Part 1: Ups and downs of the profession

(Baonghean) -February of the lunar calendar, the season of antlers. Coming to the coastal area of ​​Quynh Luu district these days, the village atmosphere is bustling with people cutting and buying antlers. It is interesting to have the opportunity to sip a cup of deer blood wine - a "by-product" of antlers, and hear about the ups and downs of deer farming.

Nguyen Van Ke (village 7, Quynh Yen) is a household with a large deer farm in Quynh Yen - Quynh Luu with 27 deer.

Pointing to the tiled wooden house worth nearly a billion dong, Ke said: It all comes from deer. In 1990, when I got married, the dowry of the two families, combined with the capital, was 2.8 taels of gold, and I was able to share 2 deer legs with my brothers and friends. At that time, it was considered lucky because just one or two years later, when the deer fever peaked, that amount of money could only buy "1 deer hoof". That was in the 90s - 91s of the last century, when in this Nghe An province, everyone was trading deer, everyone was talking about deer, even the Farmers' Association "got involved". Then the price of deer suddenly dropped from 50 - 60 million dong per female deer to a few hundred thousand dong, and no one bought it. Many households that had invested all their capital in deer went "bankrupt", leading to many consequences and tragedies from within the family to society.

With a sharp mind, Nguyen Van Ke saw this as a business opportunity. When the price of deer dropped, everyone "sold off" and Ke collected them. There was a time when there were up to six or seven dozen deer of all kinds in his barn. Buying and selling each pair of deer, Ke made a profit of several hundred thousand, which was common. At the time of the price drop, the total herd of deer in Quynh Luu district was only about 4,000 (previously there were about 15,000 - 16,000). Thus, more than ten thousand deer passed through the hands of "agents" like Ke to localities in and outside the province.

Deer antlers are ready to be harvested by Mr. Nguyen Van Ke's family.
(Hamlet 7, Quynh Yen Quynh Luu)

Up to now, when deer have returned to their true value, deer farming is becoming a developing profession with stable income, contributing significantly to people's daily lives.

As a person who has been raising deer since the 80s of the last century, experiencing ups and downs and always having 3-4 deer in the barn, Mr. Pham Huu Doanh - Secretary of the Party Committee of Quynh Nghia commune has a different view on the real value of deer. Mr. Doanh said: Even when the deer "fever" was at its peak, his family was still "steadfast" in the goal of raising deer for velvet. He explained that the value of deer is velvet, so the price of male deer must always be higher than that of female deer. The fact that the value of female deer is pushed up many times higher than that of male deer is unreasonable. It is "inflated" by traders for profit. The value of a pair of velvet has always been stable even during the fever until now.

Deer are easy to raise, with few diseases. Since the 60s of the last century, Quynh Nghia has had 2 deer breeders, Mr. To Duy Hao and Ho Cong. At that time, only rich families had the conditions to raise deer, and raise deer for antlers for family use, not as a commodity. Since the 1980s, deer have become a commodity. And until now, deer are still livestock that bring high economic value compared to buffalo, cows, pigs... He did the calculation: The cost for a deer in 1 year including 50kg of corn, daily food of leaves and agricultural by-products is about 1 million VND, plus 100,000 VND for barn depreciation. The total cost for 1 deer is about 1.2 million VND; harvested 0.7 kg of antlers. At present, it is sold for 7 million VND, after deducting costs, the breeder has a "net profit" of 5.8 million VND. The current price of breeding deer is about 6 million VND/male deer and about 4 million VND/female deer. With a deer antler cycle of 17 years, deer are still animals that bring high economic efficiency...

As the deer returns to its true value, the breeding movement is growing. Since 2000, the deer herd has increased. According to the report of the Department of Agriculture of Quynh Luu district, the total deer herd in the district has reached 15,000, and there has been a form of farm breeding with about 50 deer in the semi-mountainous areas. It is estimated that the total deer antler output in the district in 2013 reached about 4 tons. With the current selling price of 9 million VND/kg, the income will be 36 billion VND. Not to mention the income from young deer and other deer products such as glue, meat, etc.

After the recession, deer are now becoming a major livestock contributing to the agricultural economy in Quynh Luu. The question is how to develop deer farming sustainably, bringing the highest economic efficiency?

(To be continued)

Cong Sang