Right from the first year of implementation, localities have proactively shifted their crop structures and developed high-value plants such as coffee and macadamia. Notably, Điện Biên has been selected to pilot a controlled testing scheme, or “sandbox”, for low-altitude economic development. This initiative, which applies unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in production, is opening a new approach and creating a vital boost for the province’s agriculture to break through toward modernity and sustainability.

During the 2021-2025 period, numerous concentrated production areas were established as the macadamia area increased 46-fold, growing from 265 hectares to 12,360 hectares, while the coffee area grew 2.5 times from 3,220 hectares to 8,140 hectares. Many of these areas have already begun harvesting, yielding superior economic efficiency and providing a stable income for residents, which has significantly contributed to sustainable poverty reduction in the region.

Building on these results, Điện Biên aims to strongly develop its key crops for the 2026-2030 phase, striving to reach approximately 40,000 hectares of macadamia and 20,000 hectares of coffee by 2030. This expansion is intended to affirm its position as a major production hub for macadamia and Arabica coffee in the country. For the current year of 2026, the province expects to plant 12,000 new hectares with the participation of about 6,000 households. Since the start of the year, the entire political system has engaged with high determination, with current registrations reaching 12,935.8 hectares for coffee and 5,705 hectares for macadamia.

Lê Xuân Cảnh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, noted that developing coffee and macadamia aims to expand production scale toward forming concentrated raw material areas closely linked with processing, consumption, and branding. To complete the set goals, the sector will accompany localities in technical transfer, seed quality control, and organizing production according to value chains while promoting the application of science and technology.

Currently, Mường Ảng commune has over 1,800 hectares of coffee, with more than 1,600 hectares entering the business phase; its 2025 parchment coffee output reached over 3,800 tons, bringing in revenue of more than VND 400 billion. The commune is also guiding the development of macadamia through intercropping within coffee areas to provide shade, increase value per unit of land, and diversify products. By 2030, Mường Ảng strives to have over 2,300 hectares of coffee and more than 1,000 hectares of macadamia.

Tô Trọng Thiện, Secretary of the Mường Ảng commune Party Committee, affirmed that coffee and macadamia are the core long-term directions, and the commune will focus on supporting residents with technology, seeds, and consumption links. In 2026, a resident named Hờ Trá Tổng from Pá Liếng village registered to convert 3 hectares of degraded upland soil to coffee, receiving technical support and assistance from soldiers to dig planting holes.

Alongside expanding cultivation areas, Điện Biên is boldly approaching a new path through controlled testing of low-altitude economic development, using UAVs in agricultural production to optimize management, reduce labor costs, and improve efficiency. Recently, a task force from the Ministry of Science and Technology surveyed several localities regarding the conditions to pilot a “sandbox” mechanism for technology-applied agricultural models. During the survey, the team demonstrated UAV applications in caring for tea plants in Sính Phình commune. Nguyễn Mỹ Linh, Director of Hương Linh Co., Ltd., observed that using UAVs can help improve crop care efficiency and increase accuracy in pesticide spraying or fertilization, particularly in mountainous areas with complex terrain where drones can overcome transport and accessibility limitations.

Following the survey, the Ministry of Science and Technology selected Điện Biên to implement the pilot scheme. Ministry leaders emphasized that the focus is not merely on testing UAV technology itself, but on testing practical application models where UAVs are integrated with road transport to form cross-route logistics for the rapid delivery of time-sensitive goods. This will also support agriculture by reducing post-harvest losses for coffee, macadamia, and Shan Tuyết tea, thereby enhancing the value of the supply chain. The project aims to build and verify a modern logistics model with stabilized data and multi-sectoral coordination processes to reduce costs and increase commodity value. On April 3, Mường Ảng commune launched its 2026 planting campaign and demonstrated UAVs for foliar fertilization. Hà Thị Thanh Tâm, the Chairwoman of the Mường Ảng Commune People’s Committee, expressed high expectations that this model would open a modern and more sustainable development direction for local agricultural production.