Mr. Son piloted planting Gay tea according to VietGAP standards.

The family of Mr. Cao Xuan Luong in village 6, Cao Son commune is one of 8 households with tea acreage planned by the commune in the production area according to VietGAP standards. Mr. Luong shared: His family has 1.5 hectares of Gay tea that was chosen by the commune as a model for tea production according to VietGAP standards. Since participating in the model, along with the renovation of the tea hill, his family has been trained and instructed on how to care for tea plants; keeping records of production activities, care, monitoring, and pest control according to production regulations.

Cao Son Commune (Anh Son) plans 10 hectares in Eo Vot area, village 6, to pilot tea production according to VietGAP standards. Photo: Thai Hien

Right from the stage of clearing the ground cover, weeding, and taking care of the plants, Mr. Luong does not use herbicides or chemical fertilizers. Fertilizers are mainly organic and microbial fertilizers made from agricultural products. Thanks to that, his tea area has developed well, providing daily income. On average, Mr. Luong harvests 40-50 bundles per day; with the current tea price of 8,000 VND/bundle, his family earns 300,000-400,000 VND per day.

Ms. Dang Thi Thi's family in village 6 has been growing Gay tea for 10 years now. She and the local people always realize that making clean tea is the best way to build a brand and protect the health of consumers. From planting to harvesting, Ms. Thi's family follows technical processes to protect the ecological environment. On average, she picks 20-25 bundles of tea per day, earning 5-6 million VND per month.

Cao Son is a commune with a large area of ​​Gay tea in Anh Son district with 430 hectares, of which more than 90% of households grow; households grow more than 1 hectare, households grow less than 2 - 3 sao. Every day, there are 3 - 5 trucks of traders coming to buy tea at the garden; tea is transported to all regions in the province and other localities such as Vinh, Ha Tinh, Hanoi. On average, Cao Son people sell more than 8,000 bundles to the market every day. With a price of 5,000 - 9,000 VND/bundle, each year, Gay tea trees bring in an income of over 18 billion VND for the people here.

Every day, there are 3-5 trucks of traders coming to buy tea directly from the garden for people in Cao Son commune. Photo: Thai Hien

To build a collective brand for Gay tea, the commune government is building a VietGAP tea model with a scale of 10 hectares, 8 households participating in the pilot. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Dung - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cao Son commune said: Since implementing tea production according to VietGAP standards, people's awareness has changed; tea growers have strictly followed the technical processes under the guidance of experts from the care stage to product consumption. This model has created conditions for people to create clean products, ensuring food hygiene and safety, while limiting environmental pollution.

Currently, Anh Son district is implementing the process of building a brand and collective trademark for Gay tea in 2018. Building a collective trademark and producing VietGAP will increase the economic value of tea trees, which is one of the favorable conditions to affirm the reputation, bring Gay tea products to consumers in and outside the province, bring high profit value to producers, create a sustainable and stable direction for Anh Son farmers.