Goal of expanding the area of "fortification trees" to 20,000 hectares in Dien Bien

Excited when coffee trees have a good harvest and good prices

Informing at the coffee festival associated with eco-tourism in Bung Lao commune (October 18-19), Mr. Lo Van Cuong - Vice Chairman of Dien Bien Provincial People's Committee said: "This year, the people are very excited, when coffee is both harvested and priced. It can be affirmed that this is the province's enrichment tree".

According to Mr. Cuong, the economic potential of coffee is huge. "With the current price, on average, from the 5th year onwards, coffee trees will earn 400 million VND/ha. With that income, no other crop in the province can be higher, Mr. Cuong emphasized.

Not only bringing benefits to growers, the coffee crop also creates thousands of jobs with attractive incomes. The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that a coffee picking worker can currently earn about 500,000 VND/day (at 5,000 VND/kg and an average picking yield of 1 ton/day).

"If we work steadily throughout the season, a worker can earn about 15 million VND/month. This income is much higher than other unskilled jobs such as extra work, which are only paid about 300,000 VND/day. This is also an opportunity for people, especially women, to get rich right in their hometown," Mr. Cuong analyzed.

In addition to economic value, coffee grounds also open up the potential for developing eco-tourism and experiential tourism in the future.

Striving to expand to 20,000 hectares

With current successes, Dien Bien province sets an ambitious goal for this key crop.

According to the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, implementing the Resolution of the 15th Congress of the Dien Bien Provincial Party Committee, term 2025-2030, the coffee growing area of the whole province will be strived to increase to about 20,000 hectares.

However, with the current productivity and economic value, I am confident that from now until 2030, the area will reach about 25,000 hectares, said Mr. Lo Van Cuong.

To realize this goal, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also requested localities with conditions, especially communes such as Muong Ang and Bung Lao, to continue to propagate and mobilize people to expand coffee growing and care areas.

According to Mr. Cuong, the province's strategy is to convert the silkworm and barren lands to grow coffee, and at the same time intercrop with macadamia trees to optimize efficiency.

"One-time coffee trees that produce a stable income for at least 20 years are not too hard to take care of. This is a long-term source of income and is very valuable for the people", Mr. Cuong added.

In Bung Lao commune, agriculture is the main production sector, in which coffee plays a leading role in developing household economy, creating stable, long-term jobs, and increasing income for people.

Mr. Truong Hong Bach - Chairman of Bung Lao Commune People's Committee said: "Up to now, the commune has nearly 1,000 hectares of coffee trees, with an annual output of about 8,500 tons".

According to Mr. Bach, the commune's coffee products have been purchased and processed by many businesses, affirming their value and reputation in the market.

In particular, the commune has a Viet Bac Coffee Processing Factory with a scale and consumption capacity of 250-300 tons of fresh fruit/day and night, contributing to product coverage, increasing market value, competitiveness and stable income for coffee growers.