Locals have been guided how to collect herbs properly, and gained stable income. Hanoi (VNA) – The Muong Long Medicinal Plants and Herbs Conservation and Development Centre of the TH Group has made contributions to giving a facelift to the western region of the central province of Nghe An since it has helped locals collect the herbs responsibly, while providing the group with precious, totally natural materials for production of various kinds of herbal tea that is good for people’s health.
Remote border areas get facelift
Going along a captivating road that leads to the mountainous communes in the western part of Nghe An province, visitors are all amazed by localities’ radical changes.
Rugged mountains that surround Muong Long and Huoi Tu communes are seen as a cash cow for locals after the potential of medicinal herbs have been tapped.
Lau Y Do, in a white protective clothing, is rushing off her feet to package the dried lingzhi mushroom.
Wiping with her hand drops of sweat from the forehead, Do said with beaming smile that she has been working at Muong Long centre for five years. The job, which is suitable for women, earns her stable income every month.
Engaging in the TH Group’s project, Cu Y Tong in Muong Long 1 village, Muong Long commune, who used to the slash-and-burn cultivation practice, has been guided how to collect herbs properly, and gained stable income. Her livelihood has been improved as a result.
TH herbal tea is made from materials in Muong Long commune. “Earlier, we only went to the forest to find medicinal herbs when we were sick, or we picked the plants and sell them to local herbalists but this was not a stable source of income. When the TH Group came here, our livelihoods have been improved a lot. We do not have to worry about the food and clothes we need anymore. Now, we are protecting the forest and preserve the herbs”, she said.
Meanwhile, Lau Y Si in Huoi Tu commune said life is much easier for her family when she works for Muong Long centre. Now, Si can afford a mortorbike and many household appliances such as television and refrigerator, which were only in her dream before.
According to Lau Ba Cho, Vice Chairman of the Muong Long commune People’s Committee, the commune will enhance cooperation with TH Group to plant more medicinal herbs, helping gradually develop the economy.
Promising path
Labour Heroine Thai Huong – Founder and Chairwoman of the TH Group Strategy Council, recalled the tough time when she invested in the cultivation of medicinal herbs, adding her engagement in the field began with her awareness of and vision for the community health.
Over the past decade, Huong has travelled to the border mountainous regions of Nghe An province, and worked out her plan to develop the under-the-forest-canopy economy.
To date, TH Group, through its TH Herbals Joint Stock Company, has branched out a medicinal herb cultivation area of around 250 hectares. Forest lands in Muong Long and Huoi Tu communes have been zoned off for the plantation of spiny cucumber, granadilla foetida, Paris polyphylla and Ginkgo Biloba, among others.
Workers are rushing off their feet to harvest the herbs. The company has preserved an array of precious herbs, some of which were on the verge of extinction like false ginseng, angelica sinensis and Puxailaileng.
Labour Heroine Thai Huong said with its strategic orientation and broad vision, the Muong Long Medicinal Plants and Herbs Conservation and Development Centre has contributed to forming and preserving forest ecosystem and branching out under-the-forest-canopy economy through proper collection of natural herbs and cultivation of herbal plants under organic standards.
With the model to preserve and develop local medicinal herbs, TH Group has affirmed its pioneer role in exploring new lands for the development of medicinal herbs in particular, and Vietnam’s agriculture in general.
The mountainous area of Muong Long Support from ministries, sectors is needed
According to Tran Quang Bao, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, enterprises have an important role to play in developing the areas of medicinal herbs, shaping up a value chain, and developing market for the products.
They will create a locomotive to attract investment in building material areas, invest in intensive processing belts to improve products’ value, while generating jobs for local people, he elaborated.
Labour Heroine Huong said leaders from Nghe An province have penned rational policies, had strong confidence in, and accompanied businesses.
To become successful, a business, besides its financial and governannce capacity, needs support from local authorities, she said.
The harvested medicinal herbs “To be successful in agricultural production, I see that businesses need support from both local authorities and people. Since we carried out our dairy farming and production project, we have not taken the land from local farmers but cultivate on local farms’ land that showed inefficiency.”
She said that local farms’ land that shows inefficiency should not be handed over to farmers as they are unable to cultivate on the land with modern technology and develop market, adding enterprises should take over the areas for agricultural development.
TH Group has carried out the medicinal herb plantation model at Muong Long Medicinal Plants and Herbs Conservation and Development, reaping positive results.
Trinh Hien Trung, Director General of TH Herbals JSC, said that after taking over the centre from the Muong Long medicinal herb station, which boasted a poor fauna and biodiversity, TH Herbals worked hard to preserve and breed valuable herbal plants.
Tho Ba Re, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district, Nghe An province, said that the district is aiming to change the mindset in economic development of the people towards tourism and medicinal plant cultivation under the forest canopy, associated with forest protection.
Vietnam aims to capitalise on its strengths and potential to develop medicine from herbs. In the national strategy on development of Vietnam’s pharmaceutical industry to 2020, with a vision toward 2030, Vietnam aims to capitalise on its strengths and potential to develop medicine from herbs, build conservation areas, and promote large-scale production based on local rare and valuable materials.
With the medicinal herb preservation and development model in Ky Son district, TH Group has continued to affirm the value and mission of a pioneering enterprise that leads the exploitation of "new" lands for the development of the pharmaceutical industry in particular and Vietnamese agriculture in general. The group is forming and expanding pure Vietnamese “clean” medicinal herb cultivation areas on some 15,000 hectares across the nation.
Vietnam holds huge potential to branch out medicinal herb growing since it is home to more than 14.2 million hectares of forest. In recent years, the Government has made strong commitments to join international conventions to mitigate climate change, prevent natural disasters and combat sea level rise. The Party, Government and National Assembly have also issued many policies to promote socio-economic development in mountainous regions in tandem with forest protection in general and economic development under the forest capony in particular.
To date, the TH Group’s “medicinal herb journey” has reaped positive outcomes despite formidable challenges posed by natural disasters, limited human resources, and tough terrains. Residents in mountainous communes and districts have engaged in this production chain, giving a helping hand to develop local socio-economy.
However, to make the under-the-forest-canopy economy thrive, competent authorities should further engage in the model by supporting enterprises in making investment in local farm lands and raising public awareness of forest protection to improve livelihoods./.
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