The second Yen Chau mango festival 2018 officially opened in Yen Chau district, Son La province on June 10^th, attracting a large number of visitors and local people.

Yen Chau mango festival kicks off. (Source: NDO)

The two-day festival aims to introduce and promote the brand name of Yen Chau mango; honour mango growers; create opportunities for mango growers to exchange and improve their knowledge, experience planting, and create valuable products from the mango.

Meanwhile, the festival is considered as an occasion to attract investors, and create opportunities for cooperation between mango growers and businesses in the province and other provinces.

The festival includes a series of activities, such as organising 30 booths to display mangoes, longans, and plums, agricultural products, handicrafts of the district; a mango picking contest; a fishing contest at Suoi Vat; folk games such as walking on stilts to pick mangoes or tugging.

Furthermore, the organising board has organised a number of tours to visit the mango gardan at Vung Lung village, Chieng Hac commune, and the famous cave in Yen Chau district.

On the occasion, Yen Chau disitrict also honoured ten outstanding fruit tree production households in the district.

Booths to display mangoes and agricultural products. (Photo: VOV)

DEVELOP YEN CHAU MANGO BRAND

Several years ago, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam has issued a certificate of geographic origin for Yen Chau mangoes in the three communes of Chieng Pan, Vieng Lan, and Sap Vat in Son La Province. This is the second type of mango in Vietnam to be licensed with a certificate of geographic origin. This news has reassured Son La farmers as they grow mango trees, increase their incomes, and build a new-style rural area.

Yen Chau mangoes are smaller than the mangoes from other regions of Vietnam but its seed is small and has a distinctive fragrance and taste. Since the announcement of geographical indication for Yen Chau mango, the value of the product has increased. However, developing the value of the brand and finding a stable output for this product are extremely difficult. This is due to the lack of investment in the application of scientific and technological advances in the conservation of traditional mango. Recently, some households have cut mango trees or transplanted other types of mango, leading to the risk of devaluing the geographical indication.

Pham Quang An, director of the Son La Department of Science and Technology, said branding needs to be conducted step by step. To enhance the value of agricultural products, it is necessary to see the participation of big businesses, which have strong financial, scientific and technical capabilities, to link production and consumption.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has put Yen Chau mangoes on its list of rare genetic plant resources that need to be preserved and developed. This species is the only type native to northern Vietnam listed by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as in need of preservation and development.

The National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam has granted a certificate of geographical origin to Yen Chau mangoes together with Hoa Loc mangoes in the Mekong Delta Province of Tien Giang./.

VNF