Transforming a barren swamp into an eco-farm.

(Baonghean) - Bau Cay Thi, formerly an abandoned swampy area in Nghia Hoan commune (Tan Ky district), has been transformed into a successful ecological farm by Mr. Nguyen Danh Hien from Thuan Yen hamlet. The farm successfully utilizes the abandoned swamp for economic development while preserving its ecological value, attracting an increasing number of birds and egrets to live there.

Mr. Nguyen Danh Hien said: “In 1997, my wife and I got married with nothing but our bare hands. We had to do all kinds of jobs like farming and selling goods at the market, but poverty always clung to us. Seeing the long-neglected swampy area of ​​Cay Thi, in 2005, I boldly decided to rent it to develop a farm. With determination and a will to get rich in our own homeland, my wife and I worked tirelessly to reclaim the swampy area and create fish ponds.”

Mr. Nguyen Danh Hien is feeding the fish.

Bau Cay Thi, spanning over 2.5 hectares, consists mainly of ponds and wetlands. During the renovation process, Mr. Hien preserved the mounds of earth and trees in the center of the pond to provide habitat for birds and egrets. The most challenging aspect of the renovation was the low-lying, waterlogged pond with no embankments, allowing the water level to rise and fall freely. However, through hard work and more than two years of arduous renovation, Mr. Hien successfully created three large fish ponds. Initially lacking experience, he chose poor-quality fish fry and used unsuitable water and feed sources, resulting in mass fish deaths. Undeterred, Mr. Hien visited many successful fish farming models to learn from them.

Due to the large area of ​​his fish ponds, Mr. Hien has adopted a method of "selective" harvesting in multiple cycles; raising a variety of fish species, such as grass carp, silver carp, silver carp, and tilapia. Utilizing the pond banks, Mr. Hien focuses on planting bananas and grass to feed the fish. In recent years, his family has earned an average of over 100 million VND annually from fish farming. In 2010, he expanded the scale from 1 hectare to 1.5 hectares. Thanks to proper care and the use of high-quality fish fry, each harvest has been very successful. Each year, his family harvests over 10 tons of various fish, generating revenue of over 250 million VND.

Not stopping there, Mr. Hien also exploited the potential of his farm's land to invest in free-range chicken farming. Around the pond, he planted hundreds of fruit trees of various kinds such as lychee and mango... Under the shade, he built coops and fenced off areas to utilize the space for free-range chickens. Initially, he only tried raising over 150 chickens, but after gaining experience, Mr. Hien boldly invested in building more chicken coops and increasing the scale to over 1,000 chickens. According to Mr. Hien, raising free-range chickens is quite easy, but disease prevention is crucial. His farm is very suitable for raising chickens because it meets the criteria for water sources and is far from residential areas, thus isolating the chickens from diseases. The chickens are free-range, fed mainly with concentrated and roughage feed, primarily rice, corn, and bananas, so the meat is firm and delicious, highly favored by traders. Revenue from chickens alone reaches 80-100 million VND per year.

Furthermore, taking advantage of the large farm space, with its water and trees, since 2011, Mr. Hien has also built cages to raise commercial pigeons. From raising 60 pairs of pigeons, the number has now increased to over 250 pairs. According to Mr. Hien, pigeons are easy to raise, they are less susceptible to disease, do not require much time for care, have low breeding costs, and yield very good profits. After about a month of raising, each pair of pigeons sold for meat sells for about 110,000 VND, while pigeons raised for breeding, after 1.5 months, sell for 150,000 VND or more. After deducting expenses for feed, labor, etc., his family earns about 7-8 million VND per month from raising pigeons.

To date, Mr. Nguyen Danh Hien's family earns 600-700 million VND per year from their farm, providing stable employment for 3-4 local workers. While exploiting the economic potential of the farm, he has also protected the increasingly large bird population residing in Cay Thi pond, creating a beautiful ecological landscape. Mr. Hien said that egrets and herons not only come here to roost year-round but also build nests and breed right on Cay Thi pond. Their numbers are growing, currently numbering over 3,000 birds. Every afternoon, birds from all over the country circle and soar, creating a peaceful ecological scene. Many tourists have come here to visit. “We protect the wild birds that fly here, and I have an idea to develop Cay Thi Pond into an ‘ecological farm,’ which could attract tourists to visit, fish, and take boat rides around the pond, with attractive shops around the lake. This is also a way to increase income…” - Mr. Hien shared.

Van Truong