Nghe An: Farmers build net houses to grow betel leaves, earning billions

(Baonghean.vn) - From a few initial planting households, up to now, some communes in Nghe An have grown betel leaves commercially, bringing in billions of dong in revenue.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lai's family in hamlet 10, Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc) grows 1 sao of betel leaves. On the 15th day of the 11th lunar month, she picked 250 betel leaves (each leaf has 20 leaves), earning about 2.5 million VND; on normal days, she gets less, about a quarter of that amount.

“Betel plants require skilled growers because they are a “difficult” plant. Many people in this area grow them but are not successful,” said Ms. Lai.

Betel trees are grown a lot in Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc) and Nghi An (Vinh city). According to people, to sell for a good price, betel leaves must have a bright color, not torn or scorched at the edges. Photo: Nhat Tuan

According to Ms. Lai, the “picky” thing about this plant is that it cannot withstand drought or waterlogging, especially freezing frost. Along with diligence, the grower must have a lot of experience in caring for this plant.

Betel plants need to be grown in a greenhouse to cope with the weather, surrounded by a protective net, preventing animals from digging and damaging the roots and transmitting diseases to the betel plants. Fertilizer must be decomposed manure, limit or do not use inorganic fertilizers. In the dry summer, you must use tree leaves to cover the roots, regularly water to create moisture for the soil, use nets or leaves to cover the trellis for the betel plants. In the rainy season, you must find a way to drain the water.

When the weather is cold and humid, betel picking should be done in the afternoon to get beautiful betel leaves. Photo: Nhat Tuan

Especially in the cold winter, betel care must be more careful. Every early morning, people must use sprinklers to wash away the frost on the tops and leaves of the betel. If the night is cold and has heavy frost, they must use a tarpaulin to cover it.

Thanks to technology, betel growers have mastered all weather conditions. For example, after the recent flood season, followed by a winter of heavy frost, betel plants in many places rotted and burned leaves, but the betel plants of households in Nghi Truong commune (Nghi Loc), Nghi An (Vinh city) are still flourishing, bringing in a good income.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa in Hamlet 5, Nghi An Commune, grows up to 3 sao of betel plants, all of which have been harvested. Ms. Hoa said that every day she picks and sells about 100 - 150 betel leaves, with the import price of 10,000 - 12,000 VND/leaf. Especially on weekdays and weddings, the amount of betel leaves harvested increases and the price is also much higher.

"On this occasion, when the amount of betel leaves in the western districts of Nghe An decreases due to frost, on the 30th, 1st, 14th and 15th of every lunar month, I earn 5-7 million VND selling betel leaves/day. In total, each year my family earns 400-500 million VND from selling betel leaves from our garden" - Ms. Hoa said.

Currently, the price of imported betel leaves is 10,000 - 12,000 VND/bowl; on weekdays and weddings, the price is much higher. Photo: Nhat Tuan

Betel leaves have been grown for many years and are most concentrated in Nghi An commune (Vinh city). Every day, people bring betel leaves to meeting points in the commune to import wholesale to traders. From here, betel leaves are distributed to all urban and rural markets in the province. They also send vehicles to deliver betel leaves to customers in cities and towns in Ha Tinh.

This year, betel leaves have temporarily stopped being exported to Taiwan. However, this does not affect the consumption and price of betel leaves on the market. Consumers use betel leaves for spiritual purposes, weddings, daily chewing of betel leaves and as a folk medicine to treat some common diseases... After harvesting, betel growers will classify betel leaves into different sizes, beautiful and ugly, depending on the purpose of use of customers.

Betel growers have invested in trellis houses with nets and irrigation systems to ensure year-round harvest. Photo: Nhat Tuan

Thanks to betel growing, people have a stable source of income, covering daily living expenses and saving some money.

The family of Mr. Uong Sy Hoa in Hamlet 10, Nghi Truong Commune (Nghi Loc) thanks to the income from betel trees has been able to raise 3 children to study at university. Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thai in Hamlet 5, Nghi An Commune (Vinh City), known as the "betel king", also raised 2 children to study at university and has stable jobs. Currently, his family is completing a majestic two-story house, estimated to be worth over 1.6 billion VND.

Currently, Nghi An commune has about 100 households growing betel trees commercially, most concentrated in hamlets 5, 7, 8. Many households grow 3 sao, the least is about a few meters of land. The total area of ​​this plant in the whole commune is approximately 2 hectares. Every year, people growing betel trees here earn billions of dong.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Truc - Vice Chairman of Nghi An Commune People's Committee said: "Betel is one of the traditional crops in the commune that brings in a good income. However, due to the limited consumption market, the locality has not had a policy to expand to a large scale, only encouraging people to intensively produce this crop on the existing area. In particular, betel growers need to invest in trellis houses, with cover nets, and irrigation systems to ensure that betel plants can be harvested all year round, especially in this harsh winter."