From "dirty tea" to 4-star OCOP

In 2010-2011, the Hung Khanh tea region fell into a serious crisis when the production of "dirty tea" was exposed. At that time, people abused fertilizers and chemical pesticides to stimulate the plants to bud quickly, harvested by machines without control, and even mixed stone powder and corn powder to increase weight. As a result, consumers turned their backs on the products, and the products were unsold despite record low prices.

2015 marked an important turning point when the district agricultural sector and commune authorities guided people to apply VietGAP tea production standards. This was the first effort to restore consumer confidence and create stable output for the product.

Mrs. Tran Thi Hanh's family in Khe Nam village has more than 3,500 m2 of tea, of which 2,500 m2 is Bat Tien tea grown since 2004, and has participated in this model. Then, in July 2024, her family continued to register to participate in the Organic Tea Production Project implemented by the Department of Science and Technology of Yen Bai province and the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science and Technology Institute. Currently, the tea hills bring in a profit of nearly 100 million VND/year from selling fresh tea buds to local cooperatives.

"We switched to using composted manure and pest control with safe biological products. We use generators and manual methods for care and weeding, and hand-picking tea buds according to the standard of 1 bud and 2 leaves," said Ms. Hanh.

Similarly, Mrs. Ha Thi Thu's family in Khe Nam village with a tea area of more than 4,000 m2 , of which 2,200 m2 is Bat Tien tea, has a stable income of more than 100 million VND per year. "Bat Tien tea has a lower yield of fresh buds but the average purchase price is 26,000 VND/kg, twice as high as midland tea" - Mrs. Thu said she plans to replace the entire area with Bat Tien tea according to organic processes.

2020 marked an important step forward when Khe Nam Tea Cooperative was established with more than 30 members. According to Mr. Tran Van Tam - Chairman of Hung Khanh Commune People's Committee, the State provided capital support to evaluate raw material areas, invest in new seedlings and replace more than 35 hectares of midland tea with Bat Tien tea variety, while supporting the construction of factories and modern production machinery. Up to now, the Cooperative has developed with nearly 90 members and has a Hung Khanh specialty Bat Tien tea product that meets 4-star OCOP standards and is favored by consumers in and outside the province.

Mr. Vu Van Hong - Director of Khe Nam Tea Cooperative shared: "More than ten years ago, when I visited tea growing models in Thai Nguyen , I saw that each kilo of tea was sold for several hundred thousand dong, even several million dong, while tea in my hometown was only sold for 30,000 - 40,000 dong/kg, I was determined to join the people in changing the way of doing things."

As a result of applying VietGAP process, each hectare of tea yields 9-10 tons of fresh buds/year, equivalent to an income of more than 200 million VND. This has motivated many households to convert mixed garden land and ineffective forestry hill land to tea cultivation.

The story of Hung Khanh tea area is a valuable lesson about perseverance and innovation in agricultural production. From a "dirty tea" area that was boycotted, people have strongly transformed to produce clean tea, organic tea, gradually affirming their brand in the market. By focusing on improving the quality of raw material areas, choosing delicious tea varieties suitable for the soil, applying clean production and building a brand, Hung Khanh people are gradually "living well" with tea trees - proof of sustainable agricultural development not only for economic benefits but also for community health.

Hung Cuong

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/348529/Tu-che-ban-den-OCOP-4-sao.aspx