Quàng Thị Cân’s family in Đông Thấp village, Chiềng Sinh commune, has 2ha of coffee and 5ha of macadamia. The upland fields were previously used inefficiently, but the family has now converted them to perennial crops and invested in concentrated, commodity-oriented production. Cân said that maize and cassava had previously generated low returns. After local authorities encouraged farmers to switch crops, her family began growing coffee and macadamia, both of which are now developing steadily.

Cân’s family is not alone. Many households in Chiềng Sinh commune are also taking bold steps to change their farming practices, switching to coffee and macadamia grown on a more concentrated, commodity-oriented basis. One example is Lò Thị Sức’s family in Huổi Hốc village. In 2025, the family planted more than 5,000m² of coffee. Seeing the crop grow steadily, they expanded the area by another 10,000m² in 2026. According to Sức, switching to perennial crops that suit local soil conditions has given her family a new production option and gradually improved returns from the same amount of land.

The changes in the mindset and actions of many households in Chiềng Sinh reflect positive shifts in agricultural production. In 2025, with the involvement of the entire political system, the commune’s agriculture shifted toward higher-value production. The area under industrial crops increased sharply, with more than 310ha of new coffee plantations and 182ha of new macadamia plantations, equivalent to 151% of the assigned target. This provides a foundation for Chiềng Sinh to accelerate agricultural restructuring in 2026, with coffee and macadamia as its key crops.

Chiềng Sinh commune set a target of planting 800ha of new coffee, 150ha of macadamia and, in coordination with businesses, developing more than 500ha of macadamia. In practice, the commune has already exceeded its targets since the beginning of the year. A total of 860ha of new coffee has been planted, including 718.8ha under projects and 141.2ha financed by local residents themselves, reaching 215% of the provincial target. This brings the commune’s total coffee area to 1,184.1ha. The area of coffee planted this year alone is 2.6 times the total coffee area established across the commune before 2026.

Macadamia cultivation has also continued to expand, with concentrated raw-material areas being developed with business participation. In 2026, the commune planted 400ha of macadamia intercropped with coffee, reaching 100% of its target and bringing the total macadamia area to 979ha. The survival rate of the trees is estimated at more than 96%.

To ensure that the newly planted areas quickly develop into stable production zones, Chiềng Sinh is focusing on mobilizing local resources and strengthening the role of farmers. During coffee planting, more than 1,960 workers were mobilized to dig planting holes, involving nearly 173,000m³ of soil. Local residents have directly participated in seedling propagation, land preparation, planting, cultivation, gap-filling and pest and disease control. The expansion of planting areas is gradually being accompanied by changes in production methods and greater responsibility among residents for the newly established crop areas.

Đỗ Văn Sơn, Chairman of the Chiềng Sinh commune People’s Committee, said that, following the resolutions of the provincial Party Congress and the commune Party Congress, the commune began 2026 by focusing on seedling propagation while stepping up communication and encouraging residents to register to plant and develop macadamia and coffee. At the same time, the commune has launched practical and effective emulation campaigns to create momentum for achieving its agricultural restructuring targets in 2026 and the years ahead.

Alongside expanding cultivation areas, Chiềng Sinh is also reorganizing production and strengthening the role of local economic actors. The commune currently has six agricultural cooperatives, more than 200 business households and has supported the establishment of the first enterprise in the area. According to Sơn, these economic actors are important to gradually moving agricultural production beyond the scale of individual smallholder households and strengthening linkages among farmers, cooperatives and businesses.

For macadamia, Chiềng Sinh is currently working with businesses to develop a core production area, with a view to reaching more than 2,400ha in the coming years. The development of a large raw-material area is being linked to processing and marketing, giving farmers greater confidence to invest in and care for perennial crops. However, expanding the planted area is only the first step. With coffee and macadamia areas growing rapidly, Chiềng Sinh will need to ensure the quality of raw-material areas, control pests and diseases, improve the proportion of healthy, well-growing trees and gradually standardize production processes. For now, the commune is focusing on tending and gap-filling newly planted areas and controlling pests and diseases.

Nguyễn Văn Duy, Deputy Director of the Chiềng Sinh commune General Services Center, said that care during the first few years is particularly important. The center is working with villages to guide residents in cultivation, weeding, fertilization, pest and disease control, and replanting dead trees. The goal is to ensure that planted areas grow well and lay the groundwork for stable raw-material zones.

With a target of planting around 600ha of new coffee and 600ha of new macadamia in 2027, Chiềng Sinh is already preparing the necessary land, seedlings, labor and technical resources. The commune plans to develop growing areas in line with safe and organic production standards, establish growing-area codes and traceability systems, and gradually standardize its products. Cooperatives will continue to strengthen their management and financial capacity and improve their ability to form linkages with businesses. The commune aims for each village to have at least one effectively operating cooperative that can serve as a hub for supporting farmers in agricultural production and marketing.