(BGO) - Tea has played an important role in the bright socio-economic panorama of Yen The and Son Dong districts (Bac Giang province). To help this plant gain a foothold and build a brand for it, local sectors and authorities have made active moves.
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Residents in Ven village, Xuan Luong commune (YenThe) harvest tea.
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Expanding cultivation area, improving quality
More than 300ha of tea in Ven village of Xuan Luong commune (Yen The district) are now in the harvest season. In his tea farm, Hoang Van Quyen, a 52-year-old man of the Nung ethnic group, and five workers are working hard to pick green tea buds on time to ensure their quality. Quyen said: “After decades of farming, I has realised that tea is the most suitable plant in the local soil conditions. Thanks to strong shift in cultivation and the State’s support in terms of seedlings, capital and production techniques, tea has become the key crop, helping locals escape from poverty. My family earned more than 100 million VND (nearly 4,400 USD) from over eight sao (each sao is equivalent to 360 sq.m.) of tea last year. I’m reclaiming the ground behind my house to increase the cultivation area.”
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Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Head of Yen The District s' sub-department for agriculture and rural development:
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| “The Yen The district People’s Committee has devised specific mechanisms to encourage organisations and individuals to build brands for tea products, offering 20 million VND (about 880 USD) in financial aid for each product. In 2014, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (under the Ministry of Science and Technology) granted a certificate for the collective trademark of Ven village tea in Xuan Luong commune. The fresh tea bud output approximates 4,000 tonnes each year, bringing about high profits for local people.” |
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Realising benefits of this plant, residents in the communes of Xuan Luong, Tam Tien, Canh Nau, Dong Vuong, Phon Xuong, Dong Tien, Hong Ky and Dong Tam have also enlarged the farming area. About 500ha of tea in Yen The are in the harvest season at present, generating over 2,500 tonnes of fresh tea buds each year which is sold at 16,000 VND (0.7 USD) per kg on average. The tea farming area is expected to reach 700ha by 2020. Many new tea varieties like PH1 and LDP2 have been cultivated to replace poor-performing varieties. Tea products have been made in line with safety standards such as VietGAP to ensure their quality. Consumers prefer local tea products since they are two- or three-leave buds plucked and processed with special methods of Cao Lan ethnic people, giving tea brew as yellow-green as bee honey with strong taste and good smell.
Like Yen The, Son Dong district also boasts favourable terrain and climate conditions for forming large-scale tea production areas. In 2003, the People’s Committee of this district assisted local farmers in planting Bat Tien tea, a new variety, to replace the old ones. Bat Tien tea, originating in Taiwan, still retains its typical sweetness when it is brewed for the fourth or fifth time. It has green brew with light jasmine and cool taste, making this type of tea sold at high prices.
Tran Ngoc Kien, head of the district’s sub-department for agriculture and rural development, said Son Dong has nearly 30ha of tea at present, mostly in Thanh Son town which accounts for 90 percent of total area. It is expanding the area of Bat Tien tea cultivated under VietGAP standards. It supported farmers with more than 20,000 seedlings and had nearly 2ha of tea planted in 2015. Many families have actively replaced low-value crops with tea which promises better economic benefits.
Developing brands for agricultural products
Like many other crops, to turn tea into a key crop with big profits, it is important to build brands, advertise products and enhance connectivity in sale. A number of plans for tea production development in Yen The have been carried out such as improving the quality of cash crop production for 2010-2015, promoting high-quality tea farming areas for 2016-2020, and rehabilitating old tea farms.
Accordingly, tens of billions of VND was invested in Than Truong Co. Ltd, based in Ven village of Xuan Luong commune, and Hiep Thanh Co. Ltd, based in Rung Dai village of Tam Tien commune, to apply modern farming and production technologies. Districts in Bac Giang have also given 10 million VND (about 440 USD) per hectare in financial aid to families which grow new tea trees, and 5 million VND (about 220 USD) per hectare to those rehabilitating old farms. Companies or persons who want to build brands or trademarks for tea products are assisted with 20 million VND (nearly 880 USD) for each brand.
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Sản phẩm chè xanh Bản Ven. Ảnh Trâm Anh
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District authorities have also helped local companies and farmers connect with each other as well as advertise and sell products, thereby ensuring stable tea consumption. About 250ha of old tea trees in Yen The district have been replaced with PH1, LDP2 and LDP1 varieties. As a result, tea productivity and quality have increased substantially.
Despite the modest tea area, Son Dong district has continually paid heed to building and developing tea brands to help its products gain a foothold in the market. It has combined national target programmes during implementation to assist farmers in tea farming. The People’s Committee of Son Dong has coordinated with the provincial Department of Science and Technology to carry out a State-level project on applying advanced techniques to intensively farm some new tea varieties, processing and selling products in value chains in the district. Many families in Thanh Son town were helped to cultivate 100ha of Bat Tien tea under VietGAP standards, build automatic processing facilities and form connectivity to seek buyers. Son Dong authorities are making support policies on packaging to help tea products eligible for trademark registration.
Tran Van Tu, deputy head of the crop production and plant protection division under Bac Giang province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said tea plays a key role and it is among the crop plants with high economic values in Bac Giang. Over the past years, his division worked with businesses and seedling centres to pilot the cultivation of many new varieties in Yen The and Son Dong. Realising the potential of tea in Bac Giang, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade has also stepped up promoting trade and introducing products at fairs in Bac Giang and other provinces. In particular, the food safety cooperative of Thanh Son town will manage Bat Tien tea products of Son Dong district to register trademarks.
Hoang Phuong
Bắc Ninh
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