Developing the chain of linkages in the pharmaceutical industry: Strategic direction

The formation of a chain linking farmers, businesses, research institutes and markets helps clarify the origin, control product quality, open up opportunities to conquer the market and increase the economic value of medicinal herbs.

Medicinal herbs from land to sea

The western part of the province has the advantage of land and climate suitable for growing many precious medicinal herbs. Meanwhile, the coastal and island areas in the east possess a rich marine ecosystem, with great potential for research and exploitation of medicinal herbs from seaweed, algae, soft corals, mollusks, etc. for medicine, cosmetics, functional foods and pharmaceuticals.

Each ecosystem has its own advantages. If exploited sustainably, the economic value it brings is huge.

Minh Khanh Gia Lai Company Limited grows lingzhi mushrooms under the forest canopy in Ia Phi commune. Photo: Nguyen Diep

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, from 2019 to present, Gia Lai province has deployed 9 science and technology tasks (3 national-level tasks, 6 provincial-level tasks), along with 3 grassroots-level tasks related to the development of medicinal plants.

In particular, the province coordinated with the Ho Chi Minh City Drug Testing Institute to pilot plant 250 Ngoc Linh ginseng plants and 50 seven-leaf one-flower plants at Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve (Son Lang commune).

In addition, the province also carries out research tasks on the application of medicinal herbs in animal husbandry to create clean, antibiotic-free products to meet domestic and foreign demand.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Van Hoan said: The scientific tasks on developing medicinal plants that have been implemented have contributed to enriching the crop structure, gradually replacing crops with low economic efficiency, and at the same time creating a foundation for the medicinal plant industry to develop in a sustainable direction, in line with the province's high-tech agricultural orientation.

As of the end of July 2025, Gia Lai has more than 1,008 hectares of medicinal herbs, of which nearly 845 hectares are on agricultural land (polyscias fruticosa, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, Solanum procumbens, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Morinda officinalis, Gac fruit, Polygonum multiflorum...) and more than 164 hectares are zoned for cultivation, conservation and development of medicinal herbs under the forest canopy (turmeric, ginger, cardamom...).

Recently, many enterprises have applied scientific and technological advances to production and consumption linkage, deep processing of medicinal herbs, meeting Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards such as: Truong Sinh International Science Development Company Limited, Gia Lai Medicinal Herbs Development Joint Stock Company, Dong Nam Duoc Gia Lai Joint Stock Company, Medicinal Herbs Factory at the Industrial - Handicraft Cluster of Chu Pah Commune...

Truong Sinh International Science Development Company Limited processes a variety of products from medicinal herbs. Photo: VT

Adding value through chain linkage and deep processing

Mr. Dinh Van Cung - Chairman of An Vinh Commune People's Committee - said: In October 2023, the community spoon tree planting project was implemented in village 2 (old An Dung commune).

This is the first medicinal plant growing model in the commune, with a scale of 3 hectares, chaired by An Dung General Agricultural and Forestry Service Cooperative, in association with Bidiphar Organic Medicinal Materials One Member Co., Ltd. After more than 1 year of implementation, the spoon plant has been harvested.

"The commune will expand this model to another 10 hectares of ineffective rice fields from 2026 to increase people's income," said Mr. Cung.

Bidiphar Organic Medicinal Herbs One Member Co., Ltd. has also developed 8 hectares of medicinal herbs in An Toan commune, with medicinal herbs such as: tea vine, purple Morinda officinalis, red Polygonum multiflorum, dandelion, black xạ... and preserved rare medicinal herbs such as Thổ phục linh and lan kim tuyen.

The company has invested more than 23.5 billion VND in raw material areas and closed processing systems, from freeze dryers to modern extraction and packaging lines, aiming to standardize products for export, with an output of 250 tons of medicinal herbs/year.

Bidiphar Organic Pharmaceutical One Member Co., Ltd. develops medicinal herbs in An Toan commune. Photo: DVCC

Every year, Truong Sinh International Science Development Company Limited (Tra Da Industrial Park, Pleiku Ward) uses about 15,000 tons of medicinal herbs to produce more than 200 diverse products. This is also one of the pioneering enterprises in the Central - Central Highlands region to meet GMP-WHO standards in the production of oriental medicine, health protection foods, and at the same time expand into clean agriculture and aquaculture using herbs.

“This is a sustainable direction to help increase the value of medicinal products. We wish to cooperate with businesses that share the same ecosystem to maximize the advantages of raw material areas, produce and develop clean, sustainable products, bringing value to the community” - Deputy General Director Vo Thi Tuyet Ha shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoan said that in order to develop medicinal plants sustainably, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is investigating, evaluating, and conserving precious and indigenous medicinal plant genetic resources, especially species at risk of decline or disappearance due to overexploitation; conserving genetic resources and developing medicinal plants under sustainable forest canopy.

In addition, the Department supports localities with potential for developing medicinal plants (Kbang, Mang Yang, Dak Doa, An Lao, Vinh Thanh, Hoai An...) to access new technologies in the production, preliminary processing and refining of medicinal plants; creating conditions for the development of appropriate, highly applicable and feasible S&T tasks. Planning and developing concentrated medicinal plant growing areas according to sustainable value chains, associated with the "4-house" linkage model: State - scientists - enterprises - farmers.

Along with that, applying tissue culture technology to propagate rare medicinal herbs such as Ngoc Linh ginseng, Panax notoginseng, Morinda officinalis, Cordyceps, Golden orchid, Seven-leafed flower... Strengthening research, exploitation and development of marine medicinal herbs in coastal and island communes and wards, focusing on investigating and evaluating the potential of medicinal herbs from marine organisms (seaweed, algae, soft corals, mollusks...) that can be used in medicine, cosmetics, functional foods and pharmaceuticals.

At the same time, the province will orient research, application, transfer of scientific and technical advances and standardize production, harvesting, processing and preservation processes according to international standards (GACP-WHO, ISO, HACCP...).

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/phat-trien-chuoi-lien-ket-trong-nganh-duoc-lieu-huong-di-chien-luoc-post566153.html