Protect tea land - Preserve Thai tea identity

Powerful conversion

The capital of Vietnamese tea was crucified in Thai Nguyen. However, by the beginning of this century, the area of Thai Nguyen tea was only over 10,000 hectares, mainly of the traditional Trung Du tea variety. Over the past 2 decades, Thai Nguyen has made a special revolution to make tea products even more famous. Especially, tea makers are more and more happy and attached to the profession.

The tea revolution that brings happiness to tea makers is a change in production methods that make them feel good about their job, for their job. First of all, it is the transformation of tea varieties along with the breakthrough growth in tea growing area. The drastic change in tea variety structure has brought a leap in both quality and quantity for Thai Nguyen tea.

If in 1997, Thai Nguyen had only 10,952 hectares of tea, the average yield was 31.48 quintals/ha, in 2009, the area was 17,309 ha, the yield was 98.96 quintals/ha. It can be seen that, after more than 10 years, although the area has not doubled, tea production has increased four times.

By 2011, Thai Nguyen had nearly 18,200 ha of tea, the yield was nearly 109 quintals/ha, nearly 2 quintals/ha/year higher than in 2010 and the output was over 181,000 tons (7 times higher than in 1997).

On average, each year, Thai Nguyen plant new and replace tea with new varieties is 1,000 ha. In 2011, the area of midland tea accounted for 65.3%, new tea varieties only accounted for 34.7% of the total area. By 2015, the area of new varieties of tea accounted for 62.4%. By 2017, the area of new tea varieties accounted for 71%, reaching 15,480 ha (of which, tea varieties LDP1 accounted for 70.2%; Kim Tuyen, Thuy Ngoc 12.1%; Phuc Van Tien 9%, TRI777 varieties 7%, other new tea varieties account for 1.7%.LDP1 tea varieties and imported tea varieties such as Kim Tuyen, Phuc Van Tien have high yield and quality to make high-grade green tea processing materials.

 The strong shift mentioned above is mainly due to the productivity, quality and value of new varieties of tea, especially the yield is much higher than that of Trung Du tea varieties. While, midland tea yields about 70-80 quintals/ha, the average yield of new varieties is 110-130 quintals/ha. Particularly, LDP1 tea can give a yield of 150-160 quintals/ha.

Currently, Thai Nguyen has about 22.5 thousand hectares of tea, with many concentrated tea production areas such as, new varieties of tea reach more than 80%, the average yield is 123.8 quintals of fresh tea buds/ha/year. On average, in the whole province, each hectare of tea gives an income of about 280 million VND/year. In particular, famous tea areas such as Trai Cai, Minh Lap (Dong Hy district), La Bang, Tan Linh, Hung Son (Dai Tu district), Tan Cuong (Thai Nguyen city) have incomes from 500 to 750 million VND. /ha/year.

Efforts to preserve

From its position as a tree for hunger eradication and poverty alleviation, tea is considered as a key crop, one of the key agricultural products, with great brand value of Thai Nguyen. However, tea growing area in recent years has increased slowly, leveled off, and is even at risk of decreasing in some districts and Thai Nguyen city. The main reason is due to a strong shift in the labor structure to industry and services; many infrastructure development projects, industry, tourism, residential areas, urban areas "overlap" tea fields.

Facing that situation, Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee has just issued a document to strengthen the management and protection of the land area used for tea cultivation. The document states that tea products not only meet the needs of the domestic market but are also exported to a number of other countries, bringing economic efficiency, improving people's incomes, reducing the poverty rate, contributing to part in promoting new rural construction and socio-economic development of localities.

In order to promote the potential, advantages and well implement the goal of developing tea as the main product of the province, Chairman of Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee requested Chairman of People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to urgently review. planning, not planning other projects into areas to protect and develop local tea growing areas (except for key provincial projects and important national projects). Do not change the purpose of using land for tea cultivation in the protected area or develop the tea growing area to another purpose.

In particular, the Provincial People's Committee requires the head of the government of Thai Nguyen city and Phu Luong and Dong Hy districts, where there are projects related to tea land, to be accountable to the Provincial People's Committee and the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for permitting the change of land use purpose for tea cultivation or allowing the illegal change of land use purpose for tea cultivation in the protection and development of the tea growing area to another purpose. Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee also requires the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee to be accountable to the Chairman of the District People's Committee if a similar situation occurs.

Mr. Tran Van Cuong (Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Xuan commune, Thai Nguyen city) said that Phuc Xuan is a locality located in the area that is allowed to use the certificate of geographical indication of the Tan Cuong specialty tea area. Whenever I see tea being cut down, tea land has to be ceded to other uses, I feel sad. Documents of the Provincial People's Committee promptly limit and prevent the leveling of tea hills for immediate benefits. It is also a gesture of gratitude to tea trees and Thai tea makers.

Mr. Ma Tien Kop, Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of Phu Luong district, said that the district currently has 4,300 hectares of tea, in fact, in recent years, in the area, there has been a situation of cutting and destroying tea to plant forests. The area reserved for tea cultivation is more or less affected.

In order to turn this policy into reality, Phu Luong district has organized for 100% of communes to sign a commitment to manage and protect the land used for tea growing in the whole district. Phu Luong advocates to maintain the existing tea area, and at the same time aims to switch to high quality tea varieties, promote safe tea production, organic tea, so that the quality and brand of Phu Luong tea can be improved. a far reach.

Mr. Duong Son Ha, Deputy Director of Thai Nguyen Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Thai Nguyen tea industry not only ranks first in the country in terms of production, value and economic efficiency, but also culture. society and the environment. With many programs and projects, it can be said that Thai Nguyen tea still has room for further development.

The added value of Thai Nguyen tea products still needs to be approached to reach the values of the world. Protecting tea land is not simply preserving cultural identity but also ensuring stable and sustainable development with the definite goal of achieving prosperity for tea makers and tea regions Thai. 

Source: Dong Van Thuong - Dao Thanh - nongsanviet.vn