Abandoned buckwheat flower fields in Nghe An

In early 2018, the 2-hectare buckwheat flower field in Nghia Binh commune, Nghia Dan district became an extremely "hot" tourist destination in the province; every day, thousands of domestic and foreign tourists come here to visit and enjoy. The keyword "buckwheat flower in Nghe An" was also searched a lot, creating a fever on social networks.

In early 2018, the buckwheat flower field in Nghia Binh commune (Nghia Dan) attracted thousands of tourists every day. Photo: Ho Phuong

However, the 2-hectare plot of land in hamlet 16, Nghia Binh commune - where buckwheat flowers are grown - is currently abandoned, full of wild plants, with almost no one visiting, even though this is the time to prepare the land and plant new flowers to bloom in time for tourists to admire at the end of the year.

Currently this is a wasteland with many wild plants, so there will be no buckwheat flower fields here in 2019. Photo: Quang An

This model has brought high economic efficiency, during the month of opening to welcome tourists (January 2018) every daywelcome from 1,000 - 3,000 people, dayPeak season can reach up to 5,000 people. In addition, there are many accompanying services such as photography, selling specialties, renting costumes...; income from 3 - 5 million VND/day.

According to Mr. Le Sy Dinh, Director of the 19/5 Agricultural Service Cooperative - a unit that grows buckwheat flowers, this year the Cooperative will not plant flowers in Nghia Binh commune like last year. The reason is that the area here is too small, only 2 hectares, so it is not enough to grow flowers as well as serve tourists.

In addition, the road leading to the flower field is narrow and quite far from the center. It has now been seriously degraded due to the many heavy trucks passing by, making it very difficult to improve the land, plant flowers, and welcome visitors. Therefore, the field is currently abandoned and there will be no buckwheat flower field here.

The road leading to the flower field is currently severely degraded, which is one of the reasons why the field is no longer used for flower planting. Photo: Quang An

However, we will soon find a new location to continue implementing this model.

Buckwheat flowers are white when they first bloom, then gradually turn to light purple, and finally dark purple. Buckwheat seeds are also used to make cakes and wine, which are famous specialties in Ha Giang province. In early 2018, the flowers were brought to Nghia Binh commune (Nghia Dan), creating a tourist fever attracting thousands of visitors.