Helping erase poverty

Coffee first appeared in Mường Ảng in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the period of 1995 - 1996 that this industrial crop was truly invested in as a commodity crop. Since then, coffee has gradually become a staple crop, contributing to changing the rural landscape and improving the lives of the local people.

A typical example is the family of Mr. Lường Văn Thoan from Na Luông village. With over 2 hectares of land, his family previously grew short-term food crops with unstable income, and they often struggled to make ends meet. After learning from other households in the village, Mr. Thoan converted all of his land to coffee farming. As a result, his family’s life has significantly improved, earning hundreds of millions of VND annually from selling coffee beans.

Mr. Thoan shared enthusiastically, “Since growing coffee, the life of local people has changed significantly. My family’s situation is no longer as difficult as before. We now have a stable income.”

After years of establishing roots, Arabica coffee has affirmed its position as the key crop in Mường Ảng, providing high economic value, becoming a stable livelihood, and making a significant contribution to the poverty reduction efforts for thousands of local farmers. The entire commune now has 1,662 hectares of coffee, with an increasing output and value, bringing in over VND 260 billion annually.

Mr. Hà Văn Hoan, President of the Mường Ảng Coffee Association, stated: “Thanks to coffee, the lives of local people have gradually improved, with many households escaping poverty and rising to earn a legitimate living. Additionally, coffee also creates stable jobs for thousands of local workers during the harvest and processing seasons.”

From a scattered and fragmented production, the coffee farmers in Mường Ảng have gradually changed their mindset, moving towards collective production through cooperatives and farmer groups. Many households no longer farm individually but collaborate in planting, caring for, harvesting, processing, and consuming products according to a value chain. This transformation not only helps increase economic efficiency but also contributes to building a sustainable, specialized agricultural production system.

Mr. Trần Minh Giáp, Vice Chairman of the Mường Ảng commune People’s Committee, stated: “For many years, coffee has truly brought prosperity and stability to local people of Mường Ảng. Up to now, it remains the leading crop and plays a significant role in promoting agricultural economic development in the area. The commune is now focusing on further shifting the agricultural economy’s structure, encouraging people to engage in concentrated production and connect through value chains to sustainably improve income and living standards.”

Raising product value

While coffee has been identified as a key crop, in recent years, it has only truly delivered high economic value and quality, becoming widely known for products that have been certified OCOP. There are many reasons for this, but primarily it is due to limited promotion efforts, unattractive packaging, and the limited variety of products made from coffee. Additionally, farmers themselves have been less enthusiastic due to the unstable prices at times. In fact, many households have even cut part of their land to switch to planting other high-value fruit crops.

Facing the risk of their traditional crop being affected, the local authorities and government of Mường Ảng have introduced many plans to maintain the current acreage and strive to raise the value of this crop. On the spirit of listening to experts’ opinions and the determination of the entire political system, communication work has been carried out frequently and flexibly to explain the commune’s policies to local people.

On the other hand, the authorities are actively seeking opportunities to promote and market coffee products. From 2021 - 2025, the commune has organized and participated in several events to introduce Mường Ảng coffee. For example, the workshop on developing high-quality Vietnamese coffee; the 2023 coffee industry exhibition in Buôn Ma Thuột; the mid-2023 session of the 15th National Assembly; the tourism promotion conference in Mường Lay; the Northwest region trade fair in Điện Biên in 2024. Recently, at the International Coffee Industry Fair in Kunshan, China, Mường Ảng coffee won the “Specialty Coffee” award.

Mr. Trần Minh Giáp further shared: “To increase yield and quality and gradually establish coffee as a leading product, the commune has focused on building large-scale raw material regions and engaging in deep processing to add value. Alongside this, the commune is actively working to build a geographical indication for Mường Ảng coffee, investing in tools and methods to manage, use, and sustainably develop this indication. To date, the Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the registration of the geographical indication protection and development for the product. This is an important step, contributing to raising the agricultural product’s value and protecting the legitimate rights of producers and consumers.”

With the right direction and coordinated efforts from local people and government, Mường Ảng commune aims to maintain, care for, and effectively exploit 1,662 hectares of coffee, planting an additional 638 hectares, raising the total area to 2,300 hectares by 2025 - 2030. Additionally, 300 hectares of old, inefficient coffee will undergo replanting. This will continue to solidify Mường Ảng’s position as a prominent name in the Vietnamese agricultural landscape.