Cinnamon trees grow green on An Toan land

Recently, An Lao district has encouraged and motivated the people of An Toan commune to renovate and convert ineffective production land to grow cinnamon, a crop identified as suitable for the local climate and soil, bringing high and sustainable economic efficiency.

An Toan is a mountainous commune of An Lao district, in which the Bana ethnic group accounts for more than 95% of the population. Realizing that the economic advantage of the hills and forests can bring high efficiency, the people in the commune have focused on developing forest plantations, especially cinnamon plantations - which grow well, with higher essential oil content and quality than cinnamon grown in other places.

Cinnamon has become a key crop, helping the Bana ethnic people in An Toan commune, An Lao district develop their economy and escape poverty. Photo: DTD

Mr. Dinh Van Trai's family, village 1, An Toan commune said: In the past, I mainly grew some food crops such as rice, corn, and cassava, which were not very economically efficient. Realizing the good economic potential of cinnamon, with the guidance of district agricultural extension officers and commune authorities, for nearly 10 years now, I have gradually converted more than 10 hectares of hilly land to grow cinnamon.

Currently, each kilo of cinnamon branches and leaves bought directly from the forest costs 1,500 VND, fresh cinnamon bark is 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, dried cinnamon bark is 55,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, even cinnamon wood after peeling the bark can be sold for approximately 2 million VND/ ^m3 depending on the diameter of the tree. Thanks to that, cinnamon growing families like Mr. Trai have an income of about 100 million VND per year and each year is higher than the previous year. Life has changed since then, being able to buy production tools such as plows, rice cutters, or household items, and taking care of children's education.

One learns from another, and now almost all households in all three villages of An Toan commune have more or less cinnamon forests. Small households have 2-3 hectares, large households have up to 20 hectares. From mid-2022 to now, An Toan commune people have planted more than 100 hectares of cinnamon, bringing the total cinnamon area of the commune to nearly 175 hectares, becoming the locality with the largest cinnamon growing area in An Lao district.

Realizing the effectiveness of cinnamon trees, at the end of 2022, the Farmers' Association of An Toan Commune coordinated with the People's Committee of the Commune to establish a cinnamon growing professional association with 16 participating households. This is one of the first economic models to develop production according to the product chain in An Toan Commune. Currently, the association creates regular jobs for many local workers, the main work is planting cinnamon trees, taking care of nurseries, taking care of cinnamon forests, pruning branches, peeling cinnamon bark, etc.

Mr. Le Minh Tin, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of An Toan Commune, said: When we started growing cinnamon trees, we did not think that the cinnamon growing area would grow so quickly. Moreover, since the establishment of the Cinnamon Growing Association, it has created jobs for 5-7 workers with a salary of 5-6 million VND/month. That is regular labor, and when the harvest season peaks, it attracts about 20-30 workers. The valuable thing about this model is that it has also changed the way of thinking and working of the Bana ethnic people. Now, people know how to coordinate work, produce together, know how to apply scientific and technological advances, new varieties, new methods... Seeing the high economic efficiency, people also show each other how to replicate the cinnamon growing model to all villages in the commune.

For cinnamon trees to develop sustainably, An Lao district will make a specific plan to develop the cinnamon growing area in An Toan commune into a concentrated raw material area. In addition, cinnamon products will be gradually developed into local specialties, suitable for market demand. Promote the formation of cooperatives and cooperatives to link farming households to create raw material areas and consume products. In this way, cinnamon trees on An Toan land will maximize their value.

DIEP THI DIEU

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