Thanks to the cultivation of Shan Tuyet tea, Ha Van Pom's family in Thuong hamlet, Trung Thanh commune (Da Bac) has become better off with higher income.
We visited Ha Van Pom's family in Thuong hamlet, who have more than 15 years of experience in cultivating Shan Tuyet tea. Currently, Pom and his family members are busy taking care of their tea plants, as harvest time is approaching. Taking us around the tea hill, Ha Van Pom said: "Compared to maize, Shan Tuyet tea bring us a higher profit at lesser labor costs. Currently, my family's tea farmhas been expanded to 1 ha. Everyday, three members of the family can collect about 100kg of fresh tea leaves. The price is stable at 6,000 VND per kg, and each month we earn about17 million VND.The harvest seasonlasts from March to November.”
In order to facilitate the local economic development, the commune has cooperated with the district Bank for Social Policy to effectively implement preferential lendingprogrammes, with outstanding debts totalling14.4 billion VND. Training courses on cultivation and animal husbandryhave been organised annually, attracting 500 participants so far. In 2018, the Poverty Reduction Project provided 420 million VND to 32 poor households to help them improve livelihoods.
The Vice Chairman of the Trung Thanh People's Committee said that in the coming time, the commune plans to continue persuading locals to engage in Shan Tuyet tea cultivation, while working with enterprises for distribution of tea products.
He also asked for support from public agencies, sectors and organizations in terms of saplings, capital, and production techniques to boost product quality.