Lam Dong: New development stage of macadamia after 15 years

Intercropping and net planting of macadamias are highly profitable

In Lam Dong province macadamia trees have been planted since 2006. The total macadamia tree growing area is approximately 5,160 ha, mainly concentrated in the districts of Don Duong, Lam Ha, Duc Trong, Di Linh, Bao Lam, Dam Rong, Lac Duong as well as Da Lat City and Bao Loc City. Of this, the area of natural ​​macadamia trees is approximately 820 ha, accounting for nearly 16%.

According to Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, the area of ​​farmed macadamia trees is 1,640 ha, whose dry fruit production in 2021 reached 2,204 tons. Mr. Tran Van Tuan, Director of Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, said that the province currently has 31 establishments purchasing and processing macadamia trees, with the total consumption of raw materials reaching 1,842 tons of nuts/year.

The volume of processed products such as dried macadamia nuts and kernels is 883 tons, consumed in supermarkets, airports, and convenience stores across the country and exported to countries such as Korea, China, Japan, and Thailand and Australia.

Mr. Tran Van Tuan said that 1 ha of intercropped macadamia trees, entering the stable business period from the 7th year onwards and after deducting costs, will yield an average profit of 105 million VND. As for the normal macadamia planting area, the average profit in the 5th and 6th years is more than 172 million VND/ha and around 385 million VND/ha from the 7th year onwards.

The total area of ​​pure macadamia trees in Lam Dong is currently 151 ha, while the remaining 5,000 ha are mainly intercropped in coffee and tea farms. The agricultural sector believes that the intercropping model helps farmers cultivate coffee and tea sustainably, increase land cover, diversify products to reduce market risks, and increase income per unit area.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dien, technical officer of the Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, said that the province has favorable climatic and soil conditions for the development of macadamia trees. In growing areas such as Di Linh and Lam Ha districts, macadamia trees produce a yield of up to 20-30 kg of nuts per tree.

According to Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, after 15 years of development Lam Dong's macadamia production industry is gradually asserting its potential and strengths, helping to increase farmers' incomes, land cover, and environmental protection.

The goal of nearly 15,000 hectares of macadamia trees

According to Lam Dong Agricultural Extension Center, in order to improve the quality of macadamia products, the Center has in recent years cooperated with relevant agencies, businesses, cooperatives and individuals to organize the selection and production of macadamia seeds.

With approximately 820 ha of macadamia trees planted since 2015, the provincial agricultural sector has carried out the work of seed selection. This has allowed them to meet the demand for high-yielding, high-quality seeds, suitable to the local soil and climate conditions.

The varieties of macadamia seeds currently being grown in Lam Dong include: 246, 741, 800, 816, 842, 849, 695, 900, 0C, H2, 508, Dadow, QN1, A38 and seed-nursery trees.

The agricultural sector of Lam Dong province will focus on developing and expanding the macadamia production area to 14.9 thousand ha by the end of 2023, with a vision of 15,173 ha by 2045.

Lam Dong also plans to develop macadamia processing facilities for all kinds of goods and products by 2045; there will be 62 facilities and businesses, of which 11 will be preliminary processing facilities and 51 processing facilities. The raw material consumption capacity is estimated to be 4,538 tons of nuts per year and the volume of processed products 1,566 tons, including predominantly cracked dried nuts, dried kernels, essential oils and macadamia powder to supply the domestic and export markets.

"In the near future we will continue to coordinate with training and workshops organizations in key macadamia-growing areas to provide information to farmers about supporting policies as well as seed sources and farming techniques. In particular there will be a focus on selecting new varieties from the natural orchards being planted, which are qualified for seeding", said Mr. Tran Van Tuan.

According to Mr. Tuan, the local agricultural sector is also aiming to establish cooperative groups and cooperatives to grow macadamia nuts, produce certified macadamia nuts, issue a planting area code, produce a supply chain of raw materials for macadamia nuts to be exported to processing factories and to gradually improve the brand of Lam Dong macadamias in the domestic and international markets.

Lam Dong is the southernmost province in the Central Highlands, with ​​forests accounting for approximately 53% of the total area. Lam Dong has a large coffee-growing area of approximately 175 thousand hectares, most of which is grown as a monoculture, so it is possible to develop intercropping with macadamia trees to increase the income for farmers.

The agricultural sector has evaluated a number of macadamia varieties such as 846, 849, QN1, OC, A38 to have high yield and quality, so the sector has cooperated with businesses, cooperatives and farmers to organize improvement grafting to enhance product quality.

Lam Dong is the southern province in the Central Highlands, with an area of ​​forest land accounting for about 53%, a large coffee growing area with about 175 thousand hectares, most of the coffee area is grown as a monoculture, so it is possible to develop intercropping with macadamia to increase the income for the farmers.

Currently, the agricultural sector has evaluated a number of macadamia varieties such as 846, 849, QN1, OC, A38 with high yield and quality, so the sector has cooperated with businesses, cooperatives and farmers to organize grafting to improve product quality.