Consulting on assessing the potential and orientation for sustainable development of medicinal resources in Son La province

On November 6, the Provincial Union of Science and Technology Associations held a consultation workshop to assess the potential and orientation for sustainable development of medicinal resources in Son La province. Attending the workshop were leaders of relevant departments and branches, representatives of enterprises and cooperatives participating in the production and consumption of medicinal materials.

Consulting workshop on assessing the potential and orientation for sustainable development of medicinal resources in Son La province

Son La has favorable climate and soil conditions, large forest areas, high biodiversity, especially suitable for sustainable medicinal plant development. According to the 2024 status announcement, the province has planned more than 670,000 hectares of forestry land, with forest cover of over 47%, distributed in many sub-climatic zones, suitable for both temperate and tropical medicinal plants. Of which, about 86,000 hectares of forest can be combined with growing medicinal plants under the canopy, creating great potential for economic development associated with forest protection.

To date, Son La has identified more than 1,000 medicinal plant species, including many rare species widely grown in the areas of Song Ma, Mai Son, Moc Chau, Muong La, Bac Yen and Van Ho. The whole province currently has about 40 small-scale medicinal plant processing facilities and 5-7 medium-scale facilities, applying popular technologies such as heat drying, powder grinding, essential oil extraction, roasting, and packaging.

Along with that, the province has issued many mechanisms and policies to promote the development of medicinal herbs, such as: Planning for medicinal herb development until 2030 with the goal of expanding the area to about 50,000 hectares, output of 500,000 tons; Decision No. 22/2024/QD-UBND stipulating support for investment in infrastructure, plant varieties, technical training, technology transfer and trade promotion, prioritizing projects with many ethnic minority workers and implemented in difficult areas.

Representative of Uyen Thuan Cooperative, Phu Yen commune spoke at the workshop.

At the workshop, delegates focused on analyzing the current difficulties and limitations in medicinal plant development such as: small-scale production, fragmented raw material areas, unsynchronized seed sources, limited processing technology, and low public awareness of sustainable development.

From that reality, many opinions have proposed solutions and development orientations in the coming time, including: Building concentrated raw material areas associated with linking the "four-house" value chain; applying science and technology , preserving precious medicinal plant genetic resources; building brands, expanding consumer markets; combining medicinal plant development with ecotourism and traditional medicine; increasing investment resources and perfecting support mechanisms and policies...

Sustainable development of medicinal herbs contributes to increasing income, improving the lives of ethnic minorities, and at the same time opening up new directions for green economy, circular economy, associated with nature conservation and indigenous knowledge. With the potential, advantages and attention of the province, Son La is expected to become the medicinal herb center of the Northwest region, actively contributing to the development strategy of Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry until 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/kinh-te/tu-van-danh-gia-tiem-nang-va-dinh-huong-phat-trien-ben-vung-nguon-duoc-lieu-cua-tinh-son-la-W102V2kDg.html