The development is not appropriate

According to the Institute of Medical Materials (Ministry of Health), our country has very diverse and rich biological resources, ranking 16th out of 25 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. There are more than 5,000 species of valuable medicinal plants in Vietnam, which not only have medicinal value, but also have high economic value.

Along with a number of other areas across the country, Nam Tra My (Quang Nam) District is a place with natural conditions and a terrain suitable for many medicinal plants such as seven-petalled monoleaf orchid, needle orchid and ginseng. , Jiaogu Lam , Five Virtues, Cinnamon, Bach Bo… and especially Ngoc Linh Ginseng.

Over the years, the authorities of Nam Tra My District and Quang Nam Province have had numerous mechanisms and policies to develop and expand the area of ​​medicinal plants in this place. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Tra My District, there are about 2,000 hectares of medicinal plants in the area.

In terms of seeds, the entire district has two organizational units, namely Tra Linh Medicinal Station of Ngoc Linh Ginseng Development Center and Quang Nam Medicinal Plants and Nam Tra My District Agricultural Technology Center, which produce and provide medicinal seedlings with an average capacity of 2 .5 – 3 million seedlings/year. In particular, the subject of the concentrated production of seedlings is Ngoc Linh ginseng, cinnamon and party ginseng.

With the associated economic added value, the number of households, mainly belonging to ethnic minorities, which are involved in the cultivation of medicinal plants under the canopy of the forest increases every year. Accordingly, the demand for seed production is increasing. However, due to the limited number of seed suppliers in the region, it is not possible to match supply and demand.

In addition, the source of the original seeds for propagation is not currently controlled, so the quality of medicinal seedlings cannot be guaranteed. Most of the medicinal seedlings only meet the needs of farmers in the province for medicinal herb cultivation, but could not supply them to other provinces, although the demand is very high at the moment.

According to Trinh Minh Hai, head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nam Tra My District, in addition to the above restrictions, research and application of science and technology in cultivation, production of medicinal plant varieties and processing are currently required. Not enough attention and investment has been paid to the preservation and development of genetic resources of medicinal plants in the region.

The seed sources in particular are largely derived from nature, so there is no uniformity. Growing methods are often based on personal experience, there is no standard procedure; Also, the post-harvest processing is not done according to the scientific procedure, resulting in a large loss of active ingredient content in the product, which affects the price of the product.

“The economics of revenue from medicinal herbs are out of all proportion to the potential of not meeting the local supply of medicinal herbs.” At the same time, the collection and use of medicinal plants for commercial purposes and the high value of medicinal plants is widespread, resulting in natural medicinal plant species are depleted and threatened with extinction.

The cultivation and processing of medicinal herbs is predominantly small-scale, spontaneous and the value depends almost entirely on the purchasing market in China. In addition, there is also a shortage of enterprises investing in the value chain of drug production and consumption in the district, so economic efficiency is not high,” said Mr. Hai.

Increase efficiency with technology

According to a representative from the Institute of Medicinal Materials, the development of medicinal plants in Nam Tra My district is not really up to potential at present, especially in the application of science and technology in production. There are now many municipalities across the country that have implemented this topic well and with great efficiency and are increasingly imitating it.

In particular, the high-tech models popularly used include the system of greenhouses, greenhouses and net houses combined with the application of digital technology for automatic or semi-automatic control; Application of BigData, IoT, AI in crop management and care, economical irrigation technology including drip irrigation, semi-automatic or automatic mist irrigation by time or measured humidity, temperature…

Advances in science and technology have greatly contributed to the preservation and development of medicinal herbs, as well as the economic development of growers. Numerous achievements have been made through the use of high-tech research and development of breeding processes to preserve and develop native medicinal plants, as well as to develop imported varieties.

Based on the above comparison, Dr. Phan Thuy Hien, deputy director of the Institute of Medicinal Materials, said that there is a great need to set up a breeding, preservation and development center for high-tech medicinal herbs in Nam Tra My district. If this center is established, it will solve the above problems and create the source of stable quality seeds for Nam Tra My district in particular and South Central Coast region in general.

“It is expected that the average operating capacity of the breeding, preservation and development center of high-tech medicinal herbs in Nam Tra My district will yield over 100 million seedlings per year. This is also the place to create a source of medicinal plant seeds in sufficient quantity and quality to supply the market; Promote the development of areas with medicinal plant material and reduce the pressure of natural exploitation that depletes local medicinal resources,” said Dr. Phan Thuy Hien.

Based on the local orientation, assessment of the soil, irrigation water and site conditions, which are not in natural forests and convenient for travel, the Institute of Medical Materials selected two sites in Tra Linh and Tra Nam communes to set up a To set up a breeding center, preservation and development of high-tech medicinal herbs. The total planning area of ​​this center is expected to be approximately 53.8 hectares.

The operator’s house, a high-tech network house and an original seed garden for medicinal herbs, suitable for low mountain ranges in Tra Nam, with an area of ​​approx. 3.5 ha. Construction of an original seed garden for medicinal herbs, suitable for a height of more than 1,000 m in Tra Linh, covering an area of ​​about 50 ha. When it becomes operational, the center will give priority to the development of 19 high-quality medicinal herbs and 15 potential medicinal herbs.

Mr. Le Thanh Hung, secretary of the Nam Tra My District Party Committee, said that building a large medicinal herb garden using high science and technology in the region not only provides high-quality seeds for the entire district and other places. Alternative methods, but also can gradually replace short-term crops that are not valuable in barren hills or upland fields.

“Nam Tra My always wants how people live in the forest, protect the forest and really benefit from the forest. However, with this project it is necessary to carefully consider political, capital and infrastructure solutions. especially legal documents to avoid problems with procedures and legality related to production on forest land. In addition, the operating model of this center needs to be changed to encourage companies to invest together,” said Mr. Hung.