A medicinal plant growing area in Gia Lai Province’s Chư Sê District. – VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Điệp

GIA LAI – The Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) province of Gia Lai is expanding the area under medicinal plants that offer economic efficiency and grow well in the local climatic and soil conditions.

It has a diverse range of forest resources and great bio-diversity, including 537 precious medicinal plant species that are widely used and have great potential for developing key products.

They grow naturally on more than 43,000ha of natural forests, mostly in Kbang, Đak Đoa, Chư Prông, and Mang Yang districts.

The province also had 4,000ha of medicinal herbs grown by households and companies as of the middle of last year, 3,000ha more than in 2020.

The plants grown here including Ngọc Linh ginseng, marbled jewel orchids and female ginseng, and many farming models are effective as they involve the use of proper techniques.

The model for growing bố chính ginseng used by the Quang Vinh medicinal Plant Agriculture Co-operative in Kbang District’s Sơ Pai Commune offers an average yield of six tonnes per hectare per year and income of VNĐ335 million (US$14,000) to the growers.

The model of intercropping cà gai leo (Solanum Procumbens) and coffee in Chư Sê District’s Ia Tiêm Commune offers farmers incomes of VNĐ40-50 million ($1,700-2,000) per hectare per year from harvesting the former, a medicinal herb.

Nguyễn Văn Hoan, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, says the plan is to expand medicinal plant cultivation to 5,000-10,000ha by 2025.

The plants to be grown include Ngọc Linh ginseng, marbled jewel orchids, female ginseng, cà gai leo, and tuber fleeceflower.

The province aims to develop at least four establishments that produce and sell high-quality medicinal plant seedlings and supply about 70 per cent of local demand.

The Kon Ka Kinh National Park and Kon Chư Răng nature reserve will establish two centres for growing medicinal plants on a research basis and produce seedlings of rare and commercial medicinal plants.

The centres will focus on preserving the province’s 21 rare medicinal plants listed in Việt Nam’s Red Book of endangered flora.

The province will establish a centre to preserve traditional medical knowledge and genomes of precious medicinal plants grown by ethnic peoples in the Tây Nguyên region.

Besides expanding the cultivation of indigenous medicinal plants, the province also aims to grow more foreign medicinal plants such as South Korean ginseng.

Hoan says climatic conditions in the province’s north-eastern areas are suitable for growing South Korean ginseng and so are zoned for the purpose.

The province has three renowned manufacturers of medicinal products, Trường Sinh International Science Development Company, Đông Nam Dược Gia Lai Joint Stock Company and a plant in Chư Păh District’s industrial-handicrafts cluster.

It has four medicinal plant growing projects with an investment of VNĐ497 billion ($20.8 million), and is seeking investors for 10 other projects on a total area of 1,821ha that will require VNĐ7.3 trillion ($300 million).

It is drafting up a plan to solicit investments in nine hi-tech projects for growing medicinal plants and their seedlings.

The province has 26 herbal medicinal products with three- and four-star ratings under the country’s “One Commune-One Product” programme.

It aims to have at least 10 more by 2030. – VNS