Muong Cha commune, Dien Bien province was established on the basis of merging the communes of Cha Cang, Cha Nua, Nam Tin, Pa Tan (old Nam Po district) which had isolated terrain and difficult farming conditions.
Previously, red peanuts were only a by-crop, intercropped with rice to serve daily meals, and few people knew about it due to crumbled farming.
In 2019, through trade promotion and support programs of the Women's Union at all levels, Muong Cha red peanuts began to be known to customers for their outstanding quality: even root, thin skin, characteristic aroma, and richness.
In response to good signals from the market, people in Muong Cha commune have boldly expanded the area. Currently, the whole commune has about 60 hectares of red peanuts. In the areas along the stream, people cultivate 3 crops/year; the rice intercropping areas reach 1-2 crops/year. The yield of the main crop (harvested in July) reached about 1.2 tons of fresh peanuts/ha.
Ms. Lo Thi Nhung (Na Su version) - one of the pioneers in building the " charcoal red apple apple" brand - said: "Unlike many places that use a peeled machine that causes the seeds to break and peel, we choose to peel them by hand.
Despite the time, peanuts retain their shape, flavor and nutritional value. This is a key factor for the product to compete in the market".
At the end of 2024, " charred supplement Cha Nua" was recognized as a 3-star OCOP, the economic value accordingly increased. If in 2019, the price of peanuts was only about 30,000 VND/kg, now it has increased to 60,000 VND/kg; peanuts peeled at hand cost 80,000 VND/kg, an increase of 1.5 times, helping many households improve their income significantly.
Not only red peanuts, Muong Cha also promotes the development of honey beekeeping, taking advantage of the rich forest. In 2020, the products of Cha Nua Honey Cooperative (HA) also met 3-star OCOP standards.
With 9 members, 45 members, managing more than 360 beehives, the cooperative supplies the market with an average of 600 liters of honey/year. The special feature of the product is 100% pure wild honey.
The leader of Muong Cha Commune People's Committee said that in the period of 2023-2025, the commune has 83 households achieving the title of good at production and business. Notably, the program of one product per commune is promoted, so far the whole commune has 3 OCOP products meeting 3-star standards including: Nam Tin Orange, Cha Nua Honey and Cha Nua Redback.
In addition, Muong Cha commune also implemented high-value crop projects such as: Que, Sa Nhan, Mit... on an area of over 490 hectares.
According to Mr. Le Xuan Canh - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dien Bien, taking advantage of the potential and advantages of natural conditions, climate, land, human resources, experience in agricultural production... the province has encouraged localities to promote the advantages of developing typical products of each commune.
In addition, the province has promoted the restructuring of the agricultural sector in the direction of improving production value, focusing on supporting the development of key agricultural products, strengths of the locality such as: Rice, macadamia, coffee... to develop into OCOP products, building agricultural product brands associated with geographical and export instructions.
To date, Dien Bien province has 138 OCOP products, of which 5 products have achieved 4 stars and 133 products have achieved 3 stars.
