Xuan Luong farmers harvest the green tea.

Chairman of the communal People's Committee Than Nhan Khuyen took me to Ven village, where 146 households, 97 percent of which belonging to the Cao Lan ethnic minority group, are residing. The village has the largest tea area in the commune (over 23 hectares). 

Secretary of the Party cell and head of the village Tran Van Kinh said that two years ago, the village had more than 60 poor households and now the figure dropped to 35. He attributed this result to the State’s land and forest allocation policy and locals’ investment in intensive farming of forest and agricultural plants.

Acacia forests generate an income of about 150 million VND (6,500 USD) per ha while tea farms turn out more than 200 million VND (8,700 USD) per ha (after deducting expenses). This is the motivation for households to receive more land for economic development. Many households have escaped from poverty and become better off.

The various products of Ban Ven green tea.

According to Kinh, five households in the village bought cars thanks to the main source of income from forest and tea. Talking about tea trees, he said after being advised and guided by specialized agencies, local people have moved from growing tea using seeds to using branches. The new production and processing methods have also been applied so the output and quality have been raised.

Previously, people used to dry tea by hand, but now they pour money into buying machines to process tea. Proper care has raised the reputation and value of tea products. Most of the households use biological fertilizer and insecticides and weeding machines instead of the use of herbicides as before.

The people in Xuan Luong planted tea a few decades ago, but from 2015, after applying the new production process and techniques in a professional way, the tea productivity and quality have increased remarkably. In addition, the successful building of the brand of Ven Village Tea has also raised the value of the product.

From several dozens of hectares, the tea growing area in the commune has grown to 245 hectares, with the highest yield reaching 15 tonnes per hectare (doubling the district average). Chairman of the communal People’s Committee Than Nhan Khuyen said "the brand has created the value of Xuan Luong tea - one of the key products of the locality.

When there was no brand, fresh tea was sold at only 12,000 VND (0.53 USD) per kg and after the brand was built in 2015, the price increased to 60,000 VND (2.63 USD) per kg. Therefore, the Xuan Luong people say with joy that: "Money is not leaf, but leaf is money". Even the old tea leaves are still sold at 30,000 VND (1.32 USD) per kg. People who are hired to pick up tea leaves also earn over 200,000 VND (8.77 USD) per day each.

Facilities serving community tourism in Xuan Luong are being built.

The local economy has developed. Now the commune has fulfilled 12 out of 19 new rural criteria and strives to fulfill all by 2020. The poverty rate in the commune stands at 23.21 percent, down 12.8 percent compared with two years ago and is expected to decrease by 7 – 8 percent this year.

Khuyen also said that although tea is a key plant, the locality is still unhappy with what has been achieved when the price of dried tea in Xuan Luong reached only 40 USD per kg, far less than that of tea products of neighboring countries. In order to further improve the value of the product, the local authorities, people and enterprises must promote the application of science and technology in preservation and processing, firstly changing the habit drying tea by charcoal to by electricity when the three-phase power station is going into operation in the coming time.

Nguyen Huong