Born and raised in a poor region, Do Trong Hoc, 40, from Cat Van commune, Nhu Xuan district in Thanh Hoa, once dreamed of having higher education to escape hardship. He worked hard and gained admission to the University of Physical Education and Sports in Bac Ninh province.

Over a decade ago, with a bachelor’s degree in hand, Hoc looked for a job everywhere, but all his attempts failed. Disheartened, he returned home and took a part-time job handling culture and sports affairs for the commune.

During his time there, Hoc always thought about how to change his life. One day, reading an article about the lucrative macadamia farming in a newspaper, he began considering planting it.

“After studying the climate and soil, I saw this area suited to macadamia. In 2013, I decided to experiment. Back then, our land mostly grew sugarcane and acacia, so my family opposed it, fearing this unfamiliar crop would flop,” Hoc recalled.

He started with 1.5 hectares on the family’s sugarcane hill. After three years, seeing the trees thrive, he expanded to 5 hectares. However, the trees bore sparse fruit, falling short of expectations.

“To figure out why, I joined macadamia grower groups and learned to graft branches from high-yield trees onto low-yield ones. That boosted output significantly. By 2017, I had my first successful harvest,” Hoc said.

He noted that macadamias aren’t hard to grow, but in Thanh Hoa, where the market is small, locals could not see their economic potential.

However, Hoc understood the value of macadamia. Called the ‘queen of nuts’, macadamia nuts are high in nutritients. The queen of nuts sometimes sell at VND2.5 million per kilogram and a macadamia garden can bring revenue of billions of dong.

Now, in addition to his 5 hectares, Hoc partners with farmers in the districts of Thach Thanh, Ngoc Lac, Thuong Xuan, and Lang Chanh, and grows 75 hectares of macadamia. Each year, he harvests, processes and markets over 15 tons of macadamia nuts.

He has begun processing macadamia nuts to increase its added value instead of selling raw macadamia. Linking production with online sales channels helps him reach customers fast, ensuring sustainable growth and high profits.

Harvested nuts are dried, boxed, and sold at VND140,000 per box. After costs, he nets about VND500 million yearly.

Le Quang Diep, Chair of Cat Van commune’s Farmers’ Association, said Hoc pioneered macadamias locally. Thanks to this farming model, his family’s finances have stabilized for years. He also founded a macadamia cooperative, boosting income for locals.

“Macadamias are now the highest-value crop here,” Diep said.

Tam An