Towards 'multi-purpose' for meter trees in Con Cuong

NET PROFIT 15 - 20 MILLION VND/HA

Mr. Loc Van Ngoan, Bai Gao village (Chau Khe commune) harvests rice. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Loc Van Ngoan's family (Bai Gao village, Chau Khe commune, Con Cuong district) has more than 1 hectareplant metersWith the current market price, his family earns about 25-30 million VND per hectare per year, after deducting expenses, the net profit is about 15-20 million VND.

Mr. Ngoan said: “Mét is a type of tree that retains its roots, so it should be planted once for a 40-50 year harvest cycle, without requiring much care, and harvested in rotation many times a year. In recent years, the price of Mét has increased, and traders buy directly from the ground, so people are very excited to plant and care for it.”

After harvesting, the meters are purchased by traders on site. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With an area of ​​7 hectares of planting, enclosure and protection, Mr. Lo Van Tiep's family (Khe Ran village, Bong Khe commune) earns about 150 - 200 million VND each year from this raw material tree. Thanks to the meter tree, he was able to build a house and buy conveniences for his life. In addition to selling raw meter trees, he also sells bamboo shoots, so the family's economy is increasingly prosperous...

If in the past, the meter tree was planted in small, fragmented areas, only serving the weaving needs of households, now, along with the protection of available areas, the meter tree is planted by people in large areas, planned into regions and becomes a raw material area.

Raw material tree is becoming a key commodity crop in many localities of Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The whole Con Cuong district has more than 3,000 hectares of tapioca, distributed in 11 communes in the area, mainly concentrated in Chau Khe, Bong Khe, Chi Khe, Binh Chuan, Lang Khe, Luc Da... and has become the main crop in these localities.

Mr. Lo Van Ly - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Con Cuong district said: "Con Cuong has the largest area of ​​​​meters in Nghe An with more than 3,000 hectares, each year harvesting about 1.5 million meter trees for an income of tens of billions of VND. The economic efficiency of meter trees is 3-4 times higher than that of acacia trees. In addition, meter trees also have the effect of protecting the soil, preventing erosion and landslides".

CREATE HANDICRAFTS FOR EXPORT

Many handicraft products made from bamboo are popular in the market. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Nowadays, the meter tree has become a commodity material for the rattan and bamboo weaving industry; for making paper materials, for construction works, industrial fine arts, etc. Therefore, the value of the meter tree is increasingly enhanced.

On the siteCon Cuong district,In addition to traditional rattan and bamboo weaving villages, there are also businesses and factories using locally available bamboo materials that are popular in the market. Some products have been exported abroad, creating an open direction to increase the value of bamboo trees, helping people feel secure in production, creating a sustainable livelihood from planting and protecting forests.

"MULTI-PURPOSE" FROM THE FOREST

Currently, people in some communes have boldly experimented with planting new bamboo varieties to replace the meter tree. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Thai Ba Tien, owner of a business specializing in producing products from bamboo, said: “Previously, people were planting bamboo spontaneously, without planning or following techniques, so the density was high, the bamboo trees grew slowly, the size and shape of the bamboo trees were not up to standard and it was difficult to harvest. Some bamboo varieties had low productivity. Every year, our company purchased and cooperated with the people to purchase about 500,000 bamboo trees.

Currently, we are testing 2 hectares of new bamboo seedlings, providing seedlings to local people in the trial planting area. If the yield is high and the quality is good, we will proceed to replace the degraded bamboo area. Not only creating a sustainable raw material area, but also aiming to build experiential eco-tourism and community tourism from bamboo forests.