Reviving the silkworm farming profession

(Baonghean) - No one knows when the silkworm farming profession in Dien Kim (Dien Chau) began, only that in the memories of the elderly, there were vast fields of green mulberry trees from ancient times. At that time, Tan Tien Cooperative built a silk reeling factory, weaving machines, with a processing capacity of more than 200 tons of cocoons; the members enthusiastically competed in labor on the land specializing in silkworm cultivation...

Recalling the prosperous development period of the profession, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan (75 years old) in Xuan Chau hamlet said: "During the peak period from February to October of the lunar calendar, every house in Dien Kim was bustling with the sound of spinning silk and turning cocoons. In the family, grandparents, parents and children were all assigned reasonable tasks, creating a closed production cycle, from picking mulberries, raising silkworms, peeling cocoons to selling products. Thanks to that, the lives of Dien Kim people were prosperous and full."

Mulberry growing and silkworm raising in Dien Kim commune (Dien Chau).

But because the management style of the subsidy-era cooperatives was no longer suitable, and the silk reeling technique was outdated, the products encountered difficulties in consumption. In 1992, Tan Tien Cooperative had to dissolve, and the silkworm industry was only maintained in a few hamlets such as Kim Lien, Tien Tien, and Thai Thinh with less than 20 households participating. And after nearly 10 years of silkworm farming (in 2001), the old profession was revived when there was an investment project, and the province recognized it as a silkworm village. But in 2005, the craft village was once again in trouble because dozens of hectares of mulberry were eroded by seawater caused by storm No. 5, plus nearly 100 hectares of land were transferred to a shrimp farming project on sand, so many households once again "gave up" the profession, the mulberry growing area was only 15 hectares...

After many ups and downs, by the end of 2011, when the commune leaders introduced a new mulberry variety (VH 13 mulberry variety) to replace 25 hectares of the old Ha Bac mulberry variety that had degenerated; especially, from the project to develop the mulberry and silk weaving value chain coordinated by the Vietnam Handicraft Export Association (VietCRAFT), the Institute for Rural Industry Research and Development (VIRI) to support mulberry growers and silkworm breeders, the Dien Kim mulberry and silk craft village was revived... From the whole commune with only a few dozen households following the profession in 2007, by 2013 it had increased to 70 households with an area of ​​over 40 hectares. And by the beginning of 2015, there were more than 100 silkworm raising households, of which 10 households invested in silk reeling and cocoon spinning machines; the annual output of the whole commune reached nearly 15 tons of cocoons; the average income of mulberry growing and silkworm raising households reached 20 million VND/year. There are households that both raise silkworms and spin cocoons, earning an income of over 40 million VND/year, such as Ms. Nguyen Thi Mo's family in Xuan Chau hamlet, who grows 10 sao of mulberry and raises 11 batches of silkworms/year; Mr. Pham Van Thang in Thai Thinh hamlet, who grows more than 9 sao of mulberry and raises 9-10 batches of silkworms/year...

As one of the households with a large mulberry growing area in the commune (10 sao), Mr. Nguyen Van Hanh in Xuan Chau hamlet excitedly said: "My family has been involved in the silkworm industry since 1986 until now. In the years when the price of silkworm cocoons dropped, we still tried to keep a piece of garden land to grow mulberry to maintain the profession, hoping to restore it one day. I am very happy that over the past 3 years, the price of cocoons has started to increase, the purchasing market has stabilized, so the mulberry area in my family has also gradually increased. In the previous batch, I raised 4 egg rings and got 48 kg of cocoons, with a price of 70,000 VND/kg, earning more than 3 million VND. This batch, I raised 5 rings, estimated to get about 65 kg of cocoons... In addition to selling cocoons, we also harvested a significant amount of by-products, which are silkworm manure, which is very good for agricultural production."

In addition to expanding the mulberry growing area, taking good care of the mulberry trees so that they produce many leaves and high productivity is a very important factor. According to many households, in the past, planting was mainly based on experience, so the mulberry trees grew and developed unstably. There were seasons when large areas of mulberry trees were infected with diseases, the trees had fungus and curled leaves, leading to insufficient food for silkworms. But now, people have focused on learning and applying science and technology from pest control, fertilizing mulberry fields to cleaning rooms and farming tools...

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Truong, Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Dien Kim commune, with the positive signals in the mulberry market in the whole province, along with the policy of restoring and developing the traditional mulberry growing and silkworm raising profession of the commune, the 20th Party Congress of the commune issued a Resolution to restore and develop the mulberry growing and silkworm raising profession to solve employment for women with immediate solutions: After the step of converting land according to Directive 08, the commune implemented zoning and planning of concentrated mulberry growing areas; at the same time, converting low-yield colored land to mulberry growing and expanding the area to 65 hectares.

Encourage households growing mulberry to raise silkworms to increase family income, encourage households that do not raise silkworms to convert mulberry land to households in need to connect regions and plots; move towards establishing a silkworm cooperative of 4 hamlets with the profession, including Xuan Chau, Tien Tien, Dai Thanh and Thai Thinh hamlets. Currently, in the commune, there are 4 households specializing in purchasing silkworm cocoons and silk for export to Laos, China and the northern provinces, so people are somewhat more assured about the output. The key issue to increase the economic efficiency of Dien Kim silkworm industry is that people must boldly invest in the new VH13 mulberry variety to replace the local mulberry variety (because the new mulberry variety yields 450 - 500 kg of leaves/sao, more than 2 times higher than the old mulberry variety), apply science and technology to increase farming capacity and cocoon quality...

The revival of the silkworm farming profession in Dien Kim not only has the meaning of restoring a traditional craft village but also is a step to develop a suitable household economy in the locality, bringing a fairly good income compared to the average income in rural areas. However, to develop the silkworm farming profession and silk reeling in a sustainable direction, local authorities at all levels need to pay attention to and support the construction of power lines and canals to serve irrigation for mulberry trees. At the same time, encourage and have support mechanisms, creating conditions for silk reeling facilities to invest in technological innovation, improve quality to increase the competitiveness of products in the market.

Article and photos:Ngoc Anh