The unique practice of raising freshwater crabs that feed on rice flowers in Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) - On their rice paddy land, Mr. Hoang Van Dai's family in Quynh Doi commune (Quynh Luu district) has invested in building an improved pond system to raise freshwater crabs. After nearly 3 months of trial farming, the crabs have grown rapidly, yielding a value 10 times higher than rice cultivation.

Harvesting crabs in the rice fields of Mr. Hoang Van Dai's family in Quynh Doi after nearly 3 months.

In October 2015, Mr. Hoang Van Dai and his wife, Ms. Ho Thi Hoa, residing in Hamlet 7, Quynh Doi Commune, leased 7 sao (approximately 0.7 hectares) of agricultural land in the Cua Vuon area to raise crabs in combination with rice cultivation. After more than two months of trial farming in the rice fields, his family is now beginning the crab harvest. The encouraging sign is that the crabs are growing rapidly, and the yield is relatively high.

Mr. Dai shared: "After researching information on the Internet, I found that raising freshwater crabs in rice paddies yields high income. Recognizing that this is a relatively new model and very few households are doing it, my family decided to experiment with raising them on an area of ​​3 sao (approximately 3,000 square meters). Currently, my family is in the crab harvesting season."

The family put up a corrugated iron fence around the rice field to prevent crabs from crawling out.

In March 2016, Mr. Dai bought 3,500 naturally occurring crab juveniles for 5 million VND and released them into his rice paddies. He then invested approximately 15 million VND in corrugated iron sheets to create a protective enclosure, preventing the crabs from crawling onto the banks. In addition to planting rice to provide shade for the crabs, he also strung ropes to create pathways for growing water hyacinth, providing food and hiding places for the crabs. After nearly three months of raising them, his family estimates they will harvest around 300-350 kg of mature crabs, with the smaller crabs to be harvested until the end of September. At a price of 100,000 VND/kg, this first crab farming season is expected to bring Mr. Hoang's family over 30 million VND, ten times more than growing rice.

Mr. Dai said: crabs are easy to raise, rarely get sick, reproduce and grow very quickly, and their main food is small fish scraps. In particular, crabs reproduce in very large numbers; each female crab can give birth to hundreds of baby crabs, thus increasing crab production many times over. Furthermore, raising freshwater crabs is less expensive and allows for multiple harvests per season.

Raising crabs in rice paddies provides an additional source of natural food for them.

The harvest season is just beginning, but about five traders from other areas have already registered to buy freshwater crabs from Mr. Dai's family. The crabs will be transported for consumption in northern provinces such as Hanoi and Hai Phong, where the price could reach 170-200 thousand VND/kg.

Rice field crabs that feed on rice flowers are highly valued and favored by traders because of their delicious taste and cleanliness.

Mr. Ho Sy Hung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Doi commune, said: "The freshwater crab farming model of Mr. Hoang Van Dai's household is currently yielding high economic efficiency. In the future, the locality will plan and encourage people to learn more to replicate the crab farming model, thereby bringing economic benefits to families as well as developing the local economy."

Besides raising freshwater crabs and growing rice, Mr. Hoang Van Dai's family also raises pigs and monosex tilapia. Each year, the family's total income exceeds 150 million VND.

Viet Hung