Farmers' lives transformed thanks to the golden camellia plant.

The golden camellia plant, widely cultivated in the northern communes of Thai Nguyen province such as Cho Don, Nghia Ta, Yen Thinh, Bach Thong, and Ba Be, is providing a good income for farmers.

The golden flower tea plant, also known as the golden flower tea tree, is a wild forest plant that has attracted the attention of local people for over two decades. However, in the beginning, only a few people knew how to use the leaves and flowers to brew tea, without fully recognizing its rare medicinal value. Only when the potential and economic value of the golden flower tea tree were confirmed did the plant truly "revive," being widely cultivated by farmers and quickly becoming a highly profitable crop.

The story of Mr. Ban Van Mui, a resident of Ban Mun village, Bach Thong commune, is a clear example of this transformation. For many years, Mr. Mui's family has had a stable income from their golden camellia tea garden. After researching the market, the growth and development of the tea plant, and finding it suitable for the local soil and climate conditions, he boldly brought the plant to his garden to try growing it. Surprisingly, the golden camellia tea plant grew very well without requiring elaborate care. From this initial success, Mr. Mui propagated the plants himself and gradually expanded. To date, his family's golden camellia tea garden has reached 600 plants, bringing in hundreds of millions of dong annually from selling flowers and leaves, becoming a significant source of income for his family.

Mr. Ly Dinh Van, Head of Ban Mun village, shared that the golden camellia tea plant originally grew wild in the forest, but in recent years, seeing its clear economic benefits, many households have brought it to their gardens to cultivate, care for, and protect it. Mr. Ban Van Mui's household is one of the pioneers, boldly trying to cultivate and successfully domesticating it. Seeing the effectiveness, many other households have followed suit, raising the total number of households growing golden camellia tea in the village to over 20. Ban Mun village has 84 households, mainly Dao ethnic people. Thanks to high-value crops like golden camellia tea, currently, the village only has 2 poor households. This shows the important role of the golden camellia tea plant in sustainable poverty reduction and improving livelihoods for local people...

Golden camellia tea has high economic value, especially the flowers. The flowering season lasts from December of the previous year to the end of March of the following year. Currently, the price of fresh flowers ranges from 350,000 VND to 500,000 VND per kilogram. In addition, fresh fruit is priced at 90,000 VND/kg and fresh leaves at 20,000 VND/kg, while market demand remains very high. This economic attractiveness has spurred the formation of a value chain, from cultivation to processing. In the northern part of Thai Nguyen province, there are currently more than 4 cooperatives and businesses that have partnered with farmers to cultivate, process, and develop golden camellia tea products that meet OCOP 3-star and 4-star standards. Close cooperation between businesses and farmers not only contributes to the development of a clean and sustainable medicinal plant area for processing and export but also helps preserve and maintain the valuable genetic resources of this medicinal plant.

A prime example of sustainable linkage and value chain building is Ha Diep Co., Ltd. In 2021, the company invested in building a large-scale factory and processing machinery system. Ms. Ha Minh Doi, the company's director, said that the company collaborated with experts to study the soil and climate and invested in planting over 15 hectares of golden flower tea in Don Phong commune (Bach Thong district) and Dong Thang commune (Cho Don district).

In particular, Ha Diep Co., Ltd. has applied modern freeze-drying technology to create whole-flower golden flower tea. This technology helps the product retain its shape and color almost perfectly as when fresh, and preserves the full content of valuable micronutrients. To date, the company has diverse products such as whole-flower tea, tea bags, and golden flower tea wine. The company's whole-flower golden flower tea and tea bags have been recognized as 4-star OCOP products and are now available in major supermarket chains nationwide at high prices. From being at risk of depletion in the wild, the golden flower tea plant is now being propagated and grown increasingly in the northern communes of Thai Nguyen province. The formation and development of a linked chain from planting, caring for, and processing has created a strong impetus for the development of this plant.

In reality, the golden camellia has transformed from a wild plant into a key crop, making a significant contribution to sustainable poverty reduction and rural development in the locality, promoting the value of this native medicinal plant, improving the economic efficiency for farmers, and building a distinctive agricultural product brand for the northern region of Thai Nguyen province.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/nong-dan-doi-doi-nho-cay-tra-hoa-vang-20251120074620771.htm