Lam Dong promotes organic macadamia farming

To improve the value of macadamia trees, over the past time, the Vietnamese Macadamia Company in Hoa Trung commune (Di Linh district, Lam Dong province) has cooperated with the Agriculture Extension Center of Lam Dong province to develop a model of organic macadamia farming on an area of 5ha.

Han Quynh Chau, the officer in charge of the organic macadamia program in Lam Dong Provincial Agricultural Extension Centre said that the centre supported fertilizers, plant protection drugs, technical support and coordinated with other units to assist the Vietnamese Macadamia Company to develop the model.

For the organic macadamia model at Viet Macadamia Company, the organic production process is carried out methodically and strictly. A large buffer zone separating production areas with residential areas and conventional production areas is created.

To save costs, people also practice self-composting with agricultural by-products. In macadamia growing areas, the grass is maintained to retain moisture in the soil, creating a microflora to help plants grow.

"In the past, we used to remove all the grass in the garden, so the soil is often dry and cracked in the dry season. Since applying the organic process, we only cut the grass to a certain extent and use grass to keep moisture and keep the garden's ecology. Therefore, despite Lam Dong having entered the dry season, the soil in macadamia areas is still wet and porous, which helps the macadamia nut grow well", said Luu Quoc Chinh, Director of Vietnamese Macadamia Company said.

Up to now, after nearly one year of applying the organic process, the entire macadamia growing area has grown strongly, and the productivity has been maintained. Macadamia trees are nursed carefully, pests and diseases are well controlled. In particular, the kernel quality is also higher than before.

Chinh said that currently, the market was changing as consumers tended to use high-quality, organic agricultural products to protect their health. Therefore, that was an opportunity for organic macadamia to reach the market.

Chinh said that in the initial implementation of the organic model, they encountered many difficulties and obstacles, but now everything was fine.

“The production of organic macadamia not only produces clean products for consumers but also for gardeners themselves because they do not come into contact with toxic fertilizers and pesticides,” he said.

With the support of Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Centre, currently, Viet Macadamia Company produces 5 hectares of organic macadamia nuts and cooperates with dozens of other households to build a raw material area of about 20 hectares. It is expected that this year, the organic macadamia model of this enterprise will meet the standards for certification.

According to Chinh, the company plans to supply to the market about 30 tons of organic macadamia products by 2023. Based on input costs and market trends, it is expected that each kilogram of organic macadamia will be sold for over VND400,000per kg. When the product supply is large enough and the product meets organic standards, this business aims to expand domestic and export markets.

Chau, an officer from the organic macadamia programme said that currently, Vietnamese Macadamia Company cooperated with dozens of households in the area to produce organic macadamia nuts.

The company also signed a contract to consume products for people in the associated chain at the price of over VND100,000  per kg, he said, adding that this was an effective model with many prospects in improving product value.

Currently, besides supporting the building of an organic macadamia model, the Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center also aims to support the Viet Macadamia Company in organising seminars, trade promotion and connecting markets.

Vietnamese Macadamia Company has been promoting the production of raw materials and improving processing capacity to ensure a source of high-quality products. This business is also expanding the market. As for traditional macadamia products, this business is getting stable output with local partners including supermarket chains and sales channels for tourists.