Lao Cai (VNA) - The mountainous northern province of Lao Cai hopes toalmost double its medicinal herb growing area in the next 10 years, expectingto achieve a yearly output of more than 11,000 tonnes.

Director of the Lao Cai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development NguyenAnh Tuan said the province hopes to have about 3,500ha of medicinal herbs by2030, concentrating on 22 key plants.

The medicinal herb growing areas will be mostly in the districts of Sa Pa, Bac Ha,Bat Xat, Si Ma Cai, Muong Khuong and Van Ban.

By the end of last year, the province had more than 1,800 ha of medicinalherbs, up 21 percent compared to the previous year. Last year, medicinal herbproductivity in the province hit nearly 8,300 tonnes. On average, local growersearned 124-240 million VND per hectare, while some earned more than 600 millionVND per ha.

Duong quy (female ginseng), xuyen khung (Szechuan lovage), cat canh (balloonflower), tam that (Himalayan ginseng) and artichoke are among key medicinalherbs the province hopes to develop. The authority had offered technical andfinancial support to boost links between production and consumption of theherbs since last year, Tuan said.

This year, the province will continue shifting corn-growing areas and part ofplanted forest land to medicinal herbs, Tuan said, adding that the provincewants to grow more medicinal herbs under the forest canopy to better protectforest resources and create a livelihood for the community.

The province also wants to boost cooperation among herb growers, companies andresearch institutes in medicinal herb production and consumption, he said. 

The agriculture department has asked districts to identify areas and medicinalherbs to grow as well as pay more attention to developing medicinal herb farmsunder the forest canopy and apply the WHO’s guidelines on good agricultural andcollection practices (GACP-WHO).

The Ministry of Health has so far certified four medicinal herbs of Lao Cai toGACP-WHO standards, including artichoke grown in Sa Pa district, che day (atype of vine native to many Asian countries) in Sa Pa and Bat Xat, Duong quy inBac Ha district and xuyen khung in Bat Xat.

At least 10 companies, co-operatives and individuals in the province haveproduction-consumption linkages, helping them trade more than 3,000 tonnes ofherbs yearly.

The links help form areas that specialise in growing medicinal herbs, boostingthe application of advanced technology to increase productivity and productquality.

Lao Cai also plans to develop branding and cataloguing. Growers and traderswill be instructed to register barcodes to ensure origin traceability, Tuansaid.

Lao Cai wants to promote local medicinal herbs as its typical products, aimingthat each commune will have a special product, he said.

Nguyen Tien Hong, deputy head of the Bac Ha district Agriculture sub-departmentsaid that this year, 105 ha of land in the district was used to grow medicinalherbs, mostly Duong quy and cat canh.

Local authorities have provided technical and financial assistance for 38hawhile the remaining 67ha of medicinal herbs were grown by companies orfamilies, he said.

With favourable weather, soil and proper nursing, Duong quy had done well inthe mountainous area, Hong said, adding that the herb helped growers earns asmuch as 3-4 times more than if they grew corn or rice.

In Lung Phinh – one of eight communes planned to develop medicine herbs growingzone in the district, people could earn 80-200 million VND from 1ha ofmedicinal herbs.

Many families have escaped poverty and become prosperous thanks to medicinalherbs, Hong said./.