Reviving the sericulture profession

(Baonghean.vn) - No one knows when the silkworm farming profession in Do Luong began, but it is known that in the memories of the elders of the mulberry village, the Lam River alluvial plains were once filled with green mulberry fields. The silkworm farming profession saved the people here from August 3rd and helped the village become more and more prosperous.

We went to Dang Son - Do Luong - an alluvial commune along the Lam River and saw the vast green of mulberry. Ms. Tran Thi Hien in Hamlet 3 confided: With only 4 sao of mulberry land to raise silkworms, my family raises 10 batches of silkworms/year, achieving 200 kg of cocoons, selling at 110,000 VND/kg of cocoons, earning 22 million VND/year/4 sao, after deducting expenses, the profit is from 16 - 18 million VND, many times higher than growing rice and raising livestock.

People in Xuan Nhu village are processing cocoons.

Mr. Tran Van Luong, Dang Son hamlet 3, said: The hamlet has over 50 households. In 2007, there were only about 10 households growing mulberry, with an area of ​​about 7 hectares. Now, there are over 30 households growing mulberry and raising silkworms with nearly 20 hectares of mulberry. According to Mr. Luong, thanks to the tradition of growing mulberry and raising silkworms, people have accumulated a lot of valuable experience. When returning to the profession, no one is surprised. People know how to select good silkworm breeds, spin beautiful and abundant cocoons, and produce better cocoons than in other rural areas. In addition, with the attention of the State, since 2010, Dang Son has been supported to plant over 80% of the new mulberry variety Sa Nhi Luan. According to Ms. Chu Thi Hoa, this "standing-up" job is also very elaborate, silkworms are a "difficult" breed, the person raising them must have both technique and experience, silkworms eat 5-6 meals a day, must use green mulberry leaves that are over 1 year old, unclean mulberry leaves can easily kill the silkworms. The silkworm house must be cool in the summer, warm in the winter, to raise 3 rounds of silkworm eggs, it requires an area of ​​nearly 20 square meters, and a place to store mulberry leaves of 5-7 square meters.

Dang Son people not only grow mulberry to raise silkworms but also spin silk very well, so that the mulberry regions of Nghe An such as Nam Dan, Tan Ky, Dien Chau used to have the silk spinning and reeling profession, but they have all died out, only Xuan Nhu silk village in Dang Son commune still maintains the silk spinning and reeling profession. We returned to Xuan Nhu craft village, when the sun was at its zenith, we walked through the villages and everywhere we could hear the sound of silk reeling machines, the typical sound of the craft village. At Chu Van Dong's silk reeling facility, workers are working diligently on each stage to produce products, some picking cocoons, some spinning the reels... Chu Van Dong confided: Having been in the silk spinning and reeling profession for more than 10 years now, the facility currently has 6 mini silk reeling machines, creating jobs for 7 workers with a salary of 120,000 VND/day. Every day, we process 30 - 50 kg of cocoons to produce silk products. To have enough cocoons, in addition to purchasing cocoons locally, my family also provides services such as supplying silkworm eggs purchased in Nam Dinh to people in the mulberry areas of Nghi Loc, Nam Dan, Tan Ky, and then we purchase cocoons for them.

Mr. Huong added that if working at full capacity, he can process 50 - 60 kg of cocoons per day, but due to lack of raw materials, he still has to work at a moderate pace. Each month, the cost of purchasing cocoons and paying labor is estimated at over 50 million VND, after deducting family expenses, the profit is from 16 - 18 million VND/month. Besides, Mr. Tran Van Dong's family is the largest, currently has 8 mini silk reeling machines. Mr. Dong is instructing silk reeling workers and said: On peak days, they process 60 - 80 kg of cocoons. To ensure the raw materials, he has purchased all the products and provided silkworm eggs for nearly 100 mulberry growing households in Nghia Dong - Tan Ky and Nghi Loc. (Mainly investing capital to spread silkworm eggs and then collect cocoons). His facility creates jobs for nearly 10 workers, with a fairly favorable output, mainly selling silk to silk weaving facilities in Van Phuc, Hanoi, Nam Dinh... the silk price is quite stable (850,000 VND/kg). In general, each month, after deducting expenses, Mr. Dong's silk reeling facility also makes a profit of 20 - 22 million VND. From the silk spinning and reeling profession, Mr. Dong's family has built a new house with full amenities and raised their children to study.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Tuan - Chairman of Dang Son commune added: In Xuan Nhu silk village alone, there are currently 6 families forming large-scale silk reeling and spinning groups, creating jobs for nearly 50 workers, not to mention other small silk reeling points. Xuan Nhu village alone purchases hundreds of tons of cocoons in Do Luong and many districts in the province. Over the past 2 years, the village has had stable consumption of cocoons, so the silkworm farming profession in Dang Son is increasingly reviving. From the whole commune having only 30 hectares of mulberry, about 150 households following the profession, now there are over 300 households following the silkworm farming profession with an area of ​​over 65 hectares of mulberry. Xuan Nhu village has received nearly 6 billion VND from the State to build 2.6 km of village roads. The current difficulty is the loan capital for cocoon processing households to purchase modern machinery and equipment, mainly for manual processing, not to mention that processing facilities still lack capital to supply silkworm eggs and purchase cocoons.

In addition, many communes where sericulture is being revived, such as Thuan Son commune, are reviving. Mr. Nguyen Nhu Bon - Chairman of Thuan Son Commune People's Committee shared: Previously, when the price of cocoons was cheap, people cleared the mulberry fields on the Lam River alluvial land to grow corn and peanuts. Now, thanks to Xuan Nhu village's purchase of cocoons, in recent years, people have returned to growing mulberry. From only over 15 hectares of mulberry, the whole commune now has nearly 70 hectares of mulberry, of which 60% is the new Sa Nhi Luan mulberry variety.

However, the silkworm farming industry in Do Luong has also had its ups and downs for many reasons, especially when the Nghe An Silkworm Company was abolished (about 10 years ago), the price of cocoons was low, while the price of raw materials for the silkworm industry increased. Not to mention the difficulties that mulberry growers encountered due to fluctuations in the weather, mainly manual farming techniques, the number of farmers and mulberry acreage fluctuated, there was a lack of joint ventures and linkages in production, and the quality of cocoons was not high, making it difficult to compete with other regions. Even since 2010, many people still maintained the silkworm farming industry, but due to difficulties in output, they had to sadly sell cheap cocoons as a "specialty" dish.

Since 2011, due to the improvement of the cocoon market, people in the mulberry areas of Luu Son, Dang Son, Thuan Son... (Do Luong) have realized that the silkworm farming profession has a higher income than growing rice, corn, peanuts... Therefore, many mulberry areas are being revived. Mr. Tran Doan Hung - Head of Do Luong Agriculture Department shared: Since Xuan Nhu silkworm village has been able to consume cocoon products, the silkworm farming profession in Do Luong has gradually improved. From 250 hectares of mulberry, now there are 320 hectares of mulberry grown in communes along Lam River such as Thuan Son, Ngoc Son, Lam Son, Dang Son... of which over 60% are new high-yield mulberry varieties. In 2012-2013 alone, the district supported 50% of the price of mulberry for people to plant over 30 hectares of Sa Nhi Luan mulberry varieties. The average income from mulberry growing is quite high. For mulberry intercropped with corn, beans, and peanuts, the average income is 120 million VND/ha of mulberry/year. For pure mulberry (not intercropped), the income is from 180 - 200 million VND/ha/year.

It can be said that the silkworm farming profession has high income, exploits the potential of alluvial land along the river, takes advantage of idle labor, and improves the lives of rural people. In the long term, the State's support is needed to invest capital to support people in purchasing processing equipment, especially to orient and find a rich output for silk products so that mulberry growers can feel secure in their profession.

Article and photos:Van Truong