Son La farmers rushed off their feet harvesting ‘son tra’

Farmers in the northern mountainous province of Son La are rushed off their feet these days as they work to harvest docynia indica, a fruit known in Vietnamese as ‘son tra’ or ‘tao meo’. Originally a wild plant, son tra has become one of the main crops contributing to poverty reduction for people in Son La province. Son tra tastes both sweet and sour, and is a valuable component of many medicines. Son tra can also be used to make juice, wine, or jam. Bac Yen district is now home to 2,600 hectares of “son tra”, which yield some 1,900 tonnes per year. In recent years, Bac Yen district has carried out a wide range of measures to develop “son tra” areas. It has also worked with relevant authorities to improve the quality of “son tra” through crossbreeding, while zoning off land for the tree. VNA Photo: Quang Quyet