The province is investing in expanding the area of medicinal plants associated with processing to increase value and serve export.

The central province of Quang Tri with many potentials and outstanding advantages aims to become a medicinal area. Medicinal herbs are identified by Quang Tri province as one of the key crops. In the period from 2022 to 2026, the province will invest more than 52 billion VND to implement the project to encourage development of medicinal herbs associated with the "One Commune One Product" Program (OCOP), thereby increasing the area of medicinal plants from about 1,500 hectares currently to 4,500 hectares by 2026.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri Province, medicinal plants are concentrated in the 5 districts of Huong Hoa, Dakrong, Cam Lo, Gio Linh, and Vinh Linh. As many as 40 species have been researched, applied, produced and exploited in the wild such as purple Morinda officinalis, cinnamon, Anoectochilus, Solanum procumbens, and helicteres hirsuta Lour...

Models of growing medicinal plants towards commodity production have been bringing high economic efficiency and stabilizing farmers' lives. Quang Tri has 32 large-scale essential oil and medicinal herb processing facilities, besides many household-scale seasonal production and processing facilities with a need for raw materials of about 6,000 tons/year.

However, the planting and expansion of medicinal plant growing models in Quang Tri province are still fragmented and in small scale; There is little concentration of commercial medicinal herbs production areas, lack of sustainable links in production, processing, and consumption markets.

On the basis of analyzing the potential, advantages, natural conditions, and climate of each region, Quang Tri has formed areas focusing on medicinal herbs based on ecological sub-regions such as: sandy areas focusing on developing medicinal herbs for essential oil (melaleuca tree); The midland hills and mountains (Cam Lo, Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Hai Lang, Trieu Phong...) focus on growing lemongrass, turmeric, Jasminum Subtriplinerve, Solanum procumbens, Gymnema sylvestre, cinnamon, and helicteres hirsuta Lour; in high mountains, under the canopy of natural forests, priority is given to Curculigo orchioides Gaertn, Codonopsis pilosula, and Folium Ardisiae...

The province has identified 14 species of medicinal plants with potential for development, including: Melaleuca of all kinds, turmeric, Jasminum Subtriplinerve, helicteres hirsuta Lour, Paris Polyphylla Smith, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Curculigo orchioides Gaertn, lemongrass, Gymnema sylvestre, Hibiscus sagittifolius Kurz, Solanum procumbens, Ardisia silvestris Pit, Codonopsis pilosula, and cinnamon.

To increase the value of medicinal plants, Quang Tri province has invested in research and closely linked with the OCOP program. Of over 110 OCOP products of Quang Tri in the period from 2019 to 2022, nearly half are from medicinal plants or are derived from raw materials from medicinal plants, for example products from Solanum procumbens, Jasminum Subtriplinerve, and helicteres hirsuta Lour.

The Quang Tri Department of Science and Technology has successfully extracted active ingredients and commercially produced many types of products from medicinal plants such as: "Tralavang" instant Solanum procumbens tea, Cagali instant Solanum procumbens- Ganoderma lucidum tea, and Sa Mu Cordyceps.

Determining that OCOP products and products processed from medicinal plants in Quang Tri can be sold both at home and abroad, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province is developing a project to encourage the development of medicinal herbs associated with the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program for the period 2022-2026, with an orientation to 2030.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Tri province Nguyen Hong Phuong, the unit is currently consulting on the master plan for developing medicinal herbs in the next 10 years and organizing investment promotion in the field of production and processing medicine.

In addition, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development continues to propose to the Provincial People's Committee to conduct investigation, assessment, and planning of a number of natural production and protection forest areas capable of growing additional medicinal herbs for pilot implementation of the project on renting forest to grow medicinal herbs aims to increase income for people living near the forest.

On the other hand, incentives are proposed for investors and enterprises processing medicinal herbs meeting standards for export.