Xo Dang’s medical billionaires

Tu Mo Rong is a revolutionary base area in which the Xo Dang ethnic group accounts for 95%. Over the years, people have sold cows and pigs to raise money to grow medicinal plants, thereby escaping poverty and even becoming billionaires.

When we got to Te Xang Township (Tu Mo Rong District), the story we heard people talking about was the preparation of medicinal seedlings for the new harvest. They passionately talked about where to buy seeds, how to prepare the soil so that the plants do not get sick, as well as the expectation of a new life.

Ein Khoa (31 years old, Tan Ba ​​Village, Te Xang Township) cheerfully said that medicinal plants play a big role in his family. “My family used to be a poor household and we only grew noodles (cassava), rice, litsea, coffee… all year round, our income was not enough for food. Then the community mobilized medicinal herbs such as medlar, ginseng, I thought it wise to listen to them and planted 2 sao (1,000 m2). As a result, the family earns an additional VND 50 million every year, so the family has escaped poverty,” said A Khoa.

Mr. Duong Thai Khoa, head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tu Mo Rong District, said medicinal plants are identified as “3 in 1” in the area, including staple trees, poverty alleviation plants and fortification plants. In fact, medicinal plants have changed the lives of farmers. For example, in the period from 2019 to 2021, the district has 1,761 households that escaped poverty. Among them, 70% of households escaped poverty by cultivating medicinal herbs.

It is also medicinal plants that have made many people billionaires, such as Mr. A Ly (Ngoc La Village, Mang Ri Municipality) who planted 4,000 Ngoc Linh ginseng roots, 3 hectares of rope ginseng. The total revenue of A Ly’s family in 2022 related to medicinal herbs is estimated at more than VND 1 billion.

On the “secret” of getting rich, A Ly said: “I have been growing Ngoc Linh ginseng since 2014, when the tree grows, I take the seeds and then expand the area. I also work for a ginseng company. All wages and funds to support ginseng are spent to invest in ginseng gardens. In the next few years the trees will grow, the seeds will give more, my garden will be recreated, then the income will be even higher.

Tu Mo Rong District People’s Committee Chairman Vo Trung Manh said that in 2022, only three communities specializing in the cultivation of medicinal herbs, namely Te Xang, Mang Ri and Ngoc Lay, will have 67 households that classified as typical farmers. These households have incomes ranging from VND 500 million to over VND 10 billion. The medical billionaires can be divided into two types: Pioneer class with “famous” names like A Sy, A Ton, the rest are young people who dare to adapt quickly to the times, the number of billionaires in this class is very large. What they have in common is that they know how to use the value of medicinal plants and turn the strong plants of their homeland into a rich tree.

In Tu Mo Rong district, 11 communities in the area can grow medicinal plants. To date, the area of ​​medicinal plants has grown to around 2,937 hectares, of which 1,715 hectares are Ngoc Linh Ginseng. Mr. Vo Trung Manh said that the district turned this land into one of the three medicinal growing areas in the province due to its potential. This district has most things like: the largest area for Ngoc Linh ginseng, many billionaires of the Xo Dang people thanks to Ngoc Linh ginseng, the largest area for medicinal herbs, the most processed medicines.

Take medicinal herbs from Tu Mo Rong to the great sea

Not only are people getting rich from medicinal herbs, but Tu Mo Rong is also “rolling out the red carpet” to invite the “leading birds,” which are corporations and cooperatives, to invest in medicinal herbs. It is these units that have built up a cultivation area of ​​thousands of acres and created many valuable products for export that help the Tu Mo Rong medicinal brand to become widespread. The people of the Xo Dang ethnic group play a central role in the success of the above-mentioned company and benefit directly from it.

In 3 communities specializing in the cultivation of medicinal herbs, such as Mang Ri, Te Xang and Ngoc Lay, about 400 households participate in the association of ginseng cultivation with the Ngoc Linh Kon Tum Ginseng Joint Stock Company. A family from Chen (Chung Tam Village, Mang Ri Township) led a good life for 8 years before joining the association to cultivate Ngoc Linh Ginseng.

Before that, although Mr. A. Chen lived in the “Ginseng Mecca,” he had difficulty planting a ginseng garden because he had no seedlings. When the company invited the link, he agreed to join. This “handshake” brought benefits to both sides.

“Every month they pay 3 million Dong for wages, food and drink and get pigs for Tet. At the end of the year, the company also supported 100 more ginseng seeds worth VND 30 million. Thanks to the number of varieties supported each year, I have built a ginseng garden with about 5,000 trees worth about VND 600 million so far,” said A Chen.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tri, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Mang Ri Township, there are about 300 households that regularly associate ginseng cultivation with ginseng businesses, accounting for about 80% of the households in the region. Companies receive from people experienced in growing ginseng, while people receive a salary of VND 3-7 million/month plus 100 ginseng seeds. Thanks to the support, people have resources to build ginseng gardens. In addition, the association helps people to become aware that they must conserve the forest in order to grow ginseng.

The advantage of medicinal herbs originating from Tu Mo Rong is that they can be exported abroad, even to difficult markets such as Europe. Mr. Ha Van Phuong, Director of Tu Mo Rong Agricultural and Herbal Products Cooperative said, “In 2022, the Cooperative sold 15.3 tons of ginger, turmeric, wild lemon and garlic to its subsidiaries for deep processing for export to Europe . In the near future, we will further expand the cultivation area to create a larger number of raw materials for processing and export to overseas markets,” Phuong said.

Mr. Vo Trung Manh, chairman of the Tu Mo Rong District People’s Committee, said that in 2022, in addition to the Tu Mo Rong Agricultural and Herbal Products Cooperative, which sells medicinal herbs for export, the InnovGreen Company will also sell 1.7 tons of mem tang essential oil exported to China. At present, there is a processing plant that has been invested and put into operation, which will surely produce many valuable medicinal products, which will help Tu Mo Rong products to be exported all over the world.

Meanwhile, Ngoc Linh Kon Tum Ginseng Joint Stock Company is also considering taking products overseas. This company has now launched a series of products in the domestic market, including ginseng wine, energy drinks, tablets, tea, bird’s nest, extract, ginseng pho, ginseng honey, and opened a number of sales agents, which are distributed in many provinces.

Mr. Tran Hoan, Chairman of the Board of Ngoc Linh Ginseng Joint Stock Company Kon Tum said, “Ngoc Linh Ginseng has passed the preservation stage and has basically escaped the threat of extinction. The company itself is always aware of bringing Ngoc Linh Ginseng to the world. The company’s goal is to introduce Vietnamese Ngoc Linh Ginseng to the world. The company’s upcoming strategy is to control the planting process to meet the needs of raw material production to meet domestic and export demand.

In February 2023, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan personally visited the Ngoc Linh ginseng cultivation area in Mang Ri township (Tu Mo Rong district). Here the Minister spoke about Ngoc Linh Ginseng and the development of local tourism.

Mr. Vo Trung Manh, chairman of the Tu Mo Rong District People’s Committee, said Minister Le Minh Hoan’s suggestions during the inspection helped the district orientate the development of medicinal herbs related to tourism. These are the development of green agriculture, tourism to experience medicinal herbs, tourism to explore forests and nature, thus contributing to the preservation of the cultural identity of the Xo Dang ethnic group.