The province now has 1.838ha of lotus, 31% above its 2025 target of 1.400ha, according to a Đồng Tháp representative at the Hanoi lotus festival.
According to Báo Nông Nghiệp, just five to seven years ago Đồng Tháp province's lotus area at times fell to only a few hundred hectares because of disease, low yields and market difficulties. To revive the lotus, on 9/8/2022 the Đồng Tháp Provincial People's Committee issued decision no. 888 approving the scheme to restructure the agricultural sector to 2025, with orientation to 2030, under which lotus moved from a potential sector to a key sector with the goals of "reducing costs, improving quality, increasing processed products" and "enhancing cultural and tourism values from the lotus".
Mr Trần Văn Nhãn - Deputy Director of the Đồng Tháp Centre for Agricultural Services, Irrigation Works Management and Rural Clean Water - said the scheme has achieved some results so far. On developing raw material areas and standardising varieties and cultivation procedures: the province's lotus area reached 1.838ha (31,3% above the 2025 target of 1.400ha); besides the traditional areas in Tháp Mười, Cao Lãnh and Châu Thành districts, new plantings are in Thanh Bình, Tân Hồng and Tam Nông districts, with 52 lotus varieties. Some areas produce in a food-safety-oriented and circular direction, initially applying mechanisation with lotus seed shelling and lotus embryo machines.
On linkages for consumption and processing: the Đồng Tháp Lotus Sector Association was established and launched with 125 members and is quite active. The province has 22 establishments and businesses producing a variety of products from parts of the lotus plant, such as lotus leaves (27%), lotus seeds (23%), lotus flowers (22%), lotus roots (9%), lotus pods (9%), lotus stems (7%) and lotus shoots (3%). There are more than 100 processed lotus products, including 59 OCOP products: 30 rated 3-star, 28 rated 4-star and 1 rated 5-star.
There are also other potential lotus products, such as gifts (lotus paintings, lotus seed strings, lotus books); cosmetics (lotus perfume, lotus lipstick,...); household items (lotus soap, lotus incense, lotus-leaf hats, lotus paper.); and textiles and fashion (lotus silk, lotus silk fabric, áo dài made from lotus silk, lotus-leaf bags)...
Consumption linkages between businesses and farmers have initially produced some sustainable linkage contracts, with businesses taking the lead in working with farmers to build raw material areas and move towards product branding; however, the scale of linkage remains limited, and 90% of lotus is still sold through traders.
On developing the lotus brand together with sustainable tourism: the province announced its emblem in a stylised circular lotus design; built Đồng Tháp's image as the "Lotus Homeland" and "Lotus Capital"...; built the "Đất Sen Hồng" (Pink Lotus Land) brand with the mascot "Bé Sen" and the slogan "Đồng Tháp - Pure as the soul of the Lotus"; registered the "Sen Tháp Mười" trademark; and registered industrial property rights for the "Đồng Tháp" geographical indication for lotus products...
Industrial property rights were established for the "Đồng Tháp" geographical indication for lotus products; "Made in Dong Thap" certificates were granted to lotus products such as lotus root tea, powdered lotus milk and lotus leaf tea... Vietnamese and world records were set with 200 dishes made from lotus, and a lotus map and lotus books were produced.
10 lotus tourism sites were established, running experience tours: Strolling the Lotus Route, weaving green aspirations; Trekking through the Lotus Season - Tràm Chim; Lotus experience tours... with activities such as visiting lotus fields; picking lotus and fishing in lotus fields; cooking lotus dishes and lotus buffets; making lotus-leaf hats and lotus-leaf bags, scenting lotus tea and spinning lotus silk...
With these achievements, the people of Đồng Tháp also remain very careful about pests and diseases in lotus fields. Suitable fertilisers and crop protection products must also be chosen to manage pests when they occur.
Source: Báo Nông Nghiệp online news portal