The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong will invest more than1.13 trillion VND (52.7 million USD) in an ambitious plan to plantmacadamia trees across more than 12,000 hectares in five communes ofborder district Tuy Duc by 2020.

Around 85billion VND will be sourced from the State budget and the remaining bulkis to come from loans and businesses’ investment.

The locality will devise incentives encouraging the participation ofenterprises and communities in the project including interest subsidyfor loans taken for the purpose. In addition, each ha of newly-plantedmacadamia will receive a grant of 15 million VND in line with theGovernment support policy.

The provincialadministration will invest in two nurseries to produce high-qualitymacadamia seedlings that meet international standards and a processingplant with a design annual capacity of nearly 20,000 tonnes of macadamiaproducts.

Tuy Duc district, one of fourborder districts in Dak Nong, has ideal conditions for the growth of thetree, revenue from which will contribute to poverty reduction andraising the local living condition while protecting forestry andensuring social and political order and security.

The macadamia nut is dubbed “the Queen of Nuts” for its extraordinary nutritional value.

Experts said compared to other common edible seeds, such as almondsand cashews, macadamias are low in protein and have the highestmono-unsaturated fat content.

The plant, indigenous to Australia , was introduced to Vietnam in2002 after local scientists took soil samples and discovered that thenorthwest and Central Highland regions had ideal growing conditionsfor the plant.

Notably, Vietnam’s macadamia trees have since produced equivalent orhigher yields than Australian trees, the world’s number one macadamiacultivator.-VNA