Viet Nam has great potential to develop a ginseng farming and processing industry that generates billions of US dollars, said President Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the opening of the Lai Chau Ginseng Fair 2022 in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau last weekend.

The leader highlighted Lai Chau's advantages in ginseng development and its high economic value, and asked the province to preserve its gene sources and to support farmers in farming techniques.

He underlined the need to provide strong assistance to localities in implementing the ginseng development strategy, asking the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to pay greater attention to preserving the varieties and making planning for its development.

The President pointed to the need to ensure the sustainable development of the industry and high quality of the product, as well as the application of high technologies in farming and processing activities.

Ginseng development must go in line with forest protection, he underscored, asking Lai Chau to support people from ethnic minority groups in ginseng farming, thus helping them get rid of poverty.

The three-day Lai Chau Ginseng Fair aims to popularise the potential and strengths in ginseng development and policies to encourage investment in the industry, and provide investors with opportunities to cooperate with local farmers in the field.

Ginseng is a typical herb of Lai Chau, found at a height of 1,400-2,200m above the sea level.

Initial research results show that Lai Chau ginseng has a very high Saponin content. Particularly, it has 7.78 per cent of Majonoside - R2(MR2), an anticancer active ingredient, along with anticoagulant substance silphioside E.

Lai Chau ginseng has received a plant varieties protection certificate by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Currently, Lai Chau has 38,000 ha of area suitable for ginseng farming. The province has developed more than 100 hectares of ginseng farms in Muong Te, Sin Ho, Phong Tho and Tam Duong districts.

At the event, President Phuc presented ginseng seedlings to local farmers. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan handed over the Plant Variety Protection Certificate for Lai Chau Ginseng to Lai Chau Province, while Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat gave the province a decision to accept a valid Lai Chau Ginseng Certification Trademark. — VNS