'Rescuing' ducks in a 'neighborly' way

(Baonghean.vn) - Faced with the situation of cheap duck meat, Yen Thanh has found a way to "rescue ducks" in the style of neighborly love.

Ms. Thai Thi Thuy in Block 1, Yen Thanh town bought 4 ducks at Veo market, Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh to eat and give to relatives living far away. Photo: Van Truong

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan, head of the inter-family group of Block 1, Yen Thanh town, shared: The inter-family group has nearly 20 households, and for more than 10 consecutive days, we have been mobilizing members to buy ducks to rescue. Almost every day, families buy ducks to process into different dishes such as roast duck, duck cooked with pineapple soup, steamed duck, even duck wrapped in mud and wrapped in lotus leaves. In total, the inter-family group of Block 1 has "rescued" about 200 ducks for the people.

Each place has its own way of "rescuing" with great affection, such as at Mr. Tam's duck plucking facility in Veo market, Lien Thanh commune. Previously, he plucked ducks for 10,000 VND/duck, but now he only charges 5,000 VND/duck. Mr. Tam shared: I charge a low price to share with duck farmers. Only when they develop will my job have income.

Fat ducks are being sold at Yen Thanh market for 10,000 - 20,000 VND/duck cheaper than usual. Photo: Van Truong

In Hoa Thanh commune, there are currently 7 duck restaurants along National Highway 7B, which are stepping up to "rescue" ducks. Mr. Vinh, owner of Anh Vinh duck restaurant in Hoa Thanh commune, shared: Previously, in Hoa Thanh, there were only 1-2 duck restaurants, but the number of customers is increasing, so the duck restaurants are growing densely, but people from all over the country are flocking to the restaurants. The good thing here is that the restaurants have lowered the prices of the dishes, welcomed customers attentively, and the duck is always fresh and delicious. There are restaurants specializing in boiled duck, roasted duck serving all day, and there are restaurants serving duck porridge all night.

Each restaurant can consume 100 - 150 ducks per day, so restaurants in Hoa Thanh can consume about 500 ducks per day.

One of the roast duck restaurants in Hoa Thanh commune actively processes duck into many dishes and sells them at cheap prices. Each roast duck is sold for only 80,000 VND. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Tho Thao, a duck farmer in Nam Thanh, confided: These past few days, I had to mobilize all my relatives to buy ducks. Because of the neighborhood spirit, I could sell 70-100 ducks a day. It was very touching, some people came to the farm to "rescue" 1-2 ducks. Every day, my wife, children and I use motorbikes to take them to the markets to sell. Whenever we meet someone we know, they buy for us.

Mr. Hoang Van Ha - Chairman of Nam Thanh Commune People's Committee said that the commune has over 10,000 unsold meat ducks. Through commune and hamlet meetings, the commune leaders have included the task of "rescuing" ducks for the people. Through the commune's loudspeaker system, the commune has propagated and mobilized people to buy ducks to help duck farm owners, but there are still difficulties.

People in Nam Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, "every household eats duck" and contributes to "rescuing" ducks. Photo: Van Truong.

Mr. Nguyen Vuong Ngoc - Vice Chairman of Yen Thanh District People's Committee added: The district has just called on traders from the northern provinces to buy ducks, and actively directed communes to propagate to villages and hamlets, so that people "every household buys ducks", joining hands to "rescue" Yen Thanh ducks through this difficult time.

Through this experience, farmers also learned that they need to balance the market, not raise each person for himself. Especially, duck farmers need to create "clean" products, because the demand for "clean" ducks and grass-fed ducks is still very high because people are still reluctant to consume hybrid ducks and ducks that use a lot of feed./.

Van Truong