Turtle farming village in Yen Thanh

(Baonghean.vn) - Tang Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District has over 100 households raising soft-shell turtles. Thanks to this profession, many households here have an income of hundreds of millions of VND/year.

Con Loi field is an area where people of Tang Thanh people concentrate on raising soft-shell turtles.

Mr. Thai Huu Hien, one of the households raising many soft-shell turtles in hamlet 7, Tang Thanh, said: Previously, hamlets 5, 6, and 7 followed the snake farming profession, but this profession is very dangerous. In 2000, I invested over 20 million VND to raise soft-shell turtles, on a small scale, the pond was only 30 m wide.²At first I raised them as a test, while learning about raising this animal.

Soft-shelled turtles (wild soft-shelled turtles) weigh 3-4 kg/each and are sold for 250,000 - 300,000 VND/kg.

After the model was effective, he expanded the scale to over 600 turtles. He raised wild soft-shell turtles, applying science and technology in breeding so the turtles were not affected by diseases and developed well. Mr. Hien's family's annual revenue from raising soft-shell turtles reached over 600 million VND.

Soft-shell turtle consumption in Tang Thanh is quite favorable. As it is a specialty product, traders often come to the fields to buy it.

In hamlet 7 alone, Tang Thanh commune currently has nearly 20 households raising soft-shell turtles. These households have linked together to create a commodity-style production area, making it very convenient for product consumption.

Currently, the entire Tang Thanh commune has nearly 100 households raising soft-shell turtles, concentrated in hamlets 2, 3, 6, and 7. In hamlet 2, Mr. Dao Khai's household raises soft-shell turtles for high income. Mr. Khai started raising soft-shell turtles in 2008, initially with 1,000 Thai soft-shell turtles. Thanks to applying the correct technical process, he has had a big success, earning over 200 million VND each year.

The bigger the turtle, the higher the price.

From 2012 to now, Mr. Khai has also focused on raising over 500 soft-shell turtles (wild soft-shell turtles). Thanks to many years of experience raising soft-shell turtles, his raising model has brought high efficiency; total revenue in 2015 reached 700 million VND.

Mr. Khai shared more: The weight of the southern soft-shell turtle is large, more than double that of the normal soft-shell turtle. The meat quality is delicious and more fragrant than the normal soft-shell turtle, so it sells for a very good price. The source of this wild soft-shell turtle has been very scarce for a long time, mainly having to be purchased in the northern provinces such as Lao Cai, Yen Bai ...

Mr. Thai Huu Hien (Hamlet 7, Tang Thanh) is checking a litter of 4-5 month old soft-shell turtles.

In recent years, soft-shell turtle farming has grown strongly, becoming one of the spearheads of economic development in Tang Thanh commune. Mr. Dao Van Khai, Chairman of Tang Thanh Commune People's Committee, said: Every year, the commune's revenue from soft-shell turtles reaches 5-6 billion VND. Tang Thanh Commune is planning to establish an Association of soft-shell turtle farmers to create conditions for people to develop the profession and consume products. In 2015, Tang Thanh Commune created conditions for people to bid for dozens of hectares of ineffective rice fields to switch to soft-shell turtle farming; economic development.

Van Truong - Tho Ha