Lung Cu commune is home to 12 ethnic groups, of which the H'Mong ethnic group accounts for 92.7% of the population. Here, the indigenous ginger trees have been pioneered by the H'Mong and Giay ethnic groups to be brought from their home gardens to the fields, opening a sustainable way out of poverty, while gradually building a brand, towards sustainable production and increasing value.
The largest place to grow ginger in Lung Cu commune is Ma Xi B village. This village has 93 households with more than 500 people who have boldly converted the crop structure from corn to local ginger. Previously, corn was almost the only crop on Ma Xi B land, but the difficult climate and soil conditions and unstable prices made it impossible for people to eat all year round. In recent years, Ma Xi B people have boldly switched to growing indigenous ginger. Comed together, the ginger root grows green, has few pests and diseases, and has stable productivity and high economic efficiency.
"Previously, my family only grew ginger for indoor use, but in the past 2-3 years, seeing traders buying a lot, we have expanded the area. Last year, my family earned tens of millions of VND, the amount of money that we had grown corn for many years we did not have" - Ms. Ly Thi lia, a H'Mong ethnic group in Ma Xi B shared.
In 2024, many households in Ma Xi B earned hundreds of millions of VND from ginger, and their lives changed significantly. Currently, more than 70% of households in Ma Xi B village grow ginger on an area of about 15 hectares. Thanks to this source of income, many families have escaped poverty, have the conditions to buy daily necessities, and have their children study fully.
Local ginger trees yield many times more income than corn and take less care. Realizing its effectiveness, the people have simultaneously expanded the area, ginger has become a spearhead for economic development in Ma Xi B village. Not only in Ma Xi B, the area of indigenous ginger is increasingly expanding in 15 other villages of Lung Cu commune, with more than 150 hectares, most concentrated in Ma Xi A, Ma Xi B, Khai Hoang, Ong Tro, Ma Le, Ta Giao Khau, sai Sa Phin, Canh Tang... The average yield is 35 - 40 tons/ha. With a selling price of 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg, each household can earn hundreds of millions of VND/crop.
Native ginger in Lung Cu has proven its potential, but the big challenge at present is that the output still depends on traders, prices fluctuate, and there is no guarantee contract. When market demand decreases and ginger prices drop, people worry about "over-season, depreciation", becoming an obstacle on the way to making ginger a stable, long-term commodity product.
To solve the problem, the Party Committee and the government of Lung Cu commune are coordinating with specialized agencies to develop the brand "Lung Cu Native Ginger", produce according to VietGAP standards, packaging, labels, and traceability. Lung Cu commune is also calling on processing and exporting enterprises to encourage the formation of cooperation groups and cooperatives to grow ginger to link production - consumption.
According to Mr. Ma Doan Khanh - Vice Chairman of Lung Cu Commune People's Committee, the locality aims to attract investors to build a facility to process ginger essential oils and flour right in the area. If the output is stable, ginger will be a spearhead, helping people to escape poverty sustainably. Along with that, the opening of technical training courses on ginger growing and care for people is also focused on to improve productivity and product quality. Promotion and introduction of products on the media has been promoted so that Lung Cu ginger can gradually affirm its brand and reach a wider market.
