With many years of experience in the field of medicinal plant research and development, Ms. Lieu realized that her hometown possesses many valuable medicinal plants, but the production by the people is still small-scale and fragmented, resulting in low economic efficiency.
In 2019, Ms. Lieu, along with several other households, established the Son Y Medicinal Herbs Cooperative and assumed the role of director.
After its establishment, the cooperative linked production with households growing water spinach, dandelion, wild sweet potato leaves, etc. These are familiar plants to the local people, but previously they were mainly grown in a scattered manner, with low economic value and unstable market outlets.
Faced with this situation, the cooperative collaborated with more than a dozen households in Linh Ho and Vi Xuyen communes to develop a cultivation area of approximately 2 hectares. The cooperative established a cultivation process; farmers received technical guidance and the cooperative guaranteed the purchase of all harvested products.
Thanks to proper cultivation techniques, clean vegetable products, such as centella tea and centella powder, are gradually establishing a foothold in the market and gaining consumer acceptance. Centella asiatica itself is also undergoing further processing to enhance its value.
Ms. Lieu shared: "To achieve sustainable development, we need to process a variety of products linked to brand building. The cooperative has boldly invested in machinery and perfected its production process to meet higher market standards."
Building on its initial success, the cooperative continued to expand into other medicinal plants with higher economic value, including ginger. In 2024, the cooperative conducted a trial planting of 1 hectare of ginger in Thanh Tam village, Bac Me commune. When the model proved effective, the area under cooperative cultivation was expanded to Duong Hong commune.
By 2025, nearly 80 households in Duong Hong commune will be growing ginger through a linked production chain, covering an area of 120 hectares. Participating farmers receive support in terms of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides. The cultivation process is closely monitored to ensure the product meets export requirements.
Right from the first harvest, the average ginger yield reached 25-50 tons/ha, and the cooperative purchased all the produce at a price of 10 million VND/ton. Ginger growers could earn hundreds of millions of VND in profit per hectare.
The family of Mr. Phan Van Quang in Tham Quang village, Duong Hong commune, is one of the households benefiting from this cooperative model. With over 1 hectare of ginger, his family earns nearly 100 million VND in profit each year, higher than growing corn.
"Following our initial success, this year my family is continuing to participate in the ginger farming supply chain with an area of 3 hectares," Mr. Quang said.
The cooperative currently supplies all of its ginger products to Vinasamex Company for processing into products for export to the US market. To date, the cooperative has completed the monitoring and evaluation of the growing areas and production processes, and participates in supplying raw materials that meet export standards.
In 2026, the cooperative will continue to expand the scale of organic medicinal herb production on hundreds of hectares for 5 types of spice plants, including: onions, garlic, chili peppers, ginger, and turmeric, in the communes of Duong Hong, Vi Xuyen, Thuong Son, Minh Ngoc, and Dong Yen.
According to Ms. Lieu, the cooperative has developed an organic farming process for five key crops: ginger, turmeric, onions, garlic, and chili peppers. Of these, two products, ginger and turmeric, have already been assessed as meeting export standards and have attracted market and customer interest.
The model of integrated medicinal plant cultivation helps the cooperative earn billions of dong in profit each year. Currently, the cooperative is developing additional medicinal plant growing areas, such as purple velvet antler and northern codonopsis, to supply raw materials to domestic pharmaceutical companies.
"The cooperative's goal in the coming period is to continue maintaining the growing area for the group of 5 spice plants, purchasing about 3,000 tons of organic-certified products annually for export," Ms. Lieu added.
For her contributions to the development of the collective economy and the building of green agriculture , Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Lieu was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Prime Minister for studying and following the ideology, ethics, and style of Ho Chi Minh.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/mo-huong-cho-duoc-lieu-tuyen-quang-post962483.html
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