Bac Ha people get rich from cinnamon trees
Cinnamon is a perennial, woody plant. The entire stem, branches, roots, and leaves of cinnamon can distill essential oils, make medicines, and make spices. Therefore, cinnamon is being focused on expanding acreage by many households in Bac Ha district, contributing to promoting forest economy development and bringing high income.From the beginning of 2020, the value obtained from cinnamon, including bark, leaves, seeds, cinnamon wood, etc., is estimated at nearly 300 billion VND, equivalent to the value obtained in 2019. Specifically, harvesting cinnamon seeds sold to farmers in the area reached 10,000 kg, with an average selling price of 200,000 VND/kg, farmers in the commune earned 2 billion VND. Fresh cinnamon bark harvest in season 3 can be sold at 1,650 tons, with an average price of 24,000 VND/kg, bringing in a revenue of 37 billion 590 million VND. The cinnamon leaf products obtained over 1,100 tons, earned nearly 2.2 billion. The cinnamon wood products can be sold at 1,500m3, bringing in revenue of 3.6 billion. With high-income sources, Bac Ha will surely help more farmers out of poverty from planting cinnamon.
Preliminary processing of cinnamon at the Bac Ha organic cinnamon cooperative
Currently, Bac Ha district has 8,700ha of cinnamon, in which the area up to the harvest period is more than 3,600ha. As of October 2020, farmers in the lower Bac Ha district's communes planted 500 hectares of cinnamon. Cinnamon area is concentrated in the lower district's communes, mainly in Nam Det, Nam Luc, Coc Lau, Ban Cai, Coc Ly ...
For example, in Nam Det commune, the immense cinnamon hills helped many farmers escape poverty and gradually become full. Currently, Nam Det commune has 1,850 hectares of cinnamon, of which 1,500 hectares are being harvested, with about 500 households participating and planted in most of the commune villages. In order to ensure the area of cinnamon to exploit, every year, people in the commune plant new 50-60 hectares and replant hundreds of hectares after exploitation. Cinnamon production in Nam Dat has undergone significant changes. Instead of harvesting and selling raw cinnamon bark directly to traders as before, farmers are instructed on the primary methods of making cinnamon slices, cinnamon flute, and pipe cinnamon ... However, it is possible to increase the value of Nam Do cinnamon products by 40% compared to the current cost, and save labor.
The international certification of organic cinnamon has made an essential contribution to increasing cinnamon's value, forming a specialized cinnamon production area associated with the local cinnamon industry's value chain. Cinnamon material production areas are managed from selecting varieties, planting methods, tending and exploiting cinnamon sustainably, protecting the environment, conserving, and developing the ecological diversity in cinnamon growing areas, supporting the Construction and management of a guaranteed organic cinnamon area. The output of cinnamon is also guaranteed. Son Ha Spices Co., Ltd. purchases all organic cinnamon output and Nam Dat Organic Cinnamon Cooperative buying and exporting products to India, some Middle East countries, and other markets like the EU and Japan. On average, for every 1 ha of cinnamon, people collect more than 1 billion VND.
Thanks to the high and stable cost of cinnamon products, farmers increase the exploitation of harvested and mature cinnamon for harvest increases. The communes in the lower district where cinnamon has grown have developed a cinnamon cooperative model—strengthening the association with Techvina Joint Stock Company to implement the planting organic cinnamon project, contributing to the development of the specialized cinnamon cultivation area in a sustainable direction, bringing high economic efficiency, eliminating poverty, enriching farmers.