A bustling village nurturing green seedlings for the forest in western Nghe An province.

Acacia seedling village

In the early days of 2025, visiting Tan Huong commune, one can clearly feel the bustling atmosphere of labor in the forestry seedling nurseries. Farmers line up in rows among the parent trees to cut branches for cuttings, then repot and care for the seedlings… The lush green forestry seedling nurseries stretch like a green carpet along both sides of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.

Visiting the tree nursery of Mr. Tran Van Tu's family in Chau Nam hamlet, five workers are actively tending to each row of forestry seedlings that are in the preparation stage for sale.

Mr. Tu said: "My family has been in the forestry seedling nursery business for 8 years now; we currently have about 1 hectare for year-round nursery work. With the experience we've gained, we supply the market with 4 batches of seedlings each year, totaling about 1.2 million seedlings. Since switching to the forestry seedling nursery business many years ago, all family members have had regular employment and a stable income."

Leading us to the nursery area equipped with a sprinkler irrigation system, Mr. Tran Van Tu proudly said: "Two years ago, my family invested 20 million VND to install a sprinkler irrigation system, applying smart home software. With this, watering the nursery is done via smartphone; I don't need to be in the garden like before, and I can control the irrigation system even when I'm away from home."

“To prepare seedlings for the upcoming spring reforestation season, my family is currently caring for nearly 500,000 F1 acacia seedlings propagated from cuttings. Acacia cuttings are currently a popular choice among forest planters. Besides growing seedlings outdoors, my family has also invested in growing them in greenhouses to ensure quality, especially during the winter,” said Mr. Tran Van Tu.

Not only Mr. Tu's family, but in recent years, many families in Tan Huong commune have converted their less productive corn and cassava garden land into forestry seedling nurseries.

Ms. Tran Thi Van, residing in Tan Minh hamlet, along with her family members, who care for their acacia seedling garden, said that noticing many households earning a stable income from forestry seedling cultivation, her family converted their entire cassava-growing area to a seedling nursery five years ago. Typically, during the annual spring reforestation season, people in Tan Ky district in particular, and Nghe An province in general, begin planting the main timber plantations, leading to a significant increase in the consumption of acacia seedlings compared to other times of the year.

Therefore, in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, Mrs. Van's family focuses their efforts on taking the best care of their seedling nursery, so that they can sell the seedlings to customers after the holiday. Currently, her family is cultivating over 400,000 acacia seedlings.

Regarding the forestry seedling nursery business, residents of Tan Huong commune said that before 2000, a few households in the commune were already growing seedlings for sale. After 2006, when the Ho Chi Minh Highway was upgraded, facilitating transportation, the forestry seedling nursery business flourished, with an increasing number of households engaged in the trade.

From manually tending to their nurseries and watering with hand hoses, most households have now invested in installing sprinkler irrigation systems, with some even installing automatic irrigation systems controlled via smartphones. As a result, nursery care is less strenuous, saves water, and yields higher returns, especially during the hot summer months. Therefore, Tan Huong commune has a year-round supply of forestry seedlings for sale.

Revenue exceeding 60 billion VND per year.

Tan Huong commune, situated along the Ho Chi Minh Highway for 6km, was formerly a poor rural area in the mountainous district of Tan Ky; but since the development of forestry seedling cultivation, the lives of hundreds of families have changed.

Mr. Le Duc Thuyen – Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan Huong commune – proudly stated that currently, the entire commune has 286 nurseries belonging to companies and households, covering an area of ​​nearly 35 hectares, with a total capacity of 160 million seedlings per year, including acacia cuttings and acacia seeds, along with other tree species such as teak, mahogany, and rosewood. The total revenue from the forestry seedling nursery business in Tan Huong commune is 60-65 billion VND per year, accounting for 30% of the commune's total production value. On average, revenue per unit area from the production and business of forestry seedlings reaches over 1.8 billion VND per year, creating local jobs for 2,100 workers.

The forestry seedlings from Tan Huong are mainly supplied to communes within the district, districts within the province, and provinces in Central Vietnam from Thanh Hoa to Quang Nam, Lam Dong, and Dak Lak. Of the 286 households participating in seedling cultivation, over 100 have risen to become well-off or wealthy, with high annual incomes.

“Previously, people mainly propagated acacia seedlings by sowing seeds, but later the commune directed them to propagate acacia by cuttings, reducing environmental pollution. Because if acacia seedlings are propagated by sowing seeds, the seedlings are often infected with fungi, so pesticides must be used; while propagating acacia by cuttings is less susceptible to fungal infections and does not require pesticides. Therefore, currently over 70% of the acacia seedlings in the commune are propagated by cuttings,” Mr. Le Duc Thuyen added.

To ensure the quality of seedlings, every year, the People's Committee of Tan Huong commune, in coordination with the forest protection agency and relevant departments, organizes legal awareness campaigns on the implementation of the Forestry Law and the policies and guidelines of the Party and State to households, individuals, and organizations involved in the production and business of forestry seedlings in the commune. Through these campaigns, they disseminate information on the implementation of regulations in the production and business of forestry seedlings, as well as legal documents related to administrative penalties for violations in the forestry sector. Simultaneously, households sign commitments to comply with regulations in the business of forestry seedlings.

With over 38,000 hectares of forest land, Tan Ky district has identified this as a favorable condition for developing the cultivation of raw material forests and bringing practical benefits to the people. Due to the increasing demand for seedlings, not only Tan Huong commune, but also several localities along the Ho Chi Minh Highway such as Nghia Hanh commune are now developing the business of nursery cultivation of forest tree seedlings, creating marketable products and generating income.

The profession of cultivating forestry seedlings is about nurturing green shoots for the forest. It not only helps many households in Tan Ky district rise out of poverty and achieve legitimate wealth, but also contributes to the local efforts in developing forest resources and protecting the ecological environment.