Tea tree - "Green gold" on Dai Tu land

Located in the Northwest of Thai Nguyen , Dai Tu is the largest tea granary in the province with an area of over 6,600 hectares (accounting for over 30% of the total tea area of the province). With favorable climate and soil conditions and the attention of the Party Committee, government and people, tea trees have covered the hills and fields of Dai Tu district, becoming a key crop, bringing stable income to the people. Affirming the brand, continuing to bring Dai Tu tea products to more markets is the goal and aspiration of tea growers and local authorities here.

Dai Tu is blessed by nature with a unique landscape with majestic mountain ranges, many waterfalls, wild streams, captivating beauty. The temperate climate of the eastern slope of Tam Dao, the cool water of the great irrigation project of Nui Coc Lake creates a rich flora, very suitable for tea trees to grow. The district has many famous tea regions that have been formed for a long time such as: Hoang Nong, La Bang, Phu Xuyen...

Along with midland tea varieties, in recent years, local people have actively introduced hybrid tea varieties with high productivity and quality into production, such as: LDP1, TRI777, Long Van, Bat Tien... Currently, the area of new tea varieties is about 5,300 hectares, accounting for more than 80% of the total tea area of the district. In 2022, the total output of fresh tea buds is estimated to reach nearly 80,000 tons; the value of tea products reaches nearly 2,000 billion VND; the value of products per hectare of tea growing land reaches 308.8 million VND.

Aiming at the goal of forming large-scale, concentrated, high-quality tea material areas, the district has been planning a number of tea areas in communes with strengths to facilitate the application of science and technology in production, increase investment attraction and form a sustainable chain.

Mr. Trieu Ho Quang, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dai Tu district, informed: The district has issued a decision approving the detailed planning of the concentrated tea production area associated with tourism development in La Bang - Phu Xuyen commune, the planning of the concentrated tea area in Hoang Nong - Tien Hoi commune. We are coordinating with Tan Linh commune to complete the planning of the concentrated tea area in this commune. The planning has a scale of 70-80 hectares. Along with the tea production area, the areas are also planned for land to arrange technical infrastructure works to serve production such as: Traffic, irrigation, power supply system, drainage...

From many sources of support from the province, from 2016 to now, Dai Tu district has implemented a series of projects aimed at developing tea products through supporting processing machinery and equipment. At the same time, many programs and projects have been implemented to support people to gradually put machinery into production.

During this period, 30 gas tea drying systems were supported for cooperatives and tea production households in the communes of Hoang Nong, La Bang, Quan Chu, Minh Tien... with a budget of over 20 billion VND. The programs to support the development of tea areas are gradually promoting their value, bringing practical results to the beneficiaries. In addition, the district also supported water-saving tea irrigation systems on a total area of over 530 hectares for over 2,200 households in 30 communes and towns. The total investment and installation cost of the irrigation system is over 11.6 billion VND. Currently, households are using the irrigation system for production, intensive cultivation of tea trees, especially the intensive winter tea area. This has contributed to reducing labor and limiting the area of tea dying due to lack of water in the winter crop.

Through support, people have access to modern equipment and clearly see the effectiveness of applying technology to production. From here, many cooperatives and production facilities proactively invest in more machinery and improve their own production facilities.

The effective application of technology and the conversion of appropriate production methods help tea products have a stable position, gradually increasing their value. Up to now, the mechanization rate in the tea roasting and rolling stage has reached 100%; in the preservation stage, it has reached 60%... The whole Dai Tu district currently has nearly 19,000 motorized tea roasters, more than 150 gas and electric tea roasters; over 18,000 tea rolling machines; more than 4,000 tea cutting machines; nearly 300 vacuum machines...

In addition to investing in machinery and equipment for tea production and processing, Dai Tu tea makers also pay attention to changing farming methods and applying safe tea growing and care processes to meet the strict demands of the market, protect the ecological environment as well as the health of producers and consumers.

The total area of tea produced according to VietGAP standards in the whole district is currently 1,636 hectares. Up to now, the district has 15 hectares of tea in Phu Xuyen and La Bang communes recognized as meeting Vietnamese organic standards TCVN 1104-2:2017, TCVN 1104-6:2018.

Mr. Do Minh Tuan, Head of the Tan Son Organic Tea Production Cooperative in La Bang Commune, shared: The Cooperative has 10 hectares of certified organic tea with the participation of 50 members. Although initially the tea output decreased significantly, and some areas were even unharvestable, the productivity and output of tea have now stabilized and are showing signs of improvement. So the efforts of the people have reaped "sweet fruit". We believe that with a serious farming awareness and strict processes, the Cooperative's tea products will be well received by the market.

Dai Tu district currently has 24 tea products recognized as OCOP products. Of these, 10 products have achieved 3-star OCOP, 14 products have achieved 4-star OCOP. Dai Tu tea products are present in almost all provinces and cities in the country.

In addition to constantly improving the quality of tea production and processing, some households and cooperatives in Dai Tu are now combining production with tourism development. Households, cooperatives and cooperative groups have paid attention to the improvement of tea hills, creating spaces for tea enjoyment, displaying and introducing products, and developing a variety of tea products as gifts to serve tourists.

Tourists coming here are introduced to tea plants, processing stages, tea tasting, and taking photos with the green tea fields by the farmers themselves. Tea plants have brought “double benefits” to farmers as they are both an agricultural product with high economic value and play an important role in developing tourism associated with tea culture. From here, tea products follow tourists to all parts of the country.

Since the end of 2021, the district has issued a plan to implement the Thai Nguyen Province Tourism Development Project for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030 in the area, with a total estimated investment of nearly 300 billion VND. Accordingly, the district focuses on developing tourism products in each phase (including community tourism, rural tourism associated with tea culture, historical tourism, eco-tourism, and resorts); strengthening human resource training and promotion to attract tourists, forming tours and tourist routes...

In July 2022, the district continued to issue the Project on developing La Bang and Hoang Nong Eco-tourism Area for the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030, with a total implementation cost of nearly 270 billion VND. In particular, tea trees are the key tourism product, clearly demonstrating the cultural and spiritual life of Dai Tu people.