The sweetness of An Khe sugar granules

The An Khe area (formerly Binh Dinh province), now part of Gia Lai province, was 250 years ago, the Tay Son Upper Route base of the three Tay Son brothers, Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Lu and Nguyen Hue, during their early recruitment and uprising in the 18^th century. However, many researchers believe that the crucial factor determining the success of the uprising was the support of the people, especially the Bana and Gia-rai people living in this land. In order to strengthen the Kinh - Thuong solidarity, Nguyen Nhac also married Ya Do (also known as Co Hau) - the daughter of a Bana clan chief. Thanks to Ya Do’s help, the Tay Son brothers wherever they went were accepted by the people of the Thuong Dao area and joined the insurgent force.

Ya Do and the villagers searched for land to clear and cultivate, creating a vast field for growing rice, other food crops and fruit trees. That production place still has traces to this day, with the Jackfruit Garden relic and Co Hau field belonging to the Tay Son Thuong Dao relic complex that was recognized by the Prime Minister as a special national monument in January 2022. According to researchers, clarifying the values ​​of this special relic also provides scientific evidence about the migration and settlement processes, the history of land reclamation, trade and village establishment of the Kinh and ethnic minority people, as well as the religious beliefs associated with the rich system of communal houses and temples in the highland region.

Furthermore, due to their faith in Bok Nhac, the local people provided many elephants and mahouts for the Tay Son elephant corps. Therefore, in addition to producing food to feed the troops, the villagers also grew a lot of sugarcane to feed the elephants and this elephant cavalry played a crucial role in defeating the Qing army in 1789.

Recognizing the potential for food production, especially sugarcane, in this area for hundreds of years, more than 20 years ago, Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company built the An Khe Sugar Factory here. The factory encouraged the people of Tay Son Thuong Dao to consolidate their land plots and exchange them for sugarcane production according to the large-scale field model. Since its inception, the factory has expanded its sugarcane growing area to nearly 32,000 hectares and this crop is becoming a sustainable livelihood for tens of thousands of households. In the 2024-2025 crop year, the total sugarcane area in the entire Eastern Gia Lai region reached over 31,500 hectares, with an estimated production of up to 2.4 million tons of sugarcane, becoming the largest sugarcane raw material area in the country. This will enable the factory to produce approximately 15% of the country's sugar output, making it the largest sugar factory in Vietnam.

The An Khe Sugar Factory’s operations have contributed to providing direct and indirect employment for hundreds of local workers and thousands of sugarcane-growing households throughout the region, the majority of whom are ethnic minorities. According to Mr. Dinh Hyon from Bo village, To Tung commune, his family cultivates about 3 hectares of sugarcane, yielding an average of over 200 tons of raw sugarcane per harvest. After deducting expenses, they earn a profit of approximately 100 million VND. Each year, depending on production needs, the factory also hires hundreds of seasonal contract workers, who work for 5 to 6 months. From the 2024-2025 crop season to the 2026-2027 crop season, An Khe Sugar Factory will implement a policy to support local people in converting land from other crops to sugarcane cultivation, hoping to expand the factory’s sugarcane raw material area to 33,000 hectares in the coming years.

The closed-loop production process, from the abundant sugarcane growing region of the Central Highlands to the sweet bag of sugar, has created the high-quality An Khe sugar brand. Importantly, along with the expansion of the cultivated area, the lives of the people in the raw material region, including the ethnic minority communities here are developing more and more.

The Tay Son Thuong Dao historical site complex, in the late 18^th century under the leadership of the Tay Son brothers, wrote a glorious chapter in the tradition of fighting against foreign invaders, ending nearly 200 years of national division during the Trinh - Nguyen conflict. Today, that region is undergoing a strong transformation in its crop structure, creating momentum for socio-economic development and contributing to a prosperous life for the ethnic communities. Tay Son Thuong Dao is gradually becoming a popular destination for domestic and international tourists who come to offer flowers and incense to express their reverence for the national heroes, learning about the proud history and witness the changes in the land and people of this region in the new rhythm of life every time Tet and Spring arrive./.