Lesson 1: Advantages, Potential, and Practical Effectiveness
Nghe An province has more than two-thirds of its area covered by hills and mountains, providing favorable terrain and climate conditions for tea plants to thrive and produce tea of superior quality. As a result, tea growers have a source of economic development and stable livelihoods. In fact, many families have become well-off or wealthy from tea cultivation.
Thu Huyen - Hoai ThuApril 25, 2025
Nghe An province has more than two-thirds of its area covered by hills and mountains, providing favorable terrain and climate conditions for tea plants to thrive and produce tea of superior quality. As a result, tea growers have a source of economic development and stable livelihoods. In fact, many families have become well-off or wealthy from tea cultivation.
Born and raised in Thanh Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district, a midland region known for its lush green tea plantations and palm forests, Mr. Nguyen Van Viet and Mrs. Le Thi Ly now enjoy a comfortable and prosperous life with their many children and grandchildren. Mr. Viet says his entire life has been intertwined with the vast green tea hills. Thanks to the thriving tea plants of his homeland, generations of his family have been raised and nurtured, living a life that, while not wealthy, is comfortable and fulfilling, with their children receiving a good education. Their son, Nguyen Van Tho, now over 40 years old, has also followed in his father's footsteps in tea cultivation.
Early one morning in March 2025, as the first tea harvest of the year began, Mr. Tho and his "comrades" happily brought their machinery and tools up the hill to start working. His family, like most tea-growing households in Thanh Thinh commune, harvests tea using machines and delivers it directly to facilities that purchase and process fresh tea leaves in the district.
This year's spring tea harvest is the first one. We have over 1.5 hectares of tea plantations on this hill, and another, larger but further away, hill of about 3 hectares. We harvest about 4-5 times a year, with an average yield of 16-18 tons per hectare. After deducting expenses and depending on the purchase price at the time, we earn a profit of about 10-15 million VND per hectare.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Tho - Thanh Thinh commune (Thanh Chuong district)
In Thanh Chuong district, tea farmers like Mr. Viet's family have achieved stable lives and sufficient income to cover their living expenses. Besides those who grow tea, the demand for tea purchasing and processing has created jobs and new occupations for local people in the tea-growing areas: processing tea buds; purchasing and trading tea buds; agricultural product transportation; and seasonal labor for harvesting and processing tea at purchasing, processing, and export facilities.
According to statistics from Thanh Chuong district, the district currently has approximately 5,000 hectares of tea plantations and more than 20 tea processing and raw material processing facilities, providing jobs and income for over 10,000 households. With the largest tea cultivation area in the province, Thanh Chuong district has a stable source of income for its residents, with the average annual purchase price maintained at around 4,000-4,500 VND/kg of fresh tea leaves. With an average yield of about 50 tons/ha, accounting for 50% of the area and 65% of the province's tea production, Thanh Chuong district can produce over 200,000 tons of fresh tea leaves annually, generating over 800 billion VND in revenue.
Thanks to tea cultivation, the lives of people in communes along the Ho Chi Minh Highway such as Thanh Thuy, Thanh Mai, Hanh Lam, Thanh Duc, etc., have become increasingly prosperous. Tea cultivation is also one of the local government's identified key economic crops, and they are investing heavily in developing tea raw material areas and processing. For example, the "Thanh Chuong Green Tea" product of the Thanh Duc Agricultural and Tea Processing Cooperative has been recognized as an OCOP product and is famous for its green, clean, and safe quality. It is mainly consumed domestically but has great potential for export. Thanks to tea cultivation, many households in Thanh Chuong district have risen out of poverty, and many have gradually become prosperous and wealthy.
According to discussions with leaders of Thanh Chuong district, the district aims to further develop its organic tea growing area and expand agricultural models linked to experiential tourism. The goal is to transform the tea growing area not only into a source of income for local people but also into an attractive tourist destination, drawing domestic and international visitors to experience traditional tea production. The synchronized development from production to processing and consumption will not only support the economy of Thanh Chuong district but also enable tea products from Nghe An province to reach domestic and international markets.
In Con Cuong district, tea cultivation has contributed to the increasingly prosperous economic lives of the local people. In Yen Khe commune, tea has become a stable source of livelihood for hundreds of households. Mr. Do Duc Dien from Trung Thanh village said that he has been attached to Yen Khe and tea cultivation for more than half his life. To maintain the income from tea cultivation to support his family, with over 30 years of experience, Mr. Dien has intensified the cultivation of industrial tea plants by increasing the use of organic fertilizers and providing better care for his 1-hectare tea plantation on his family's hillside garden.
“I utilize animal manure, combined with other by-products such as straw, rice stalks, and corn stalks, to make compost for fertilizing the tea plants. After a few harvests, I accumulated enough capital to invest in building a concrete road leading up to the tea hill, along with a water irrigation system that delivers water directly to the roots of the plants, helping the tea plants withstand the dry season,” Mr. Dien said. Thanks to this, his more than 1-hectare tea hill, with 4-6 harvests annually, brings Mr. Dien 50-70 million VND.
"Last year's spring tea harvest fetched good prices, and with increased yields, the five harvests per year, totaling about 6 tons, provided a better income than livestock farming."
Mr. Nguyen Duc Dien - Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong district)
According to Mr. Le Trung Loi, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Yen Khe commune, there are currently more than 600 households growing tea in the commune, with a total area of nearly 300 hectares. The average annual yield is 180 quintals/hectare, producing approximately 4,500 tons per year, which is an important source of income for hundreds of households in the area. Along with Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong district now has over 400 hectares of tea plantations. Of this, over 330 hectares are in commercial production, with a yield of 150 quintals/hectare and a total production of over 5,000 tons.
Another locality with hundreds of households whose main source of income comes from tea cultivation is Hung Son commune in Anh Son district. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ty, Chairman of the Hung Son Commune Farmers' Association, stated that the commune currently has 587 hectares of industrial tea plantations, of which nearly 6 hectares meet VietGAP standards and are in the process of implementing organic tea production. The tea cultivation area brings the people of Hung Son commune approximately 40 billion VND per year. Along with tea cultivation, the emergence of service and processing industries helps the locality consume hundreds of tons of tea leaves daily during harvest season. From selling fresh tea leaves, Hung Son commune now has 3 OCOP (One Commune One Product) products with 3-star certification after cooperatives and businesses developed fresh tea leaf processing; notably: Minh Sang Tea Cooperative; Nghe An Tea Enterprise (which has resumed operations after privatization); Dong Lam and Quoc Thai tea processing facilities…
Mr. Tran Minh Hoan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hung Son commune, further shared that thanks to tea cultivation, the lives of the people in Hung Son commune have improved significantly. The average per capita income is among the highest in Anh Son district, at over 56 million VND/person/year.
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Tea cultivation in Nghe An province began in the early 20th century, primarily in hilly areas such as Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong, and Quy Chau. The cultivation and processing of fresh tea leaves in Nghe An mainly serves the processing industry and domestic consumption, with many different tea varieties originating from China and India. Nghe An has excellent tea-growing areas spanning tens of hectares, stretching from Thanh Chuong district to Ky Son district.
Currently, people in Nghe An province are growing industrial tea on hilly land stretching from Thanh Chuong district all the way to Ky Son district. This soil is a red-yellow ferralitic soil rich in alumina, which is very suitable for tea cultivation in terms of both yield and quality. Gay tea, famous for its aroma and delicious taste throughout the country, owes its reputation to being grown on this type of soil.
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Efforts in developing tea cultivation not only help people increase their income but also make a significant contribution to building new rural areas and socio-economic development in the region. The success of green tea products in this poor mountainous area has opened up a direction for developing new agricultural products, promoting the OCOP program and green production and agriculture, which the province is currently actively implementing.
Thanks to tea cultivation, many rural areas have seen significant improvements. For example, Hung Son commune (Anh Son district), formerly the poorest commune in the district, has seen its living standards improve since 2010 after tea cultivation was introduced into commercial production. Many households now have a decent income, making Hung Son a relatively prosperous commune. In 2015, Hung Son commune was the first commune in Anh Son district to be recognized as a new-style rural commune.
With its economic potential, tea cultivation in Nghe An has gradually become one of the key crops in the mountainous districts. Along with the policy of restructuring crop patterns, many localities have expanded tea cultivation areas, introducing high-yield, high-productivity tea varieties to meet the growing market demand. Traditional tea processing technologies have also been applied in some production facilities. Coupled with investment in science and technology to improve productivity and product quality, the tea processing industry has grown in scale, serving both domestic consumption and export needs. Simultaneously, many tea-growing regions have begun implementing clean and safe tea cultivation practices and obtaining VietGAP and organic certifications.
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Particularly since 2010, facing numerous challenges in the export market and low tea prices, localities and tea farmers have boldly applied high technology to tea production and processing, and increasingly shifted towards organic tea production models, as seen in Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, and Ky Son districts. Simultaneously, policies supporting science and technology and building production linkage models between farmers and businesses have helped the Nghe An tea industry improve the quality and value of its products. As a result, the Nghe An tea industry has now begun to approach international production standards, with tea products being exported to demanding markets such as Japan, South Korea, and European countries.
Currently, Nghe An province has over 8,300 hectares of tea plantations, ranking third in the country in terms of tea cultivation area, with an annual production of nearly 80,000 tons of fresh tea leaves. Of this area, 6,000 hectares are for commercial production, processing approximately 10,000 tons of various types of tea annually for export to international markets. The tea plants are concentrated in five mountainous districts: Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Con Cuong, Ky Son, and Quy Hop.
