Vietnamese ginseng fights fakes
by Cao Nguyen
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Farmers tend ginseng plants on a farm in Kon Tum Province. — VNS Photo Cao Nguyen |
KON TUM — The famous Ngoc Linh Ginseng, also known as Vietnamese ginseng, from the mountains of Kon Tum Province has fallen victim to fakes which have virtually taken over the market.
But the provincial administration is fighting back: it is trying to eliminate the fakes while also farming the wild herb on larger and larger areas in the Ngoc Linh mountain where it originates.
A decade ago it planted the ginseng on 50 hectares of forest in Dak Glei District's Tumorong Mountain. But ginseng is a slow-growing plant and only now are the plants flowering.
The Government is also encouraging local ethnic minority residents to plant ginseng.
Scientists from the Central Highlands Biology Institute managed to clone the plant and create thousands of saplings to plant on Tumorong.
A million saplings are expect to be planted on mountains all over the province.
Nguyen Thanh Chung, head of Dak To Forestry Company, which is part in the project, said: "At present, we are trying to multiply the strain. Until 2020 we will not harvest the ginseng but keep them to collect seeds. We now have 4.5ha of ginseng yielding seeds. We hope to have 80ha in 10 years."
When Ngoc Linh ginseng was recognised as a rare herb in 1998, the company, which used to be called Ngoc Linh Plantation, began the task of preserving it by travelling around the mountains to buy seeds.
"Sometimes, we would receive information [that someone has] only one or two seeds but we were willing to travel [long distances] to buy them. Now we have a forest from these rare seeds."
Besides seeds, company workers also bought bulbs and saplings from farmers for planting.
Their tireless efforts have borne fruit: The project began in 1998 with around 360sq.m and has expanded to 4.5ha today.
Local farmers tend the ginseng by protecting them around the clock.
Chung said when the project began, scientists also planted the ginseng in other areas with a similar climate like Da Lat, Lao Cai, and Tam Dao but to no avail.
There are only four districts in two provinces where the plants grow — Tumorong, Dak Glei, and Kon Plong Districts in Kon Tum and Tra My District in Quang Nam.
Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang, who said Kon Tum Province had huge potential in developing the strain of ginseng, said the Government planned to designate it as a special export product.
The Ministry of Health will work with the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, and others to make plans to develop the crop and submit to the Government by December to get approval. —VNS