Pham Xuan Toan, proprietor of the Toan Thang Agarwood Facility in Long Khanh ward, is a pioneering young farmer who has successfully grafted and improved wild-grown Aquilaria crassna trees. His work has resulted in a new cultivar named Ky Hai Nam, which features a shorter harvest cycle while producing agarwood of significantly higher quality and market value compared to native Aquilaria crassna varieties.
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At the 2025 Dong Nai Agricultural Achievements Exhibition, the Toan Thang Agarwood Facility attracts significant attention. Photo: B.Nguyen The young farmer has also launched a workshop that produces high-value, handcrafted products made from agarwood. Notably, three of its products, agarwood prayer beads, agarwood incense sticks with a bamboo core, and agarwood buds, have been certified under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program.
Grafting and improving Aquilaria crassna "My family is originally from the old Phu Yen province, now Dak Lak, which has a long tradition of harvesting Vietnamese agarwood. I grew up with the scent of it all around me," Toan recalled. "When we moved to Long Khanh, we bought 1.2 hectares to grow fruit. But the land was poor, rocky and barren. It just wasn't working. So, in 2008, we decided to switch entirely to planting Aquilaria crassna." It took his family nearly a decade, Toan explained, to perfect their method of cultivating Aquilaria crassna and stimulating the trees to produce agarwood. "The true value is in the resin-suffused heartwood, the agarwood itself," he shared. "That's why our approach has to be natural. We avoid chemical fertilizers and pesticides to preserve the purity of the fragrance. His agarwood plantation is designed around a circular economy model. He implements preventative measures, which allow the forest to thrive naturally. Within each grove, he maintains reservoirs for fish farming, feeding the fish primarily with weeds cleared from the plantation. The water from these ponds, rich in fish waste and beneficial microbes, is then used to irrigate the trees, creating a sustainable loop that promotes vigorous growth and maintains a lush canopy.
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When an Aquilaria crassna tree reaches five years of age, growers must intervene to induce agarwood formation. The cost of chemical inducers is exponential, and the process itself carries a risk of failure. Throughout their cultivation journey, Toan's family dedicated themselves to research. Eventually, they developed a method using biological agents to stimulate resin production at a lower cost and with a significantly higher success rate.
While most growers must replant trees after harvesting agarwood, Pham Xuan Toan pursued a different strategy: preserving the valuable stump and rejuvenating the plantation through grafting. A breakthrough came in 2018 when he obtained a specimen of Hainan Island (China) Aquilaria and began grafting it onto the rootstock of local, wild Aquilaria crassna trees. The resulting hybrid, which he named 'Ky Hai Nam,' proved revolutionary. The prominent feature of this new cultivar is that it begins forming agarwood just three years after grafting, with a full harvest possible in six to seven years, which is dramatically shorter than the traditional timeline. More importantly, the 'Ky Hai Nam' responds well to physical stress techniques that closely replicate natural infection processes, producing high-quality resin without the risks associated with biological or chemical induction methods.
Deep processing of Aquilaria crassna products
After a decade of cultivating Aquilaria crassna, the facility finally harvested its first crop of resin-producing trees. Driven by a passion for the material, Toan traveled extensively to master the craft of creating agarwood products. The workshop initially focused on producing simple bracelets. However, recognizing burgeoning market demand for crafted agarwood items, the facility pivoted to deep, value-added processing.
"Agarwood has been treasured for centuries as ‘the Wood of Gods'" Toan observed. "It's believed to bring positive energy and emits a uniquely sophisticated, luxurious fragrance that offers a profound experience for the connoisseur." He explained that the resinous heartwood, with its infinite and unique shapes, is expertly carved into an array of artisanal items. These include statues, feng shui ornaments, bracelets, prayer beads, pendants, and carved Buddha pendants for car interiors.
The operation adheres to a zero-waste philosophy. The wood surrounding the precious resin-suffused core is chipped for agarwood flakes, incense sticks, and smudging granules. Even the sawdust is collected, either to be blended into incense or distilled into pure agarwood oil, which can fetch hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong per liter. The facility now processes approximately 50 distinct product lines from the fragrant wood. A significant portion of their premium range is crafted from the "Ky Hai Nam" agarwood, which is more profitable and has gained notable market favor compared to its traditional competitors.
Toan provided a clear economic comparison: "With a traditional Aquilaria crassna variety, a successful harvest after eight years might yield 5-6kg of agarwood, fetching just over 2 million VND total. The 'Ky Hai Nam' strain, after seven years, yields only about 1kg per tree, but it sells for 25-30 million VND per kilogram because its quality, fragrance, and resin oil content are so close to wild, natural agarwood."
The facility's products sell briskly on e-commerce platforms and are distributed nationwide. The Toan Thang Agarwood Facility has expanded its operations to an 11-hectare plantation, with two hectares now dedicated to the high-value "Ky Hai Nam" cultivar.
Tran Ba Linh, Chairman of the Long Khanh Ward Farmers' Association, remarked: “The Toan Thang Agarwood Facility, with its integrated cultivation and processing model, is an exemplary initiative in the locality. In particular, the grafting technique used to improve wild-grown Aquilaria crassna and create the Ky Hai Nam cultivar represents an effective economic model that the locality is actively encouraging for wider adoption.”
He noted that the facility's three products certified with a 3-star OCOP rating have received strong support from the local community. “The local authorities, including the Long Khanh Ward Farmers' Association, are committed to supporting the facility's participation in trade fairs and promotion programs to raise the profile and build the brand of this distinctive local product.” Notably, the facility was recently selected by the association to participate in the 2025 Dong Nai Agricultural Achievements Exhibition.
By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Thien Kim, Minho
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