The Central Highlands has now entered the rainy season—prime time for farmers in provinces like Đắk Lắk and Đắk Nông to plant forests, long-term industrial crops, and fruit trees.
This is also when countless seedling suppliers spring up. Almost all of them advertise the prestigious “Ea Kmat” brand, but their seedlings range from high quality to very poor. Farmers who lack technical knowledge can easily be deceived into buying inferior seedlings that carry a fake label.
Ea Kmat – Key Seed Supplier for the Highlands
In Đắk Lắk Province, the Ea Kmat Agricultural and Forestry Investment & Development Consulting Co., Ltd. (belonging to the Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute—WASI) has long been regarded as the most reputable source for high-quality seedlings of long-term industrial crops.
Currently, this company supplies nearly 50 % of the coffee seedlings needed across the Central Highlands.
According to MSc. Trần Vinh (Deputy Director of WASI) and engineer Đỗ Trọng Vinh (Director of Ea Kmat Company), coffee seedlings remain their core product. In recent years, to meet market demand, the company has also expanded into cocoa, macadamia, pepper, and fruit trees.
In 2011 alone, the company propagated 2 tons of coffee seed—enough to replant about 2,000 ha—and by early July had sold more than 100 thousand grafted coffee plants, 100 thousand seed-grown coffee plants, 30 thousand cocoa plants, over 30 thousand pepper vines, and thousands of fruit trees. Ea Kmat operates a 1.5 ha coffee nursery, 3 ha of coffee budwood gardens, and 2 ha of cocoa budwood gardens, employing over 100 workers.
Because large areas of aging coffee in the Central Highlands now need replanting and because of forest clearing for coffee expansion, the demand for quality coffee seedlings has recently surged. Every batch of Ea Kmat seedlings sells out as soon as it is ready.
A Brand Under Attack
Yet, in recent years an alarming problem has emerged right under the nose of local authorities: chasing high profits, many private households and small operators in Hòa Thắng commune, Buôn Ma Thuột City—where WASI and the Ea Kmat Company are based—have set up more than 100 unauthorized nurseries falsely using the “Ea Kmat” name.
Many farmers mistakenly believe these seedlings come from the official company. These illegal sellers provide no invoices or certificates; if the plants turn out poor-quality, farmers have little chance of seeking compensation.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development does conduct periodic inspections of licensed businesses like Ea Kmat. But unlicensed nurseries often remove signs and shut their doors when inspectors arrive, making enforcement nearly impossible.
Heavy Losses for Farmers
Planting and tending one hectare of coffee until first harvest costs over 100 million VND (about USD 4,000+). If farmers unknowingly plant inferior seedlings, the financial loss is enormous.
WASI has repeatedly warned Central Highlands farmers to buy only from nurseries with official certification—those with approved mother-plant gardens, recognized seed sources, and trained technical staff.
It is time, experts urge, for Đắk Lắk authorities to carry out unannounced inspections and strictly punish illegal nurseries that exploit the “Ea Kmat” name to sell poor-quality seedlings and cause serious damage to farmers.