Bringing strange potato varieties to grow on the mountain, the selling price is twice as high as growing rice.

In late September and early October 2023, on some Facebook pages of owners in Nghe An, an agricultural product called ginseng was sold with quite attractive offers about its effects, such as: Supporting the treatment and prevention of some cancers and diabetes; regulating blood pressure; supporting weight loss for obese people, reducing blood fat; preventing constipation; cooling, purifying the body; women who eat it will have rosy, smooth skin...

Many people were curious because it was the first time they heard about a type of potato that had health benefits "not inferior to ginseng", so they ordered it and used it according to the instructions, eating it raw, stewing it with bones, or soaking it in wine...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen in Hung Dung ward, Vinh city ordered 5 kg of ginseng potatoes through Facebook, saying that ginseng potatoes are sold online for 35,000 VND/kg, not including shipping costs. Ms. Huyen ordered first out of curiosity, because it was the first time she heard of a type of potato with many good effects like ginseng.

“Following the seller’s instructions and reading information on the Internet, I peeled and ate it raw. It tasted quite sweet and cool, with a light scent that wasn’t as strong as traditional sweet potatoes. I used a little of the peel to soak in wine, and spread the rest out in a cool place for later use. I heard that the longer this potato is left, the more the water shrinks and the sweeter it becomes.”

Ms. Le Thi Van, who directly grows and supplies this type of potato, said that for the past 2 years she has been experimenting with growing this type of potato in her family's garden in Muong Long commune, Ky Son border district. The reality of growing and selling in the market in the commune, in the district and recently selling to the market in Vinh city shows that the selling price is quite high, 2-3 times higher than the price of rice, ranging from 25-40 thousand VND/kg depending on the quantity purchased and the distance of transportation.

Ms. Van said that she had an acquaintance in Lao Cai who introduced her to the ginseng potato variety, a fairly popular crop in the province. There are many agents that purchase this agricultural product and it is mainly exported to neighboring countries, mostly China. Seeing that this plant species is suitable for the natural conditions in Muong Long, she bought some seeds to try planting.

“The plant takes 10 months to harvest. However, with its characteristics suitable for cold climates and mountainous terrain over 800m above sea level, it can be planted in between rock holes, where there is a layer of moist humus, the ginseng plant grows well and requires almost no fertilization. Each potato plant can produce 4-5 kg ​​of tubers when ready to harvest. With about 500m2 of garden, 5-6 quintals of tubers can be harvested each season. The selling price of tubers with ginseng sprouts in Lao Cai is 50,000 VND/kg, plus the cost of transportation to Nghe An, the price of ginseng potato seeds is 55-60,000 VND/kg” - Ms. Van said.

With a fairly high yield and current selling price, growers of this type of potato believe that the ginseng potato plant has the potential for economic development, but currently this agricultural product is still quite unfamiliar to consumers in Nghe An. Therefore, the harvested product is currently only sold manually in a small market around the growing area. Even in Muong Long, ginseng potatoes are still not known to many people.

“Therefore, I only grow a small quantity to sell mainly to regular customers, not daring to expand the area for fear that the output will be difficult, leading to a situation of “good harvest, low price”. Moreover, with a 10-month growing period for harvest, I also consider between growing ginseng potatoes and growing other agricultural products for family consumption and community tourism business such as growing Mong cabbage, cabbage for beautiful check-in at homestays” - Ms. Le Thi Van confided.

Currently, according to the staff of Muong Long Commune People's Committee, currently in the commune, only Ms. Le Thi Van's household is planting experimental plants, mainly selling around the area from Muong Long to Muong Xen town. There are also a few ginseng plants grown by workers of TH medicinal plant area but only for family use, not for sale.

In Ky Son district, according to the staff of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the ginseng plant is still a "strange" agricultural product that is not yet included in the district's crop structure, except in Na Ngoi commune where an individual is experimenting with growing it according to a scientific research project, but it is still in the beginning stages and has not yet had any results.