The conference was attended by Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment; Nguyen Thanh Cong, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee; leaders of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and the National Agricultural Extension Centre; experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) - coordinator of the project on strengthening the value chain of safe crops in northern Vietnam in Son La province; leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Son La and Dien Bien provinces; and 100 delegates representing typical farmers and cooperatives in the province.

In his opening remarks, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Cong emphasised that during the 2020-2025 period, Son La has basically achieved its socio-economic goals, especially in agriculture. With the policy of converting crops on sloping land, the province has become the “fruit capital of the North,” in which longan is a key crop with over 19,800 hectares and an annual output of more than 180,000 tonnes.

For sustainable development, Son La hopes to receive support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and other ministries and sectors to expand effective longan cultivation models, particularly the Anh Vang 205 variety; invest in cold storage, preservation, and deep-processing technologies; as well as promote regional linkages to establish large specialised farming areas and inter-regional value chains, thereby bringing agricultural products, especially longan, to the global market.

The Anh Vang 205 longan variety is the product of the NN08-III Project, selected by the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute from imported genetic resources.

After an adaptation trial process in Son La starting in 2018, it was approved for circulation in 2021 and officially granted a Plant Variety Protection certificate in 2023. This variety stands out with many superior traits such as vigorous growth, uniformly large fruits, thick and crispy sweet flesh, low water content, easy seed separation, and an average yield of 19.2-22.4 tonnes per hectares.

During 2023-2025, the National Agricultural Extension Centre has been implementing the project to establish and develop the Anh Vang 205 Longan Model under VietGAP Standards in Son La.

In 2023 and 2024, the project planted 35 hectares of new trees and rehabilitated 10 hectares in Mai Son, Song Ma, and the former Son La city area. It is now expanding with an additional 10-15 hectares of rehabilitation in 2025. At the same time, a 1-hectare mother orchard of Anh Vang 205 longan is being established in the province.

In his remarks, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment highly valued the Anh Vang 205 longan as a new variety and a typical model for agricultural development in the northern mountainous region.

He also urged localities to soon incorporate it into crop structures and expand cultivation areas; strengthen technology transfer, apply high-tech solutions, and ensure safe, high-quality production to meet both domestic and export demand.

Furthermore, he emphasised maintaining production–sale linkages and promoting semi-processing and deep processing to establish the Anh Vang longan value chain in northern mountainous provinces.