Developing precious medicinal herbs in Vietnam: Building a sustainable value chain

Explore the value chain of precious medicinal herbs in traditional medicine. Learn how localities are exploiting the potential of medicinal herbs, conserving nature and developing the economy.

In the context of increasing demand for medicinal herbs both domestically and for export, developing linkage models to form sustainable value chains is becoming an inevitable direction.

Growing medicinal herbs under the forest canopy – the first link in the value chain.

Instead of small-scale, fragmented production, many localities have included medicinal plants in raw material planning, brand building, deep processing and market connection. This is also a way to help ethnic minorities exploit their indigenous potential, develop the economy in parallel with protecting natural resources.

For a long time, medicinal plants have been closely associated with the lives of many communities, especially mountain people.

Vietnam currently has more than 5,000 species of plants and fungi with medicinal uses, of which about 850 species have been recorded and put into use.

However, for many years, the exploitation of medicinal herbs has been mainly spontaneous, without synchronous planning, lacking linkage in planting, processing and consumption, leading to low economic efficiency.

Therefore, the formation of a value chain - connecting people, cooperatives, businesses and management agencies - is considered an important turning point. When participating in the chain, farmers have stable output, cooperatives play the role of technical bridge, and businesses are responsible for processing, distribution and brand building. Thanks to that, the value of medicinal herbs does not stop at raw materials but is raised to the level of quality goods, meeting domestic and international standards.

Project 3: Leverage for developing medicinal herb areas

Implementing Project 3 under the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas (National Target Program 1719), many localities have had the opportunity to systematically develop medicinal plants.

In the pilot phase alone, the project has been implemented in 22 districts in 21 provinces, with 18 projects on precious medicinal plant growing areas and 4 high-tech breeding centers in the Northern mountainous region, the Central - South Central Coast, the Central Highlands and the Southeast. Each project area has an investment of about 65 billion VND.

This resource is used to support seeds, materials, packaging, labels, and product branding. This is an important stepping stone for localities to turn potential into advantages, turning medicinal plants into a high-value industry, contributing to increasing income and stabilizing the lives of people.

Son La : Medicinal herbs cover bare land, creating livelihoods

Project 3 capital under the National Target Program 1719 is providing timely support for Son La to create a breakthrough in developing production according to the value chain in the agricultural and forestry sector.

Sop Cop (Son La) is one of the typical localities. With the support capital of Project 3, many areas of bare land and hills have been covered with endemic medicinal plants such as codonopsis, khôi nhung, and amomum.

Currently, the locality has more than 60 hectares of cinnamon, 16 hectares of cardamom, 20 hectares of ginger, 4 hectares of polygonum multiflorum and many areas of cat's claw, khoi nhung and codonopsis. Many households have started harvesting, bringing in significant income.

Not only bringing economic value, growing medicinal herbs under the forest canopy also contributes to protecting upstream forests, improving the ecological environment, creating a sustainable balance between development and conservation.

Lao Cai : National focus on medicinal herbs

Lao Cai is currently planned as one of the eight key medicinal plant regions of the country. With about 850 medicinal plant species, of which 70 are rare and in need of conservation, this province possesses a rich treasure trove of medicinal plants.

The whole province has 3,550 hectares of medicinal plants, of which 210 hectares meet GACP standards (Good Practice for Cultivation and Collection of Medicinal Plants).

Average income from medicinal herbs reaches 120 - 150 million VND/ha, many times higher than traditional crops.

Medicinal plants are one of the main commercial crops of Lao Cai.

Bac Giang: From raw materials to OCOP products

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, up to now, Bac Giang province has 444 products achieving OCOP from 3 stars or more, including 1 national 5-star product, 21 4-star products and 422 3-star products.

It is expected that by the end of 2025, Bac Giang province will have about 500 OCOP products. According to the assessment of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Bac Giang province, most OCOP products have beautiful packaging designs, guaranteed quality, are trusted by consumers and increasingly dominate the market.

Notably, a large portion of these OCOP products are deeply processed from indigenous medicinal plants, such as ginseng tea, Danh mountain ginseng, or various medicinal extracts.

Danh Mountain Ginseng growing area of ​​Danh Duc Hanh Mountain Ginseng Cooperative in Lien Chung commune, Bac Giang province.

Recognizing the advantages and potential of medicinal plants, Bac Giang province has been implementing many practical mechanisms and policies to support businesses, cooperatives and people in investment and development.

The entire Bac Giang province currently has nearly 670 hectares of perennial and annual medicinal plants, mainly concentrated in Son Dong, Luc Nam, Yen The and Tan Yen.

Added value from deep processing and brand building

For medicinal plants to truly become a spearhead economic sector, it is necessary to continue promoting the linkage of the "four houses": State - farmers - scientists - businesses.

In which, the State plays the role of guiding and supporting infrastructure; farmers directly produce; scientists provide seeds and techniques; businesses ensure processing and consumption.

In addition, it is necessary to build a policy mechanism to encourage businesses to invest in deep processing, promote and promote trade to bring Vietnamese medicinal herbs further. Combining the development of medicinal herbs with community tourism.

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Source: https://baolaocai.vn/phat-trien-duoc-lieu-quy-tai-viet-nam-xay-dung-chuoi-gia-tri-ben-vung-post881873.html