves, but they were all within the calculations of the local government (estimated at nearly 30 hectares). In addition, Vang Dan Commune currently has over 70 hectares of cinnamon trees 3-6 years old, growing and developing well. People are very excited so they continue to want to expand the area. However, to ensure that the planning is not broken, we have propagated and reminded households not to be hasty, to avoid the situation of massive planting which will lead to many unpredictable risks."

One of the first people to bring cinnamon trees to Vang Dan commune, and currently holding the largest and second largest area in the commune, is Mr. Hang A Trang, Noc Coc 1 village. Mr. Trang's family's total cinnamon area is about 4 hectares, most of which are 5-6 years old. With the support of the local government, Mr. Trang has recently connected with enterprises producing and trading cinnamon-related products from Van Yen district (Yen Bai province) - considered the "capital" of this tree species. Mr. Trang is provided with new plant varieties that ensure quality. At the same time, commitments to invest in production and purchase of products are being fulfilled. It is expected that in the near future, in some areas with concentrated cinnamon planting like Mr. Trang's family, there will be investment in building some preliminary processing workshops and transferring techniques to take advantage of excess raw materials during the process of caring for, pruning branches, and reducing tree density according to standards.

Determine the sustainable direction

According to the assessment and review of Nam Po district's professional agencies, the total cinnamon area in the area is currently nearly 290 hectares, mainly grown spontaneously. Meanwhile, the total natural area of the locality is more than 149,000 hectares; the area of non-forested forestry land and upland land is over 63,000 hectares. Along with rich soil conditions and abundant labor resources, it shows great potential to continue developing cinnamon. With many lessons learned from the failures of crops deployed in many localities in the past, Nam Po district has actively participated in the past time, aiming to create the best corridor to promote cinnamon development in a sustainable direction. From general inspection, statistics, and review of the current situation to seminars, exchanges and sharing of experiences with the authorities, professional agencies, and businesses that strongly develop cinnamon in Yen Bai province. On that basis, Nam Po District Party Committee has developed a thematic resolution, aiming to form a concentrated growing area towards commodity production in 12 communes (Na Hy, Vang Dan, Na Bung, Na Khoa, Nam Chua, Nam Nhu, Nam Tin, Cha Cang, Cha To, Nam Khan, Pa Tan, Na Co Sa) by 2025, with a total minimum area of 5,000 hectares. The total expected implementation capital is over 156 billion VND.

Mr. Hang Nhe Ly, Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee said: "We have initially connected and received commitments from a number of businesses and investors in Yen Bai in providing quality seeds and linking product consumption."

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