A garden of Ngoc Linh ginseng seedlings of the Dak To Forestry Co. Ltd (Photo: VNA)Khanh Hoa (VNA)– About 2,000 trees of Ngoc Linh ginseng will be planted at the Hon BaNature Reserve in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa under a scientificresearch project.
With a total funding ofover 1 billion VND (43,000 USD), the project, to last until 2020, aims toexpand Ngoc Linh ginseng productionmodels in order to meet the increasing demands for ginseng and attract moretourists to the reserve.
Covering more than 20,000hectares in Khanh Vinh, Khanh Son, Cam Lam and Dien Khanh districts, the Hon BaNature Reserve has a diverse flora system with over 590 species.
The NgocLinh ginseng (Panax vietnamensis, or Vietnamese ginseng) was found onNgoc Linh Mountain on the border between the Central Highlands province ofKon Tum and the central province of Quang Nam in the late 1960s.
By 1979, Quang Nam province had established theTra Linh drug materials farm on the mountain, but it suffered from lowproductivity. Kon Tum province had also built up a conservation centre for theNgoc Linh ginseng in 2004.
Currently,raw ginseng is sold for 40 million VND (1,900 USD) per kilo, but the twoprovinces can only produce pharmaceutical materials and energy drinks due topoor investment in processing technology.
The Vietnamese ginseng was one of eight preciousand endangered flora genes covered in Quang Nam province’s conservationprogramme for 2014-2020, including Ba Kich (poor ginseng orcodonopsis), pepper, cinnamon, large rattan and white corn.-VNA
VNA
