On nearly one hectare of paddy field and riverside alluvial land, Lò Thị Niên, a resident of Nà Sự village, Mường Chà commune, previously grew mostly corn and sweet potatoes. A small portion of her land was dedicated to red peanuts for family meals.

In the past three years, as more people discovered and sought out this peanut variety, Niên gradually expanded her cultivation area.

With skilled hands harvesting clusters of plump peanuts, Niên shared enthusiastically: “In the last crop, my family switched nearly all of our one-hectare plot to red peanuts and harvested over one ton of fresh peanuts. Most were sold to local small traders. Everything we harvested sold out quickly. I only kept enough for our family’s use and seeds for the next crop.”

As a traditional crop intercropped with rice or other seasonal plants, red peanuts have long been cultivated in Mường Chà, especially in the former communes of Chà Nưa and Chà Cang. These peanuts are distinct for their deep red color, firm shells, and thin husks. When roasted, they emit a rich, nutty aroma and creamy taste. However, due to small-scale, scattered cultivation for self-sufficiency, the product remained relatively unknown.

It wasn’t until 2019, thanks to promotional and product marketing efforts from the Women’s Union at various levels, that red peanuts from Mường Chà gained wider recognition. Their special flavor, natural origin, and traditional cultivation methods received positive feedback from consumers, leading to increased demand.

Encouraged by this positive market response, over the past five years, several local pioneers have urged villagers to expand red peanut cultivation and offered support in purchasing the produce.

With deep commitment to local agricultural products, Lò Thị Nhung, also from Nà Sự Village, has spent recent years building the brand “Lạc đỏ Chà Nưa” (Chà Nưa Red Peanuts). The brand primarily offers two products: dried peanuts in shells and hand-shelled peanut kernels, packaged in 500g or 1kg vacuum-sealed bags. The hand-shelled kernels are especially popular.

Nhung explained that many commercial peanuts are shelled using machines, often damaging the kernels and reducing quality. Her hand-shelled method, though time-consuming and lower in productivity, preserves the peanuts’ integrity and flavor, enhancing the product’s value and brand identity.

Her efforts paid off. In late 2024, “Lạc đỏ Chà Nưa” was officially recognized as a 3-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) item. This recognition has further elevated the value of Mường Chà’s red peanuts. While in 2019 the price of unshelled peanuts was around VND 30,000/kg, it has now risen to VND 60,000/kg. Hand-shelled kernels are sold at VND 80,000/kg, a 1.5-fold increase.

Today, Mường Chà has around 60 hectares of red peanut fields. In specialized areas, typically riverside alluvial lands, farmers can grow up to three crops per year. In intercropped zones, like single-crop rice fields, farmers can grow one to two crops annually. The main crop is planted in March and harvested in July, yielding around 1.2 tons of fresh peanuts per hectare. From fragmented, small-scale production, red peanut cultivation in Mường Chà is now evolving into a more organized and concentrated system.

In Cấu village, around 40 women from the local Women’s Union recently leased over 8,000 square meters of land to grow taro and red peanuts. On the 3,000 square meters dedicated to red peanuts, each woman contributed 1kg of seeds and shared labor for land preparation, planting, and care.

Lù Thị Út, Head of the Women’s Union in Cấu village, noted: “From the first crop, we earned a profit of more than VND 26 million. Although productivity and selling prices were good, the small planting area meant each member only received a modest share. Therefore, we’ve agreed to expand our red peanut plots in the next season to increase income.”

Now, as the red peanut season in Mường Chà comes to an end, some households are hastily harvesting their final rows, while others have already finished and are preparing land for the next crop. Amid the bustling harvest atmosphere, red peanut farmers in Mường Chà hope for supportive policies that will allow for expanded cultivation and product diversification. These efforts could open new opportunities for sustainable economic development in the region.