Starting with a 60-hectare pilot plantation in Trấn Yên District (formerly Yên Bái Province) in 2003, Bát Độ bamboo has expanded into a raw material area of nearly 7,500 hectares. It has become a prosperity crop for many households in the mountainous region of Lào Cai Province.
Hà Thị Khuyến, an ethnic Tày woman from Hưng Khánh Commune in Lào Cai Province, skillfully peels fresh bamboo shoots before delivering them to a processing factory located in her commune. Each shoot grows to about 1.5 meters in height and is harvested by cutting five stem sections (locally known as óng măng) along with the tip. The factory currently purchases the stem sections at VND 6,200 per kilogram. It buys the tips at VND 5,800 per kilogram.
Khuyến said that Bát Độ bamboo was first introduced to Hưng Khánh in 2007. The commune’s numerous streams, high humidity, and fertile soils at the foot of the mountains provide ideal conditions for the crop to thrive.
Meanwhile, Giàng A Chổng, a 41-year-old member of the H’Mông ethnic group from Hồng Lâu Hamlet, was preparing a housewarming meal in his newly built home. The 160-square-meter house, featuring three self-contained bedrooms, cost more than VND 1 billion to build. According to Chổng, the entire investment was financed through income from cultivating Bát Độ bamboo and operating as a bamboo shoot purchasing agent.
He recalled that before 2010, H’Mông villages such as Khe Tiến, Khe Ron, Hồng Lâu, and Khuôn Bổ faced widespread poverty. During the annual food shortage season, many households depended on government rice assistance to make ends meet.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of local authorities and residents under the rural development program, by the end of 2022 the commune had established more than 3,500 hectares of cinnamon, 1,400 hectares of Bát Độ bamboo, 22 hectares of medicinal herbs cultivated under forest canopies, and 105 hectares of citrus orchards. Local farmers also received support to reclaim more than 423 hectares of paddy fields, renovate or build new homes for poor households, diversify their livelihoods, and improve access to clean water.
Poor households, particularly those in H’Mông villages, also gained easier access to preferential loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. This enabled them to invest in production and improve their livelihoods.
At the processing plant operated by Yamazaki Vietnam Co., Ltd., Kiều Thị Huyền, born in 1974 and a resident of Hamlet 9 in Thượng Bằng La Commune, arrived in a truck loaded with freshly harvested bamboo shoots.
Huyền said that her family planted 20 hectares of Bát Độ bamboo in 2019. After the initial establishment period, the plantation yielded 400 metric tons of fresh bamboo shoots in 2025, generating VND 2.4 billion in revenue. With purchase prices remaining stable at around VND 6,000 per kilogram, she expects this year’s revenue to reach approximately VND 2.5 billion.
In addition to cultivating bamboo, her family purchases, transports, and supplies bamboo shoots to the factory. They also serve as a collection agent for growers across the region. As a result, their living standards have improved significantly.
The area where Huyền lives was once home to the Trần Phú Tea Farm, before being converted to King orange cultivation, which proved unprofitable. Local farmers later switched entirely to Bát Độ bamboo, planting approximately 350 clumps per hectare.
The contour roads originally built for tea plantations have made cultivation and transportation much easier. As a result, the bamboo grows vigorously. Each bamboo clump can produce up to 60 shoots per harvest season. This yields around 300 kilograms of shoots worth nearly VND 1.8 million.
According to local farmers, Bát Độ bamboo offers rapid returns, requires relatively low maintenance costs, and generates high economic value. These advantages make it one of the most profitable crops in the mountainous areas of Lào Cai.
Nguyễn Kiên Định, Director of Yamazaki Vietnam Co., Ltd., said the company is committed to long-term development in the region by building a stable raw material base and improving product quality to meet export standards. The factory currently employs more than 70 workers. About 85% of them are women, most of them from ethnic minority communities, with an average monthly income of around VND 8 million.
Employees also receive full social insurance and other statutory benefits. In 2025, the company produced 3,250 metric tons of processed bamboo shoot products, generating VND 38 billion in revenue. This year, it aims to increase production to 4,500 metric tons. Projected revenue is expected to exceed VND 40 billion.
According to Nguyễn Tuấn Anh, Chairman of the Hưng Khánh Commune People’s Committee, Bát Độ bamboo has firmly established itself as a key crop thanks to the close linkage between growers, purchasing cooperatives, and the local processing factory. This has created a sustainable value chain. The commune plans to encourage farmers to convert more land to bamboo cultivation, expanding the total planted area to 2,500 hectares.
As a result of this sustainable development model, local farmers sold 10,500 metric tons of bamboo shoots in 2025, earning more than VND 60 billion. In 2026, they aim to harvest 11,000 metric tons, with expected revenue approaching VND 70 billion. Income from bamboo cultivation has helped reduce the number of poor households in the commune to just 27. This represents only 0.76% of all households.
Local authorities also noted that Bát Độ bamboo is well suited to the commune’s natural conditions, grows vigorously, and is relatively resilient to extreme weather. Beyond its economic value, the bamboo’s extensive root system helps prevent soil erosion. It also reduces the risk of landslides during the rainy season.
To rejuvenate aging bamboo plantations, the commune has proposed that Lào Cai Province promptly implement Resolution No. 21/2025/NQ-HĐND, which provides financial support for agricultural and forestry production in Bát Độ bamboo-growing areas. The policy would offer VND 20–30 million per hectare. This would help farmers build contour roads, purchase fertilizers for initial cultivation, develop concentrated raw material zones, and promote sustainable economic growth in mountainous rural areas.
Vietnamese source: https://nhandan.vn/cay-lam-giau-tren-dat-nui-lao-cai-post979063.html
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