Female Biology graduate 'awakens' medicinal plant region, making a fortune in the ancient capital city.

TPO - Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa, driven by her ambition to start a business and become wealthy in her hometown, has contributed to changing production mindsets, creating sustainable livelihoods for the people of Yen Son (Ninh Binh), preserving genetic resources and valuable medicinal herbs, and enhancing their economic value. Medicinal products from this ancient capital region not only dominate the domestic market but also reach international markets.

What impresses us about Yen Son ( Ninh Binh ) today is the vibrant colors and aromas of various medicinal plants such as turmeric, milk thistle, and kudzu, cultivated on a large scale using technology, replacing the previously neglected gardens. The person contributing to this transformation is Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa (born in 1990) - Deputy Director of the Yen Son Medicinal Plant Production and Consumption Cooperative.

New thinking on old ground

Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa Graduated with a degree in Biology (Vinh University, Nghe An ), and has experience working in large national parks such as Bach Ma (Hue) and Cuc Phuong (Ninh Binh).

The more she learned and experienced firsthand, the more she realized that her hometown of Yen Son possessed a valuable "treasure": soil and climate suitable for medicinal plants. She became increasingly concerned about the fact that this potential remained untapped and wasted. People either abandoned their land and overgrown gardens or exploited the resources haphazardly, leading to low economic value and the depletion of valuable medicinal plant genetic resources.

Ms. Hoa started her business with medicinal plants in her hometown. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

This motivated Ms. Hoa to return to her hometown to start a business related to medicinal plants, choosing the cooperative model as her "launchpad." She believed that only the cooperative model could solve the challenges of scale, consolidate land and manpower to apply standardized processes, and create bargaining power with traders. This ensured that farmers would benefit from the development of the product chain. In 2017, the Yen Son Medicinal Plant Production and Consumption Cooperative was established.

"After studying and working outside, I realized that Yen Son has extremely favorable soil and climate, and possesses hundreds of valuable medicinal plants that the local people are wasting or exploiting haphazardly. What motivated me was the desire to change the old production mindset, create a sustainable livelihood, both preserve the valuable medicinal plant genetic resources and increase the economic value of my homeland. Seeing the potential and wanting to help the local people is my biggest motivation," she said.

In the early stages of her business, Ms. Hoa faced many difficulties and challenges, especially limited capital and skepticism from the local people about the economic effectiveness of growing medicinal herbs using the new process.

To solve this problem, she conducted pilot projects and invited local people to directly observe the plant's growth, comparing yield and quality with traditional methods. She persistently campaigned, persuaded, and guided people to participate in growing medicinal herbs using new farming methods and processes, employing the motto "slow and steady wins the race," and providing hands-on training sessions right in the fields. In addition, she actively sought out startup support programs and preferential loans from agricultural credit organizations to overcome the capital constraints.

“We started our entrepreneurial journey cautiously and scientifically. We chose familiar, easy-to-grow plants with stable economic value such as turmeric, milk thistle, and kudzu; the initial scale was also very small, only 2-3 hectares of land rented for pilot projects in the commune. During this phase, we mainly focused on researching the soil, experimenting with planting and care processes to find the optimal formula for the soil in Yen Son,” Ms. Hoa said.

Ms. Hoa stands beside herbal products from the Yen Son Cooperative. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Organic farming, closed-loop supply chain

With the goal of ensuring absolute product safety, Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa is determined to build a sustainable green agricultural model by applying organic technology and processes that are "three-free": no chemicals, no pesticides, no chemical fertilizers, and no preservatives.

Ms. Hoa shared: "This process requires patience and investment." This includes connecting and coordinating with experts and research institutes specializing in medicinal plants to create a unique process, especially for organic microbial fertilizers suitable for medicinal herbs. They also allocate land for testing to compare the effectiveness of organic fertilizers with chemical fertilizers, in terms of yield, active ingredients, and cost. Furthermore, they invest in modern equipment such as freeze dryers, extraction machines, and packaging machines to control quality immediately after harvesting, preventing mold and loss of active ingredients.

The cooperative's herbal products have received OCOP certification.

"Organic farming has lower initial yields compared to chemical farming, higher risks of pests and diseases, and higher initial investment costs for processing machinery, but in return, the medicinal properties are higher, and the products meet clean standards," Ms. Hoa said.

With this investment, the Yen Son medicinal herb production and processing model has created a closed value chain, from cultivation and harvesting to processing and packaging.

Products such as turmeric starch, milk thistle and honey capsules, and Polygonum multiflorum capsules from Yen Son Cooperative have received OCOP 3-star and 4-star certifications from Ninh Binh province, won the Golden Product for Vietnamese Agriculture award, and notably, achieved ISO 22000:2018 certification.

Creating sustainable livelihoods, expanding brand reach.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of Deputy Director Trinh Thi Hoa, a member of the 9X generation, and her colleagues, the Yen Son medicinal herb cooperative has achieved many successes, generating billions of dong in revenue each year and contributing significantly to changing the face of the rural economy.

The revenue growth figures of Yen Son Cooperative are the clearest evidence of this correct direction. From 1 billion VND in 2023, it surged to over 2 billion VND in 2024 and is expected to reach 3 billion VND in 2025.

On the same cultivated area, medicinal plants yield 3-5 times higher income than traditional vegetable farming.

People's awareness has changed, shifting from spontaneous farming to professional agriculture with contracts, processes, and branding, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction.

Furthermore, the model has created sustainable livelihoods and stable incomes for 24 workers at the processing plant and over 150 cooperative members and seasonal workers in the growing areas. Among them are many middle-aged women – who typically find it difficult to find work in rural areas.

Ms. Hoa (in red shirt) introduces Yen Son herbal products at the awards ceremony of the 2024 National Women's Entrepreneurship Competition. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Ms. Hoa introduces her products to international delegates at the 9th Global Young Parliamentarians Conference held in Hanoi. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

Not stopping there, Ms. Hoa also helped the cooperative keep pace with the digital transformation trend. QR Code traceability labels were applied to transparentize the production process. Yen Son herbal products are widely available on e-commerce platforms and social media, with 70% of orders coming from online channels. Yen Son herbal products have also expanded into the UK market.

According to Ms. Hoa, for Yen Son herbal products to reach such a wide market, besides utilizing technology for promotion and introduction, quality plays a core role. The products are guaranteed to be clean, free from chemicals and preservatives, and have clear certification. They authentically convey the story of the farmers, the local cultural values, and the journey of ethical farming. "Today's customers buy products along with trust and a story," she said.

The entrepreneurial journey of Ms. Trinh Thi Hoa, who started a business with medicinal plants in Yen Son district (Ninh Binh province), is a vivid testament to the pioneering spirit of young people who dare to think, dare to act, and dare to change in order to create sustainable values ​​right on their homeland.

Ms. Hoa is one of the exemplary young entrepreneurs in Ninh Binh. Photo: Provided by the interviewee.

The cooperative currently has a raw material area of ​​nearly 6 hectares, including Yen Son and several affiliated areas. Ms. Hoa said there are three core criteria for selecting and developing raw material areas: soil quality, specific climate, and regional linkages. Specifically, the soil must be clean (free from heavy metal and chemical pollution), rich in humus, and have a pH suitable for each type of medicinal herb. The climate must ensure ideal conditions of temperature, humidity, and rainfall for the plants to accumulate the highest amount of active ingredients (characteristic of the northern mountainous region). The cultivation area must be concentrated, convenient for monitoring, transportation, and technology transfer to cooperative members.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/nu-cu-nhan-sinh-hoc-danh-thuc-vung-duoc-lieu-lam-giau-o-dat-co-do-post1803539.tpo