Unlocking Lai Chau's potential through multi-value green agriculture

Diverse natural advantages with great potential

Speaking at the conference "Developing commodity agriculture and medicinal plants toward a green economy" on April 24, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong, Deputy Director of the Lai Chau Department of Agriculture and Environment, said that the province possesses many distinctive advantages for developing commodity agriculture and medicinal plants toward a green economy.

With a natural area of over 9,000 km², terrain sharply divided by the Hoang Lien Son range, the Da River system, more than 500,000 ha of forest, and around 16,000 ha of hydropower reservoir surface, the province features multiple microclimates suitable for developing a wide range of specialty agricultural products such as tea, specialty rice, rubber, fruit trees, cold-water aquaculture, cage fish farming, and especially precious medicinal plants grown under forest canopies. “This is an important foundation for Lai Chau to develop green, multi-value agriculture linked to ecological and experiential tourism,” Mr. Dong affirmed.

According to Mr. Dong, in recent years the province has focused on restructuring the agricultural sector and implementing various support policies to promote commodity production linked to processing and consumption, while gradually shifting toward a green, clean model. These policies have been implemented synchronously, including support for barns; waste treatment through biogas digesters and biological bedding; soil improvement and proper fertilizer use; development of greenhouses and net houses; application of advanced irrigation systems; and support for adopting safe production standards.

As a result, the locality has established a number of concentrated commodity production zones, including areas for tea, specialty rice, cinnamon, macadamia, fruit trees, rubber, reservoir aquaculture, and beekeeping, as well as zones for Lai Chau ginseng and other medicinal plants grown under forest canopies. These outcomes have contributed to job creation and income enhancement for local people, while promoting a mindset shift from agricultural production to an agricultural economy, gradually moving toward emission reduction and sustainable development.

Notably, by the end of 2025, the province had more than 520 ha of crops applying safe production standards, including 240 ha certified under VietGAP, over 200 ha meeting RA standards, nearly 50 ha certified organic, and approximately 15 ha meeting GACP standards. In addition, 43 ha under greenhouse and net-house production have helped reduce pesticide use; more than 3,000 ha of rice cultivation have adopted improved cultivation techniques; and around 33% of livestock farms are equipped with waste treatment systems. These mark important steps forward in the transition toward green agriculture.

However, according to the Deputy Director of the Lai Chau Department of Agriculture and Environment, the local agricultural production in line with a green economy still faces numerous limitations. Production remains small-scale and fragmented; traditional farming practices are still widespread; and the application of safety standards has yet to be widely implemented. Farmers continue to chase yield, often overusing fertilizers and pesticides, while production–processing–consumption linkages have not been clearly established.

Mr. Dong indicates that the main causes stem from limited economic conditions and production capacity among farmers, who remain hesitant to shift toward green agriculture models. Besides, the province lacks sufficiently capable enterprises and cooperatives to play a leading role in organizing production along value chains.

Notably, the leader of the Lai Chau Department of Agriculture and Environment also pointed out that the biggest barrier at present is infrastructure, particularly transport connectivity with major economic centers. This results in high logistics costs, reducing product competitiveness and limiting the province’s ability to attract investment.

Moreover, factors such as a shortage of high-quality human resources, constraints in the application of science and technology, and the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, natural disasters, and epidemics are posing significant challenges to the development of green agriculture in the locality.

Forming concentrated commodity production zones

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong, to address bottlenecks, unlock potential, and leverage its advantages, the province aims, for the 2026–2030 period, to develop commodity agriculture and medicinal plants sustainably, integrating multiple values and promoting green, clean, circular, and low-emission practices. The focus will be on effectively unlocking local potential, promoting land consolidation, and applying science and technology as well as digital transformation across the entire chain of production, processing, consumption, and traceability.

Specifically, in the crop production sector, the province strives to develop 2,500 ha of green, clean tea; ensure that 100% of concentrated tea-growing areas are granted planting area codes; apply advanced cultivation practices to 1,500 ha of commodity rice; and expand 2,500 ha of fruit trees and 500 ha of vegetables and flowers produced under safe and organic standards. In livestock farming, the province plans to increase the number of pig farms to 115, ensuring that 100% are equipped with waste treatment systems; develop 7,000 beehives with an annual honey output of around 32 tons; and expand cage fish farming to reach 200,000 m³.

In forestry and medicinal herbs, the province targets planting an additional 1,000 ha of macadamia and 2,500 ha of cinnamon; developing 3,000 ha of Lai Chau ginseng with planting area codes and geographical indications; maintaining and sustainably developing more than 9,100 ha of medicinal plants under forest canopies; and expanding 600 ha of concentrated medicinal herb growing, gradually applying international standards.

In particular, Lai Chau province will promote the development of integrated, multi-value agriculture linked to eco-tourism and resort tourism under forest canopies and in medicinal plant regions, while also moving toward tapping carbon credits.

To achieve these goals, the province will synchronously implement solutions, including transitioning production models toward green and circular approaches; promoting land consolidation; attracting business investment; developing cooperative economy models; applying high technology and IoT in production; and boosting the recycling of agricultural by-products and waste treatment to reduce emissions and protect the environment. At the same time, the province will strengthen brand building, promote trade, and complete support policy mechanisms.

In this process, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong noted that Lai Chau hopes to continue receiving attention, partnership, and experience sharing from managers, scientists, experts, and the business community, thereby helping to refine policies and identify effective solutions to promote the sustainable development of commodity agriculture and medicinal plants toward a green economy suited to local conditions.