Phang Tao has 182 households, mainly Nung and Giay people, people's lives are increasingly stable and developed thanks to tea growing. Nearly 100% of households in Phang Tao grow tea, many of which are over 20 years old. Before 2000, Phang Tao people still kept the habit of cultivating corn and rice, they were afraid to change crops because they were afraid of risks. However, rice and corn with limited growing areas could not help them break through the economy, the lives of many households were still "sinking" in poverty. To achieve the goal of hunger eradication and poverty reduction, the Resolution of the Party Congress of Ban Sen commune for the 2000-2005 term determined to make tea the main crop in the locality. To realize this goal, the Party Committee and the government mobilized the people to approach tea growing techniques, in which Party members were pioneers and exemplary.

As a pioneer party member planting tea on the Flat Tao land, Mr. Nong Van Sen recalled the difficult early days: At that time, when there was a policy to bring tea trees to Ban Sen, I and a number of other party members promoted the spirit of being exemplary, and were supported with bank loans (about 5 million VND), we bought seeds and fertilizers to plant tea. At first, we only dared to plant a small number of about 3,000 trees, then gradually expanded the area. Up to now, my family has 28,000 tea trees, most of which are over 20 years old.

Among the first households to grow tea in Phang Tao, Mr. Le Van Kien's family is now confident in mastering the techniques of growing and caring for tea trees. His family currently owns more than 1 hectare of tea for business. According to Mr. Le Van Kien, tea is a perennial crop that does not require many complicated care techniques, the most important being soil preparation and pest control. With many years of experience growing tea, Mr. Kien has a firm grasp of knowledge on preventing some basic pests and diseases on tea trees.

To get the tea trees established in Phang Tao, the people also went through many difficult stages. In 2005, the first tea harvests were made but there were no cooperatives or factories to purchase them, the growers mainly sold to traders so they were forced to pay low prices, and many people even planned to uproot the tea trees. In the period of 2008 - 2009, the tea processing factory was built, the selling price of fresh tea buds gradually stabilized, and the economic efficiency gradually became clear. People realized the value of the income that tea trees brought and boldly followed suit.

Currently, Phang Tao has 168 hectares of tea. Out of 182 households in the village, 180 grow tea. From a tree that helps eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, tea has now become a tree that enriches many households. Typically, Mr. Nong Van Sen's household earns over 200 million VND/year, and Mr. Le Van Kien's household earns over 100 million VND/year.

Phang Tao has become the largest tea growing area in Ban Sen with the highest productivity and quality of tea in Muong Khuong district. The average tea yield of Phang Tao is 10 - 15 tons/ha/year. The output is over 2,000 tons/year. Phang Tao is also a famous place with large tea hills, rows of green tea like drawing lines on the mountains. Currently, people are harvesting spring tea, the average selling price is over 6,000 VND/kg of fresh buds. The successive harvests bring joy and prosperity to the people here.

To maintain and expand the area, identifying tea as a key crop contributing to promoting local economic development, the Party Committee and the government of Ban Sen commune are implementing a number of resolutions and programs to support tea growers, including important support policies according to Resolution 10 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee.

Mr. Nguyen Van An, Vice Chairman of Ban Sen Commune People's Committee said: We highly appreciate the efforts and pioneering spirit of the people of Phang Tao in planting and caring for tea trees. The diligence and perseverance of the people towards tea trees have contributed to promoting the development of the local economy. Currently, Ban Sen still identifies tea as the main crop in the local crop structure. Thanks to learning from the experience of Phang Tao people in growing tea, the tea area in other villages is increasingly expanding, bringing stable income to growers.

Phang Tao today is “changing its skin” every day thanks to tea cultivation. People have the conditions to build spacious houses, contribute to opening rural roads, stabilize the economy, and contribute to maintaining security and order in the locality. Phang Tao is a clear demonstration of the success in the leadership of the Party Committee and the government when deciding to bring tea trees to the locality to help people develop the agricultural economy.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/ngat-xanh-vung-che-phang-tao-post400151.html