Expanding prospect of Dam Rong macadamia

From intercropping, to pure planting

Macadamia is a suitable crop for Lam Dong province and brings positive economic benefits to many farmers. In Dam Rong district - a remote district of the province, which is known as the difficult land of Lam Dong, in recent years, many farmers have had a well-off economic source thanks to the conversion of crops in the right direction, especially macadamia tree.

Along with the orientation of the local agricultural industry, the macadamia tree in Dam Rong district is no longer a new crop but has been oriented to develop as a perennial industrial plant and grown on a large scale, aiming to link along the chain, creating a methodical material area, associated with preliminary processing and export processing. Currently, in Dam Rong, the area of macadamia has grown to nearly 1,000 hectares, mainly in two communes of Da K'Nang and Phi Lieng.

Visiting the nearly 4.5ha macadamia nut garden of Mr. Phan Van Hoi's family in Da K'Nang commune (Dam Rong district) is entering the business period, Mr. Hoi said, he began to learn and grow macadamia nut. case since 2011. According to the recommendation of relatives about macadamia trees, Mr. Hoi and a group of brothers boldly went to Krong Nang (Dak Lak) to find a gardener to buy seeds to plant. At that time, macadamia varieties were "hot" on the market, especially grafted macadamia varieties up to 120,000 - 150,000 VND/tree, and 45,000 - 50,000 VND/tree and de-shelled seeds 500,000 VND/kg .

Mr. Hoi and his group of brothers decided to buy real plants and seeds for nursery to propagate. Initially, he intercropped in the coffee garden to make shade trees and prevent soil erosion. As a result, the macadamia tree grew and developed well, began to flower and bear fruit, and the next crop day was even worse.

After the first batches of fruit give good prices and bring a good income for the family, the larger the macadamia trees in the coffee garden, the more shade they cover, the coffee will be covered. When the price of coffee was not stable, there was a lack of labor, so Mr. Hoi decided to cut all the coffee and grow only macadamia nuts. He nursed and bought more seedlings to plant instead of coffee.

Processing and market development

Planting macadamia nuts is really very beneficial, including intercropping in coffee gardens or pure planting. To succeed, you need to know the techniques, from creating a canopy for trees to preventing pests and diseases. Macadamia is mainly bitten by mosquito bugs, so it is necessary to visit the garden regularly and prevent it in time so as not to affect the quality of the fruit when it is time to harvest.

Although macadamia is a forest tree, for productivity and economic efficiency, it is necessary to invest in fertilizers, especially manure. Macadamia loves manure and NPK, the right investment will be healthy, the wrong fruit, large seeds and crispy, delicious core. Anh Hoi limits the use of pesticides, does not use herbicides, but uses on-the-spot cutting and stamping machines to utilize as a source of organic fertilizer for the soil, while protecting his own health and protecting the environment. .

In 2021, with 4.5ha of macadamia nuts, his family obtained 6-7 tons of seeds, in the garden there are trees with a yield of 20-30kg of seeds. In the past, due to low production, Mr. Hoi peeled the green macadamia nuts by manual method. When the amount of fruit was harvested a lot, he bought a peeler machine, applied mechanization in the post-harvest stage, helping to reduce costs and increase labor productivity.

To increase the value of home-grown macadamia nuts, from 2019 he bought a seed drying cabinet and seed separator, and directly processed dried macadamia nuts to serve the market. The dried macadamia fruit product has been registered by him for business with the brand name "Hoi Dung Macadamia Factory". At the end of 2020, his facility was certified OCOP product with the product "Dried macadamia nuts with 3 stars" at the product evaluation and classification contest 2020.

His family's macadamia products are favored by many consumers around the region because of their freshness, crispiness, and aroma, made from macadamia nut grown in the land of Dam Rong. Currently, he is cooperating with macadamia nut growing households in the area in 2 communes of Da K'Nang and Phi Lieng to purchase macadamia nuts for 100,000 VND/kg for preliminary processing, processing and product delivery. Macadamia nuts to the market, gradually establishing a chain of links and consuming macadamia nuts not only in Phi Lieng and Da K'Nang communes but also in the whole area of Dam Rong district. It is estimated that in 2021, Hoi Dung macadamia products will be sold to the market with more than 5 tons of processed and consumed in two main markets, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Intercropping and pure planting are both good

With nearly 10 years of experience, plus researching and testing many different crops, Mr. Hoi said that macadamia is a tree with many times higher value than other industrial crops. The advantage of macadamia tree in Dam Rong is that it can be harvested twice a year, with a very high yield, averaging 15-20 kg/tree. Meanwhile, the planting and care process is simple, the investment costs are not much, the harvest does not take much labor, the output is also quite open, and many are sold out. 

Macadamia trees are suitable for soil and climate, growing quickly and the quality is also very high. But in order to have a foothold in the international market, local macadamia nuts are required not only to ensure output and quality, but most importantly, to ensure food hygiene and safety, especially without residues of plant protection drugs exceed the allowable threshold.

In addition to quality seed selection and standard care, the collection, drying and preservation of macadamia nuts are also very important. To get quality macadamia nuts, it is necessary to collect the fruit that is old enough, not too green and not too old, that is, when the earthen shell of the fruit begins to turn brown.

After a period of cultivation, it was found that the macadamia tree was suitable for the area of Dam Rong district and the tree appeared only a few pests and diseases such as mosquito bugs, anthracnose... Therefore, the development of macadamia in the area Dam Rong district is showing very optimistic signals. The introduction of macadamia trees intercropped in coffee gardens or pure planting will open up a direction for sustainable development, increase income per unit area, diversify products, and reduce market risks. In addition to expanding the area, in the future, it is possible to diversify products made from macadamia nuts and kernels such as milk, essential oils, cosmetics, etc. to increase the value of macadamia nuts.

In the coming time, Mr. Hoi's macadamia farm will continue to cooperate with macadamia nut farmers in the area, growing and producing macadamia nuts according to organic processes under the support of Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center. The entire area of his family will be carefully cared for, pests and diseases will be well controlled to help plants grow strongly, with a high rate of flowers and fruits. In particular, the standard kernel is also higher than before.

In the future, macadamia production in Dam Rong district will need to be associated with processing, expanding linkages between farmers, cooperatives, cooperative groups and businesses... in order to form a value chain and build a region. Focused production, towards building a brand for macadamia trees, gradually forming a macadamia industry along the product value chain from planting, to processing and consuming products.

Source: Van Tho - nongnghiep.vn