People in Nghe An bring bamboo from the forest to grow in their gardens.

Leaders of Chau Thang commune (Quy Chau) surveyed the area of ​​​​planting trees in the family garden of Ms. Vi Thi Ha in Xet village. Photo: Nguyen Nguyen

In Nghe An,concentrated in Que Phong and Quy Chau districtswith approximately 9,000 hectares, of which about 5,000 hectares are concentrated. However, many areas of natural bamboo are being reduced and at risk of degradation. The issue of preserving and developing bamboo trees, serving the goal of exploitation and long-term use has been raised by localities for many years. There are times when localities prohibit bamboo exploitation.

More than 100 bamboo shoots are planted in Ms. Vi Thi Ha's family garden in Chau Thang commune (Quy Chau), including many healthy bamboo shoots. Photo by Nguyen Nguyen

Previously, there were some research projects on taking seedlings or seeds to create varieties but the efficiency was not high. In early 2020, with the help of some organizations and district authorities, Ms. Vi Thi Ha's family in Xet village, Chau Thang commune (Quy Chau) piloted planting more than 100 trees separated from natural forests in their home garden.

Up to now, after more than 9 months, the survival rate of the bamboo shoots is more than 90%, many roots have grown healthy bamboo shoots, promising to grow well. If all goes well, after 4 years the bamboo shoots will be harvested.

To plant the bamboo, Ms. Ha's family chose young bamboo trees from bamboo gardens that grew well in nature and were free of pests and diseases. They separated the roots of a cluster of 2-3 trees, cut off the upper part of the trunk, and left only 1.2 - 1.5m long cuttings. The planting hole was dug first and fertilized with a layer of manure.

Natural mining in Que Phong district. Photo courtesy

The fir tree has great value in the production of consumer products and handicrafts for the domestic and export markets. However, for a long time now, the fir has been mainly cultivated naturally, and some areas have been degraded.

Faced with that reality, the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the list of national-level scientific and technological topics “Research on sustainable development of cycad trees for consumption in some provinces in the Northwest and North Central regions” to select, restore and develop cycads. However, currently, the domestication and mass planting of cycads have not been as expected.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Secretary of Chau Thang Commune Party Committee (Quy Chau), the inspection of Ms. Ha's family's bamboo planting model showed that the trees are growing well. If the expected results are achieved, it will open a new direction in economic development on local forestry land.

The sycamore trees planted in Chau Thang commune (Quy Chau) are expected to create new value on forestry land. Photo by Nguyen Nguyen

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, currently in the commune there are more than 200 hectares of natural bamboo that are protected and cultivated. For a long time, 1 hectare of protected bamboo has yielded about 20 million VND/year. Meanwhile, the commune has more than 600 hectares of acacia but the economic efficiency is low, each hectare of acacia only yields about 70-80 million VND in 5 years.

Lung tree (many places call it May Quan, Dung), belongs to the bamboo family, grows naturally in many western districts of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa and Son La provinces. This is one of the most important non-timber forest products, used as raw material for plywood processing industry, weaving household products, making paper, incense sticks, toothpicks, chopsticks, blinds... serving the domestic market and export.