Production of gotu kola powder - increasing the value of native plants

Mr. Ngoc chose pennywort - a native plant to process, increase the value of pennywort in Thanh Hoa, and develop the economy with the people.

Choose native plants

In 2012, Mr. Le Viet Ngoc, Tho Long commune (formerly Nam Giang commune, Tho Xuan district), Thanh Hoa province, signed a contract with the commune People's Committee to rent 3 hectares of land in Phuc Gia village. This land is often called a flooded area by local people, where rice cultivation is ineffective and has been abandoned for many years.

At first, Mr. Ngoc renovated and dug a pond to raise fish and raise chickens and ducks; a part of the area was planted with fruit trees. After a while, pennywort plants grew a lot around the pond banks, as well as under the trees. In the first years, he and his wife mainly cut fresh pennywort to sell to traders.

Not only in Mr. Ngoc’s farm, pennywort also grows in the neighboring area. There were years when there were no traders to buy, so pennywort had to be left to grow old. At that time, Mr. Ngoc had the idea of ​​why not grind it into powder to preserve it for a long time and increase the value of pennywort?

Mr. Ngoc chose the native gotu kola plant to produce gotu kola powder. Photo: PV.

Thinking is doing, in 2019, Mr. Ngoc established Dong Ngau Plant and Livestock Cooperative (Dong Ngau Cooperative), with himself as Director. He borrowed money from the bank and invested in machinery systems to produce pennywort powder.

"After 2018, I realized that pennywort had a higher yield than other crops, so I expanded the growing area. In mid-2019, pennywort grew so much that my family couldn't sell it all and had to cut it down. I researched the market, calculated the construction of a factory, and bought machinery to process pennywort powder," said Mr. Ngoc.

Mr. Ngoc chose the native gotu kola variety instead of the high-yield variety with higher yield. The reason is that native gotu kola has a characteristic sweet, aromatic flavor.

Ingredients are carefully selected. Photo: PV.

Gotu kola has been associated with the lives of farmers in Tho Long for generations. In the years before 1985, it became a famine-relief plant for the people. According to Mr. Ngoc, in the 1980s, his family had 10 people and did not have enough rice to eat. When he was young, his parents often sent him to the fields to cut gotu kola and boil it to eat to stave off hunger during lean days. That is also the reason why Mr. Ngoc chose the native gotu kola plant to develop the product, also to reminisce and recall memories of a time of poverty.

Increasing the value of Thanh Hoa pennywort

During the process of growing and caring for pennywort, Mr. Ngoc does not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. He chooses the Tribi microbiological product produced by Hoang Gia Agricultural Company Limited to fertilize the vegetables, does not use herbicides, but hires local workers to weed each crop.

Currently, Mr. Le Viet Ngoc's Dong Ngau Cooperative is growing more than 1 hectare of pennywort. In addition, he has also linked up with 15 households, with an area of ​​1.5 hectares of growing area, to purchase raw materials for the production of pennywort powder. The Cooperative is also creating regular jobs for 10 local workers and dozens of workers in the area that are linked to growing raw materials.

Dong Ngau Cooperative has produced 5 products from pennywort, including: original pennywort powder, green bean pennywort, lotus seed pennywort, five-flavor pennywort and pennywort tea. Among them, the original pennywort powder product has achieved 3-star OCOP, and is developing two 4-star OCOP products. The estimated annual revenue of the Cooperative is 5-6 billion.

Dong Ngau Cooperative has developed 5 products from pennywort. Photo: Thanh Tam.

According to Mr. Ngoc's experience, 20 kg of fresh pennywort will produce 1 kg of pure powder. Fresh pennywort is currently sold at 20,000 VND/kg, while 1 kg of pennywort powder costs from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 VND/kg.

The production process of pennywort powder is strictly carried out, ensuring food hygiene and safety from the stages of picking out wilted leaves - washing - UV sterilization - freeze drying - grinding - packaging, all done with modern machinery.

Gotu kola is freeze-dried to ensure the best retention of nutrients. Photo: Thanh Tam.

Mr. Le Chi The, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tho Long Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, said: Dong Ngau Gotu Kola Powder was recognized as an OCOP product in March 2024. Up to now, it has been operating stably, creating jobs for 10 local workers and purchasing raw materials for a growing area of ​​nearly 2 hectares.

“The People’s Committee’s orientation will be to continue to accumulate and concentrate land to expand the growing area. At the same time, develop lotus seed pennywort powder and green bean pennywort powder products that achieve 4-star OCOP certification to enhance the value of native pennywort,” said Mr. The.

Mr. Ngoc has raised the status of Thanh Hoa's pennywort plant to a high-priced pennywort powder product. Photo: Thanh Tam.

Gotu kola is a plant closely associated with the life and culinary culture of Thanh Hoa people, considered as "ginseng of Thanh people" because of its rusticity, rich nutrition, used as a drink, to process dishes and in traditional medicine. Instead of selling traditional fresh gotu kola, Mr. Le Viet Ngoc has produced gotu kola powder products, creating many jobs for local workers. The association of purchasing and expanding the growing area to develop the economy with farmers, improving production efficiency from local land.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/san-xuat-bot-rau-ma--nang-gia-tri-cay-ban-dia-d775181.html