Young cooperative promotes Bo Chinh ginseng

From precious medicinal plants to a new direction for mountainous areas

Bo Chinh ginseng is a precious medicinal plant of Vietnam, which was grown mainly in the Central region. In recent years, Thai Nguyen has been at the forefront of the trend of changing crop structure, finding new directions for sustainable agriculture . On the hilly land of Dong Hy commune, Bo Chinh ginseng has begun to take root and grow strongly thanks to the mild climate, loose soil and clean water source.

*Bo Chinh ginseng plants began to take root and grow strongly in Thai Nguyen.*

Initially, only a few households experimented with growing Bo Chinh ginseng intercropped with fruit trees, but the positive results opened up a new direction. Ginseng roots grow evenly, have few pests and diseases, are of good quality, and are favored by the market. The selling price is many times higher than that of traditional crops such as corn, cassava or tea, giving people more motivation to expand their acreage.

From a medicinal plant grown only on a small scale, Bo Chinh ginseng has now become one of the commune's new key crops, creating jobs and stable income for dozens of households in the area.

In addition, to improve product quality, in the face of fragmented and unconnected production, a young cooperative in Minh Tien hamlet, Dong Hy commune, Thai Nguyen province was established, named Thien Phuc Medicinal Materials Cooperative. The cooperative brings together dedicated farmers, aiming to turn Bo Chinh ginseng into a branded commodity.

From the early days of just a few hectares of testing, the cooperative has expanded the growing area to nearly 30 hectares, of which Bo Chinh ginseng occupies a significant area. This unit proactively coordinates with specialized agencies to receive technical guidance, transfer technology for planting, caring for and preserving medicinal herbs according to the correct process.

The cooperative also organizes training courses on seedling techniques, the use of biological products, biological pest management, and cultivation diary keeping. Members are instructed on the harvesting, processing, and drying processes to ensure the preservation of the precious active ingredients in ginseng.

Thanks to the synchronous application of techniques, the productivity and quality of Bo Chinh ginseng have increased significantly, with uniform ginseng roots, large weight, beautiful color and distinctive flavor. This is the basis for the cooperative to move towards building products that meet OCOP standards, gradually participating in the medicinal market inside and outside the province.

Processing – the key step to increase product value

Not stopping at growing and selling fresh ginseng, Minh Tien Cooperative identified processing as a breakthrough step to increase value. The Cooperative invested in a preliminary processing area, dried medicinal herbs using clean energy and researched new products from ginseng such as ginseng extract, ginseng powder, ginseng flower tea, ginseng honey or Bo Chinh ginseng wine.

Thanks to the product diversity, the consumer market has been expanded. Bo Chinh Minh Tien ginseng products have been present at many OCOP booths, trade fairs in the province and the Northern region. The products are packaged, have origin traceability stamps, beautifully designed packaging, ensuring food hygiene and safety standards, and are initially highly appreciated by consumers.

The Cooperative also proactively connects with pharmaceutical processing enterprises and distributors in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to build a stable supply chain. Some products are put on e-commerce platforms, helping to promote the brand and expand the online market - an inevitable direction in the era of digital transformation of agriculture.

The model of growing Bo Chinh ginseng in a commercial manner has brought about clear economic efficiency. According to the Cooperative's calculations, with 1 hectare of Bo Chinh ginseng, after 10-12 months of planting, people can earn 400-500 million VND, 4-5 times higher than growing tea or short-term forestry trees.

Increased income has led to improved living standards for local people. Many households in the area have not only escaped poverty but also become well-off. Producing clean medicinal herbs has helped create stable jobs for local workers, especially women and young people, who previously had to work far from home.

Along with economic efficiency, people also change their awareness: from spontaneous production to standard production, from "selling what they have" to "doing what the market needs". Participating in cooperatives helps people receive systematic guidance on management, marketing, and brand development, which are unfamiliar to farmers in the highlands.

However, for Bo Chinh ginseng to be truly sustainable, there are still many challenges to overcome. First of all is investment capital. Growing ginseng requires high costs for seeds, fertilizers, irrigation systems and care; while small cooperatives still have difficulty accessing preferential credit.

Next is the processing and quality control stage. Currently, the products processed from Bo Chinh ginseng in Thai Nguyen are mainly small-scale, manual, not qualified to expand industrial production or export. The issue of standardization and traceability also needs to be promoted to meet the strict requirements of the market.

In addition, advertising and trade promotion have not been invested in proportionately. Many potential products do not have a clear communication strategy, making the brand obscure compared to medicinal areas in other localities.

To overcome these limitations, the Thai Nguyen government and functional agencies are implementing many programs to support the development of medicinal plants, including Bo Chinh ginseng. Specialized agencies guide the registration of growing area codes, issue VietGAP certification, promote the development of OCOP products and connect consuming businesses.

In addition, Minh Tien Cooperative also aims to develop a closed-chain growing area: from production, processing to trade; at the same time, promoting research and application of biotechnology in ginseng breeding and care to improve productivity and quality.

The new direction that the Cooperative is pursuing is to combine the development of experiential tourism, where visitors can visit, harvest, learn about the processing process and enjoy ginseng products on the spot. This is considered a “2 in 1” model: both consuming products on the spot and promoting the image of the Minh Tien medicinal herb growing area, contributing to linking agriculture with eco-tourism.

Bo Chinh ginseng is not only a precious medicinal herb but also a symbol of the spirit of daring to think and dare to do of the Dong Hy people. From barren hills, now the green ginseng beds have brought new confidence and livelihood to dozens of farming households, helping to improve the lives of the people in the mountains.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/hop-tac-xa-tre-nang-tam-cay-sam-bo-chinh-429123.html