Long Viet Agricultural Service Cooperative (Long Viet Cooperative, Dak Hut Bon, Quang Truc Commune, Tuy Duc District, Dak Nong) is one of the successful units in developing local macadamia trees.

Do not sell raw macadamias in the market

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung, 44, chairman of the cooperative, said that Long Viet cooperative has not sold any raw macadamia products in the market for many years, but all have been processed. As a result, the value increased by approx. 30% compared to the raw sale.

Long Viet Cooperative was founded in 2019, the main business is the cultivation and processing of macadamia, pepper, coffee and durian, with the main product being macadamia. The cooperative provides all services, from tree nursery and technical advice on planting and care to harvesting, processing and consumption.

At its inception the cooperative had 7 members, now it has grown to 22 and 45 households connected. The total area of ​​Macadamia is about 300 ha. The area of ​​the 22 members of the cooperative is 138 ha. Of the 22 cooperative members, more than half are ethnic minorities.

“I’ve been making macadamia nuts and supplying seeds for most of the people in and out of the co-op for almost ten years. Here, like OC (Own choice), QN1 is well developed, flowering and bearing quite simultaneously, and other varieties also develop, many fruits but small fruits, flowers are not uniform,” said Dung.

According to Ms. Dung, the cooperative’s macadamia productivity has been very high for 2 years thanks to the application of a new cultivation method. Macadamia trees produce 2 crops per year, with an average yield of 20 – 40 kg of fruit per year depending on care. “The average macadamia yield in my garden is around 20kg fruit/tree/crop. Households associate, the yield is between 10 and 15 kg of fruit/tree/crop,” informed Chi Dung.

Mr. Nguyen Thai Binh, 46 years old, a member of Long Viet Cooperative who prepares more than 2 ha of macadamia nuts for harvest, shared his experiences, cultivation techniques and care of macadamia like an expert: “Maca trees are easy to harvest care, little investment.

If you take good care of it, with enough water, you will have a lot of fruit, on the contrary, if you lack water, your beans will be less, but not dead like pepper and coffee. Basically, this land in Quang Truc (Tuy Duc district) is very suitable for macadamia trees. But especially in barren hill areas where other trees cannot be planted or do not grow well, the macadamia tree is very beautiful.”

Mr. Binh said that only 280 trees grow in 1 ha of land, the area is quite bare, so it is possible to harvest short-term crops, which are particularly suitable for growing medicinal plants.

“According to previous guidance documents, macadamia trees are planted at a rate of 5-6 or 4-7, ie 6m between rows, 5m from trees, which is a calculation of around 300 trees per hectare. But during the care we found that this density was too thick, so we planted more sparsely, in the ratio 6 – 7 (6 x 7 = 42, i.e. 42m2/tree, converted to 1ha about more than 230 trees) or 7 – 7 (1 ha about 200 trees).

Otherwise at least planting density of 6-6, i.e. 1ha approx. 280 trees, the new tree grows well. “It’s basically the same, but it has to be based on actual terrain. For example, in a terrain that often has a lot of strong winds, the border of the garden is thicker to catch the wind, the purpose is to create a windbreak wall for the trees inside. , but if the terrain is good for blocking the wind, it should be planted at equal density,” Mr Binh shared.

More stable and efficient than coffee

Ms. Dung said that each hectare of macadamia has an average yield of about 1-1.5 tons. After harvesting, macadamia nuts with fresh shells are taken directly to the cooperative’s shelling workshop after shelling is completed. Macadamia nuts are weighed and sent to cooperatives sold at a price of 100-110 thousand VND/kg.

“In 2022, I harvested 2.4 tons of fruit from a garden of 100 macadamia trees. That’s productivity like here. To achieve this yield, I use new, higher-yielding strains. Normally the macadamia tree starts to harvest around the 5th year, but my macadamia tree started dividing fruit in the 3rd year. In the 4th year it can reach about 7 kg of fruit/tree/crop, in the 5th year it can reach 10 kg . In Krong Nang, each macadamia tree can yield up to 70kg of fruit per year,” said Ms. Dung.

At present, Long Viet Cooperative’s macadamia products are not only sold domestically, but also exported to Thailand and Japan. “Compared to macadamia products from other regions, Tuy Duc macadamia nuts are valued for their quality. The potential of macadamia trees is great, recently an Australian partner wanted us to supply 1,200 tons/year, but the raw materials section of the cooperative could not fulfill it, so they had to decline,” said Ms. Dung.

Mr. Dieu Duy, 35, M’nong, member of Long Viet Cooperative, said his family owns nearly 2 hectares of macadamia nut, in 2022 he will harvest the first crop, after the sale, less the costs he still has will make a profit of 200 million copper.

“This is the first macadamia harvest, but in 3 years the yield will be much higher with good care. Compared to coffee, the income of macadamia trees is much better. If you grow coffee on 2 hectares, you will get about 5 tons, at a price of 40,000 VND/kg, you will get 200 million VND, but the cost is half, only 100 million VND profit. But watch out for the coffee. This year I’m following in everyone else’s footsteps, growing medicinal plants under the macadamia canopy and maybe earning a little more money,” said Dieu Duy.

At Long Viet Cooperative, Ms. Dung introduced the second best producer here, Ms. Thi Nhon, 42 years old. To date, thanks to hard work and accumulation, she and her husband have more than ten hectares of land to grow coffee and vegetables. Since joining the Long Viet Cooperative, she has moved 10 hectares to grow macadamia nuts. Now the tree is 4 years old and is divining and preparing to harvest the first crop.

Nhon’s macadamia garden is quite sparse, with a ratio of 7-7, ie 49 m2/tree. In vacant places, at crossing points of rows, she grew durian instead of growing medicinal plants like other models.

“How do you know the process of caring for macadamia trees?” I asked. Nhen replied: “I often go to training. Until people all lead me I study and then go back and just follow. This year the divination is wrong, very wrong,” Nhon said.

Regarding sustainable development, Ms. Dung said the cooperative is currently farming organically, without fertilizers and chemical pesticides. “The main source of nutrients for the plant is cow manure, agricultural by-products are fresh macadamia husks, ground coffee husks mixed with probiotics. The cooperative has engineers who visit the cottage gardens and instruct them on the tending process, composting, fertilization, etc. And pesticides harmful to macadamia trees are also biological products, non-toxic. The goal is that the farmland can reach organic standards in 3-5 years,” Ms. Dung said.

The person of great merit in supporting the macadamia tree in Tuy Duc District is Mr. Doan Le Anh, Chairman of the District Farmers’ Association. For more than ten years, Mr. Anh has persistently researched, researched and tested the macadamia tree on many types of soil, in many areas in many communities of Tuy Duc District, and gradually confirmed its feasibility, despite many obstacles and little skepticism. To date, the macadamia area in Tuy Duc has reached more than 2,000 hectares. And Long Viet Cooperative thanked Mr. Anh by naming “Macadamia Le Anh Tuy Duc” on the packaging of their products.