Macadamia is a tree that is "picky" about climate, but when grown in Son Lang commune (Kbang district, Gia Lai province), it produces yields and nut quality that are superior to other lands and brings high economic value, helping many local farmers become millionaires.
At this time, macadamia farmers in Son Lang commune (Kbang district, Gia Lai province) have just finished harvesting the fruit.
Introduced by a commune official, we visited the 2.5-hectare macadamia garden intercropped with coffee of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy's family (Thong Nhat village).
Macadamia garden intercropped with durian of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy's family, Son Lang commune (Kbang district, Gia Lai province). Photo: Dinh Yen.
Ms. Thuy said that in 2013, her family intercropped 200 macadamia trees in the coffee garden under a pilot project of Kbang district in the commune.
At that time, the local macadamia growing movement was not as strong as it is today, but her family boldly participated with high expectations for this new crop.
After 3 years of taking root in Son Lang land, macadamia grew and developed well and started to yield. Ms. Thuy said: "Macadamia is relatively easy to grow, suitable for local soil and climate conditions.
On average, you only need to fertilize 2-3 times a year and water regularly to ensure the tree grows. Most importantly, when the macadamia tree flowers, if there is no rain and the temperature is maintained at 20-22 degrees Celsius, the tree will grow well. If it is too sunny or rains, the flowers will not bear fruit and will rot."
Nguyen Thi Thuy and her husband (Thong Nhat village, Son Lang commune (Kbang district, Gia Lai province) pack macadamia nuts to sell to customers. Photo: Dinh Yen.
In the 2024 macadamia crop, the temperate climate makes it favorable for macadamia to flower and bear fruit. With 200 macadamia trees, Ms. Thuy's family harvested 1.3 tons of fresh fruit; earning more than 400 million VND after deducting expenses.
According to Ms. Thuy, this income level is still much higher than growing coffee in previous years, because the investment cost of growing macadamia is only concentrated in the first year and gradually decreases each year.
Macadamia trees are also very drought tolerant and require little use of pesticides. In addition, the selling price is quite stable, from 80-90 thousand VND/kg for fresh products and 170-200 thousand VND/kg after processing.
To increase the value of the product, Ms. Thuy's family has invested in additional dryers, nut splitters, and vacuum machines to process macadamia nuts. Currently, Ms. Thuy's family's macadamia products have been widely known to customers through promotion on social networking sites.
Of which, the largest consumption is in the markets of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Dong Nai... On average, Ms. Thuy sells about 2 tons of finished macadamia products to customers per month.
"To make the product popular with consumers, in addition to growing and caring for it organically, the harvesting and processing of the fresh peel must all be done with clean water.
Dry on rack for 15-20 days, rinse with water again to avoid termites, then put in dryer for 40 hours and pack in moisture-proof bag.
During the process of separating the seeds, although there is a seed separator, my family separates the seeds manually. This step crushes each seed to minimize the amount of shell debris sticking to the macadamia nut," Ms. Thuy confided.
However, to grow macadamia trees with large, high-quality fruit, choosing the right variety is extremely important. There are two types of macadamia trees, one that blooms at the end of the year and one that blooms at the beginning of the year.
Currently in Son Lang commune, people choose macadamia varieties that flower at the beginning of the year because at this time, the climate in Kbang is relatively cold and there is no rain, so the macadamia flowers bloom beautifully and fruit is easier to set.
To ensure the quality of delicious and clean macadamia nuts, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy's family separates the nuts by hand. Photo: Dinh Yen.
Similarly, the family of Mr. Do Van Dung and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc (Thong Nhat village) planted 500 macadamia trees mixed with coffee and planted them alone.
Mr. Dung said: After 3 years of trial planting, in 2021, macadamia has been harvested. The first crop earned more than 100 million VND, then the output increased gradually each year. Specifically, in the 2024 crop, 500 macadamia trees were harvested, after deducting expenses, the family still made a profit of nearly 200 million VND.
“Bowing macadamia trees in coffee gardens or growing macadamia trees alone are both very good. If you intercrop macadamia trees in coffee gardens, the amount of water and fertilizer from the coffee roots will supplement nutrients for the macadamia trees.
Macadamia trees also act as windbreaks, creating favorable conditions for coffee trees to flower and bear fruit. Compared to planting acacia and lolot, planting macadamia trees is much more effective,” Mr. Dung shared.
The macadamia garden of Mr. Do Van Dung and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Cuc (Thong Nhat village, Son Lang commune, Kbang district, Gia Lai province) is growing well and has yielded a bumper crop after 3 years. Photo: Dinh Yen.
Besides Ms. Thuy and Mr. Dung's family, Ms. Pham Thi Than's family (Thong Nhat village) also intercropped 200 macadamia trees in a coffee garden of more than 1 hectare in 2019 and has now entered the second year of harvest.
Ms. Than shared: “On the same area, planting macadamia trees with coffee brings “double benefits”. Macadamia trees not only provide economic value but also act as windbreaks to help coffee flowers and fruit easily.
Moreover, macadamia has high economic value, so it helps families increase their income. In the 2024 crop, my family harvested more than 100 million VND from 200 macadamia trees, and after deducting expenses, it still made a profit of 100 million VND.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Le Quy Truyen - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Lang Commune (Kbang District, Gia Lai Province) - said: The commune currently has about 500 hectares of macadamia trees, mainly intercropped with coffee. Son Lang Commune in particular and Kbang District in general have climate and soil conditions that are very suitable for macadamia trees to grow.
The family of Ms. Pham Thi Than, a farmer in Son Lang commune, Kbang district, Gia Lai province, grows 200 macadamia trees intercropped with coffee for high income. Photo: Dinh Yen.
Since 2011, the district has been experimenting with growing macadamia trees on Son Lang land and has achieved remarkable results.
Currently, in addition to coffee being considered the main crop, macadamia also has very high economic value.
In addition to intercropping macadamia in coffee gardens, which brings high value, growing macadamia trees alone, with an average annual income of more than 200 million VND/ha, is common.
According to Mr. Truyen, by 2030, Son Lang commune will maintain the current macadamia area. And especially focus on guiding farmers to improve productivity and product quality, and post-harvest processing.
Currently, Son Lang commune’s macadamia has achieved 3-star OCOP product at the district level. Son Lang commune is also focusing on linking with domestic and foreign enterprises to export to the Australian market.
"Recently, the Department of Intellectual Property (Ministry of Science and Technology) granted a certificate of protection recognizing the brand "Macadamia Kbang-Gia Lai".
This is the basis for macadamia growers in Kbang district in general and Son Lang commune in particular to link production activities with product consumption; gradually improve the competitiveness of local specialty products as well as promote the reputation of the products to customers near and far; help macadamia growers and traders have high and stable income" - Mr. Truyen informed.
Source: https://danviet.vn/noi-nay-cua-gia-lai-he-nha-nao-trong-mac-ca-tot-um-ra-trai-cung-hat-gion-an-khoe-dep-nha-do-giau-20241224230141305.htm
Comment (0)