Blame the weather
According to the reporter's source, the project "Experimental research on the model of linking the cultivation and consumption of ginseng and velvet antler in some mountainous districts of Quang Ngai province" is chaired by the Hanoi Center for Research on Cultivation and Processing of Medicinal Plants. The implementation period is from April 17, 2020 to April 10, 2023. The total budget for implementing the project is over 4.4 billion VND, of which the provincial science and technology budget is 2.3 billion VND; enterprise capital (the presiding agency) is 1.6 billion VND and the capital contributed by the people is 540 million VND.
According to the minutes of the meeting to review and handle the unfinished scientific and technological tasks for the above-mentioned project, the Acceptance Evaluation Advisory Council on July 6, 2023 unanimously concluded that the project implementation results were classified as unsatisfactory.
According to the explanation of the host unit, the reason was that during the implementation of the model of growing ginseng and velvet antler in Son Tay and Tra Bong districts, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out, interrupting the planting and care of the model. As a result, many of the first crop plants died and had to be replanted; greatly affecting the results of the project, especially the yield did not meet the project's order.
In addition, in 2020, in Quang Ngai, a storm and tornado occurred, causing 2 hectares of Son Lien Agricultural and Service Cooperative and 2 hectares of Do Minh Vuong's household growing Codonopsis pilosula and Atractylodes macrocephala to be broken and damaged. The host unit had to arrange its own funds to replant the model, affecting the overall results of the project.
In 2021, in Son Tay and Tra Bong districts, there was a heat wave lasting 2 to 3 months, directly affecting the growth and development of khoi nhung and dang sam plants.
A PhD in agriculture working in Quang Ngai said: This project has disbursed nearly 1.7 billion VND from the state budget, but the results are very low.
In Quang Ngai, there are storms and prolonged heat almost every year, so blaming the weather for the failure of the research project is not convincing, because when implementing, the participating units must carefully study the climate, soil, etc. here.
As a result, many hectares of ginseng and velvet antler died en masse, causing many farmers to withdraw from the model, raising many questions about the effectiveness and responsibility of the parties involved in the project.
90% of trees died, farmers asked to stop
The conclusion of the inspection of the scientific and technological tasks for this topic, the results of the actual inspection at households growing velvet antler in Son Tay district showed that many hectares of velvet antler died. For example, Mr. Dinh Van Nhan's household planted 1 hectare, Dinh Minh Vuong planted 2 hectares, Son Lien Agricultural and Service Cooperative planted 2 hectares. All of them died over 90% after a short time of planting, so they all asked to stop participating in the model.
According to the minutes of the meeting to consider handling the unfinished scientific and technological tasks for the above topic, Mr. Vo Thanh Thuy - former member of the Executive Committee of the Provincial Union of Science and Technology Associations - said that for the khoi nhung tree, when it was planted, it died and had to be replanted, so there was not enough actual time to make an accurate assessment. For the codonopsis plant, the basic planting model was not successful because the experimental planting model caused the tree to die and had to be replanted many times, but in the end, the survival rate was still low, the area by the end of the project was not enough, there were no harvested products, and especially there was very little regeneration after hibernation.
On September 27, Mr. Tran Hoang Tuan - Standing Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee - concluded and directed the handling of the determination of the cause of the failure to complete the tasks of the above topic. Assigning responsibility and requesting the Director of the Provincial Department of Science and Technology to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies, units, localities and the Science and Technology Advisory Council of the topic, urgently review and clearly identify the cause of the failure to complete the topic, whether objective or subjective, then synthesize and advise the Provincial People's Committee to consider and resolve according to regulations.
