Highlanders in Nghe An bring wild bananas home to their gardens, providing year-round income

Coming to Yen Tan village, Yen Hoa commune, Tuong Duong district, along both sides of the roads leading to this small village are shaded by lush green trees, the most prominent of which are still the tall wild banana gardens with large, sturdy trunks. Wild banana trees are also present in every garden around the houses of most households here.

We met Mrs. Luong Thi Xom, over 70 years old, who was quickly folding bundles of banana leaves to prepare for traders to import according to “orders” over the phone. Mrs. Xom’s family garden has 120 banana trees that produce regular harvests.

While tying banana leaves that had been cut from large, lush green leaves, Mrs. Xom said that wild banana trees had been brought to the gardens of people in Yen Tan, and then the whole Yen Hoa commune, for several years now. Previously, people in Yen Tan often raised cows and pigs in the production areas or right next to their houses, and the animals mainly foraged for food.

In recent years, authorities at all levels have encouraged people to keep livestock and poultry in captivity, both to maintain public hygiene and to limit livestock from destroying crops. People go into the forest to pick wild leaves to feed their buffalo and cows, and collect wild bananas to dry and sell. Realizing that wild bananas have many uses, some people have experimented with growing them in their home gardens.

Yen Tan village chief - Mr. Lo Van Tham said, from a few households, seeing that banana trees grow well, leaves, stems, fruits, roots can all be used, many households gradually started to expand banana gardens. Up to now, each household in Yen Tan village has an average of about 100 wild banana trees planted in their fields and home gardens. Village chief Lo Van Tham's family alone plants nearly 150 trees, regularly harvesting 3-4 batches of banana leaves each year.

Ms. Luong Thi Doi, who was helping Ms. Luong Thi Xom exchange work for harvesting banana leaves, talked about the price of banana leaves ranging from 30,000 to 45,000 VND/yen; during holidays and Tet, the price is higher, around 45,000 to 50,000 VND/yen. Each household can harvest 300 to 500 kg of banana leaves, earning about 1.2 to 2 million VND. After being steamed and dried, the bananas are packaged and sold by weight at a price of 50,000 to 60,000 VND/kg. Banana trees flower and bear fruit all year round, so the source of dried fruit is also harvested all year round.

"Banana hearts and banana roots can be used to make many delicious dishes. We sell out as much as we harvest," added Ms. Luong Thi Doi.

Mr. Mong Van Vien - Vice Chairman of Yen Hoa Commune People's Committee said that the model of growing wild banana leaves brings a stable source of income for people in the villages, which is a source of raw materials to promote the development of the livestock industry. Currently, the whole Yen Hoa commune has 7.5 hectares of fish ponds, with an output of about 25 tons/year. The total herd of buffaloes is 1,527, cows: 2,012 and more than 1,100 pigs. In addition, the total poultry herd of the whole commune is more than 28 thousand. Of which, there are 5 households that fatten buffaloes and cows combined with growing bananas and elephant grass, with an average output of 5-10 tons of fresh meat per year, earning 70-150 million VND/household/year.