VĨNH PHÚC – Many farmers in northern Vĩnh Phúc Province have been chopping down their đinh lăng (polyscias fruiticose) trees, a medicinal plant species, as they can’t find a consumption market despite constantly reducing selling prices.

In Sông Lô District, đinh lăng crops have been seen growing strongly along Lô River. The warm and rainy weather has become the favourable condition for this kind of tree to be grown.

However, local farmers are not happy with the harvest as none of traders come to buy the trees.

Đỗ Duy Tĩnh, farmer in Bạch Lưu Commune’s Anh Dũng Village said he planted two sào (720 square metres) of đinh lăng, and now had to cut them down for another crop.

In the past several years, Tĩnh could earn VNĐ 30,000 (US$1.3) per kilo of đinh lăng and got the profit of VNĐ 40 million ($1,760) from the tree. The root of the tree could be soaked in wine, the branch could be used for tree breeding, and the leaves used for food or herbal medicine.

Đỗ Duy Hải, another farmer said he has chopped down part of his three-sào (more than 1 hectare) crop and replaced by timer crop.

He would soon replace the rest with other trees if no one bought the đinh lăng trees.

In Nhân Đạo Commune, 100 out of 128 households have chosen to plant đinh lăng, and suffered the same situation.

Nguyễn Văn Sáu, one of the first farmers planting the trees in the commune, said 2015-16 were the best years of đinh lăng crops. Farmers could earn between VNĐ 40,000-45,000 ($1.7-2) per kilo and get hundreds of millions of đồng.

He himself earned VNĐ 100 million ($4,400) from his two- sào crop in 2016.

The profit of the trees was quite high, and the climate and land was suitable for the trees’ growth. Thus, many farmers had chopped down their fruit trees to get room for đinh lăng. The trees have been grown popular in six communes of the district.

But due to low demand, most are suffering losses, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Đang, chairman of Bạch Lưu Commune’s People’s Committee said the massive cultivation of đinh lăng trees in the commune and neighbouring areas was spontaneous and not in the agricultural development strategy of the commune.

The people’s committees of Phương Khoan and Nhân Đạo communes said that they had never encouraged farmers to expand đinh lăng crops as there were no units, organisations or individuals committing to buy the products.

The committees have worked with district’s authority to have solutions for the situation. – VNS