Prospects for macadamia cultivation in Khao Mang commune

The macadamia tree, native to Australia, is a large timber tree with high economic value. After three years of planting in Khao Mang commune, the trees are growing well, showing the potential to provide stable long-term income, contributing to poverty reduction and increasing forest cover.

After more than 3 years of planting, the macadamia trees in Khao Mang commune are growing well.

Thanks to its excellent adaptability to the climate and soil conditions of the high-altitude region, macadamia trees are being chosen by many farmers in Khao Mang commune as a new crop to increase income and reduce poverty sustainably. Macadamia cultivation in the area began around 2022, with some pioneering households experimenting with planting from a few dozen to over 100 trees. Through practical cultivation, the households have assessed that the trees grow and develop well, suitable for the cold climate and high-altitude soil. Many trees have flowered and borne fruit after a few years of care, showing promising prospects for yield and economic efficiency in the future.

Mr. Vang A Tru stands beside his macadamia tree, which is bearing a bountiful harvest in its first season.

Mr. Vang A Tru's family in Na De Thang village, Khao Mang commune, planted 76 macadamia trees. With proper care and techniques, the trees have grown and developed well after 3 years. In 2025, the second year, 10 macadamia trees yielded a harvest. With a yield of approximately 50 kg of dried fruit, and a selling price of 70,000 VND/kg, this brought in an income of 3.5 million VND per harvest.

The macadamia trees are laden with fruit in Khao Mang.

Mr. Vang A Tru said: "For macadamia trees to grow well and yield high productivity, people urgently need support and guidance on cultivation techniques and pest control. In addition, access to capital is also a crucial factor in helping farmers invest in new plantings and expand their acreage, thereby developing this crop effectively."

For the family of Mr. Giàng A Dình in Khao Mang village, after researching and studying macadamia trees, they utilized their vacant land to plant nearly 100 trees. Although the care conditions are still somewhat limited, many trees have already borne fruit after about two years. In fact, harvesting can begin after only three years of planting, confirming that this is a promising crop for the people of Khao Mang commune.

Mr. Giàng A Đình takes care of macadamia nuts.

Mr. Giàng A Dình shared: "If widely propagated, macadamia trees will not only contribute to increasing forest cover in the locality but also promise to become a key crop, creating a stable source of income and effectively contributing to poverty reduction in the commune."

The outstanding feature of macadamia trees is their high economic value, surpassing many traditional crops. In fact, in some localities, if planted using the right techniques and properly cared for, the trees can provide a stable income of 200-400 million VND/hectare/year. This opens up prospects for farmers in Khao Mang to diversify their crops and increase income for their families and communities.

Mr. Giàng A Đình prunes the branches and leaves of the macadamia tree.

However, the development of macadamia cultivation in Khao Mang still faces many challenges. Many households lack experience in caring for and applying advanced cultivation techniques; pest and disease control, as well as harvesting techniques at the right time, are still limited. This reality requires the involvement of local authorities and specialized agencies in transferring advanced techniques, organizing training, and supporting the provision of quality seedlings to help people produce efficiently and sustainably.

Corn is also intercropped with macadamia nuts to improve efficiency on a given area of ​​cultivated land.

Mr. Ta Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Khao Mang commune, said: "In the coming time, the commune will continue to evaluate the economic efficiency and market for the products and encourage people to expand the cultivated area."

Besides technical challenges, market and processing issues are also "bottlenecks" that need to be addressed. Currently, macadamia products from Khao Mang are mainly consumed internally or are only sold as raw materials. For macadamia cultivation to truly become a stable and sustainable source of income, the commune needs to build a supply chain from production to processing and consumption, avoiding a passive response to market price fluctuations. Only with models of linkages with businesses and cooperatives in the region or outside the province can farmers feel secure in their production and earn higher profits from their products.

Macadamia trees are planted alongside corn but still bear abundant fruit.

In fact, in localities such as Son La, Dien Bien , and Lam Dong, macadamia trees have proven to be highly economically effective. However, for Khao Mang commune, the development of this crop needs to be systematically planned, linked to appropriate land use planning, applying standard cultivation techniques, and expanding the planted area according to a specific roadmap and stages, in order to ensure effectiveness and long-term sustainability.

Macadamia trees have been planted and developed by the people of Khao Mang commune, covering an area of ​​up to 5 hectares.

It can be affirmed that macadamia trees are opening up a new direction for agricultural development in the Khao Mang highland region, where people have long mainly cultivated traditional crops with low economic efficiency. With timely attention and support from the local government and appropriate development orientation, macadamia trees can completely become a key crop in poverty reduction, contributing to the transformation of the agricultural landscape and improving the quality of life for local people.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/trien-vong-cay-mac-ca-o-xa-khao-mang-post889981.html