Many households in Ha Tinh escaped poverty by growing a type of tree on barren land.

For nearly 10 years now, many households in Cam Binh commune, Ha Tinh province (formerly Cam Vinh commune) have converted ineffective rice and crop fields to grow moneywort. This is one of the medicinal plants with high economic value and stable output. Up to now, the whole commune has nearly 50 households participating in the production of this plant, concentrated in Tam Dong, Ngu Que and Yen Khanh villages.

According to the people, each year the moneywort plant gives 2-3 harvests. Each harvest only lasts 1-2 days, mainly by manual method of using a sickle to cut the stem, bring it home to dry in the sun and then sell it to businesses to buy.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Ly (54 years old, living in Ngu Que village) said that his family has two sao of land growing moneywort. These are areas that were previously used for growing crops and rice but were not very effective. However, when switching to growing this medicinal plant, his family has 2-3 crops per year, each crop earning about 7-9 million VND/sao. Thanks to the income from moneywort, his family has a stable source of income, allowing their children to study properly.

“Growing moneywort is 3-4 times more valuable than growing rice. People are excited, and on harvest day they take advantage of the long sunshine to cut, dry, and sell to the cooperative unit that has signed a purchase agreement,” Mr. Ly shared.

Having been involved with this plant for more than 7 years, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (56 years old, residing in Tam Dong village) said that because he saw that it had a high income and did not require too much care, his family expanded the area in their home garden to grow it. "Almost everyone in the village grows moneywort because it is easy to care for and easy to sell. The efficiency is superior to rice, so people are very happy to have an additional source of income," Mr. Hai shared.

According to local statistics, the total area of moneywort cultivation in Cam Binh is currently about 4 hectares, of which 3 hectares are concentrated production areas in Lang and Cua fields, the rest is in household gardens...

nu-cuoi-luon-no-tren-moi-nguoi-dan-sau-moi-lan-thu-hoach1.jpg — People dry the moneywort plant and sell it to Ha Tinh Pharmaceutical Company. (Photo: Dinh Duc)

Local people said that this plant has a short growth cycle. Starting from March, sowing can begin, after nearly 2 months, the first harvest can be harvested. After each harvest, just fertilize and take care of it gently for about 20-30 days to continue for the next harvest.

Each year, on average, each sao of moneywort can produce 7-8 quintals of dried medicinal herbs. With a stable purchase price of 16,000 VND/kg, each sao of people can earn 9-10 million VND/crop. Meanwhile, if growing rice, each sao of land can only produce 2 crops a year with a yield of about 2.5 quintals/crop, selling for about 3 million VND/year, minus the investment costs, the remaining is very low.

Not only is it economically efficient, the moneywort plant also requires little care and does not require herbicides or pesticides, so it is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. According to local people, planting and harvesting the plant is also quite easy, suitable for the elderly, women and people with limited health.

It is known that since 2016, to support people in stable and long-term production, Cam Vinh commune (old) has established the Cooperative for Medicinal Plant Production and General Services. The cooperative not only supports cultivation techniques but also acts as a bridge connecting farmers with businesses. Specifically, all post-harvest products are signed by the cooperative with Ha Tinh Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.

Moneywort plant grown on fertile soil in Ha Tinh.

Currently, the model of growing moneywort in Cam Binh commune is gradually changing the face of the countryside. From a rice-growing area with unstable productivity, it has now formed a safe medicinal herb growing area with stable production and consumption market linkages. Not only contributing to increasing income and reducing poverty, the model also shows high adaptability to climate change, limiting risks in agricultural production.

“According to experts, the soil here creates favorable conditions for the plant to grow well, with high active ingredient content, making it very suitable as a raw material for producing oriental medicine. In the coming time, the locality will encourage people to expand their production area to increase their income. This is also a crop that helps many farming households get rich in the locality,” said a representative of the People's Committee of Cam Binh commune.