Nghe An farmers make a fortune from growing wormwood on arid land

The two-crop rice fields were converted by Ma Thanh commune people to grow wormwood. Photo: Xuan Hoang

These days, the fields of wormwood in Ma Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district are nearing harvest; while the families growing it in their home gardens have finished harvesting.

Mr. Thai Khac Trinh and his wife in Da Dung hamlet, Ma Thanh commune, are bundling dried wormwood plants to store, boasting: The family has 500 m²The plant was planted during the terrible drought of June in the fertile soil of the home garden. Thanks to the family having a large well and regular irrigation, the yield was high, after drying, it was estimated to be 300 kg.

"Last year, traders bought at 38,000 VND/kg, but this year traders have reduced the price to 28,000 VND/kg. With that price, my wife and I earned over 8 million VND. No other crop grown on this land has such a high income," said Mr. Thai Khac Trinh.

The people of Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh communes harvest and dry the Artemisia vulgaris plant. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Tran Van Thao - Secretary of the Da Dung hamlet Party cell said: This year, the whole hamlet has grown 9 hectares of wormwood on garden land and land for two rice crops. The locality is often affected by drought, most of the land for two rice crops cannot be planted, so many households have switched to growing wormwood. However, households that can grow wormwood are thanks to the water from drilled wells for daily irrigation. Starting from August 15, people have started harvesting wormwood, with a yield of 1.5 quintals/sao or more.

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Canh - Chairman of Ma Thanh Commune People's Committee, this year, people in the commune have planted more than 10 hectares of Artemisia vulgaris. Although traders have not yet purchased it, but through information gathering, this year the price of Artemisia vulgaris has decreased to 28,000 VND/kg, while last year it was 38,000 VND/kg.

The plant is harvested by pulling out the roots. After drying, it is carefully preserved, waiting for traders to come and buy. Photo: Xuan Hoang

However, compared to other crops, wormwood still brings the highest income to this mountainous commune, which is often drought-prone.

Next to Ma Thanh is Tien Thanh commune, where the area of ​​​​nhan tran trees is even larger, because local farmers brought this type of tree to plant many years ago.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Dai - Secretary of the Tien Thanh Commune Party Committee, said: The plant is considered a key crop of the locality during the annual drought. Since June, people have sown seeds, after nearly 3 months of harvesting. This crop, the whole Tien Thanh commune has about 20 hectares of plants, of which 10 hectares have been converted by people to grow on land for 2 rice crops.

For the two mountainous communes of Ma Thanh and Tien Thanh of Yen Thanh district, wormwood is the crop that brings the highest income during the annual drought. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"After harvesting, the wormwood plant is purchased by traders, then imported to traditional medicine stores, or used to make soft drinks, so no matter how much there is, it is sold out" - Mr. Nguyen Huu Dai said.

According to the people here, the advantage of growing the plant is low investment cost, because you don't have to buy seeds (when the plant has dried, the seeds fall, people take them as seeds for the next crop) but accept the effort of taking care of it. When the plant flowers, it is harvested by pulling out the roots, drying them, tying them up, and waiting for traders to come and buy them./.