Nghe An farmers convert crops and livestock to increase production value

Nearly 10 years ago, on an area of ​​1 hectare of poor, swampy land, Mr. Hoang Huu Son's family in Hiep Hoa hamlet, Hoa Son commune, Do Luong district, raised both aquaculture and pigs. However, production was ineffective because pigs often suffered from diseases. For the past 3 years, Mr. Son has re-planned the system of ponds and land to raise aquaculture and raise ducks and frogs.

Mr. Hoang Huu Son said: In 2015, on the same swampy land, my family reclaimed the land to make a farm. However, pig farming was not suitable and ineffective, so in 2015, I converted the pond to fish and duck farming, which brought higher efficiency. This livestock conversion is suitable for the land and is not affected by natural disasters. And thanks to good disease control and stable output, profits have increased many times compared to before.

Next, Mr. Son went to the South to learn and realized that the frog farming model could be applied and developed in his hometown, so he started to raise them. In 2021, his family built 4 frog farming tanks with an area of ​​200 m², brought the breed back to test commercial frog breeding. The breeding process was effective; from the accumulated capital combined with the loan from the Social Policy Bank, he built 4 more tanks to breed frogs, with 500 parent frogs. The frog breeds were sold to the market and used as breeding stock for his farm.

Every year, his family sells 4 tons of commercial frogs and 100,000 frog breeds, mainly from mountainous districts of Tuong Duong, Quy Hop, Que Phong...

Mr. Son shared: The frog farming model is gradually becoming popular in many localities, and market competition is increasing. Therefore, farmers need to have access to proper commercial frog farming techniques to achieve the best economic efficiency and bring high profits.

According to the current market price, meat frogs cost 50,000 VND/kg, 1,000 - 1,200 VND/one-month-old frog. The current farming process is: 2 months to raise a batch of ducks, 7-10 months to raise fish; 3 months to raise commercial frogs. Currently, after deducting production costs and labor costs, the annual profit is about 100 million VND.

Mr. Thai Dinh Tuan - Deputy Head of the Farmers' Association of Hoa Son Commune said: Mr. Son's family is one of the typical households with good economic performance in the commune, regularly passing on experience and technical guidance to many people, helping them succeed in the farm economy. The transformation of the commune's crop and livestock structure has affirmed the right direction in the local economic restructuring, and people's income has been significantly increased. In order to develop crop and livestock models, the Farmers' Association propagates and mobilizes people to borrow capital for production through the Social Policy Bank and the Farmers' Association; at the same time, organizes training courses on farming techniques for people.

Or the case of Mr. Tran Dinh Quyen's family in Dien Van commune, Dien Chau district, with the policy of encouraging the conversion of ineffective agricultural land into local aquaculture and seafood development, he converted more than 1 hectare of rice to shrimp farming. Currently, each crop, he sells nearly 3 tons of commercial shrimp, earning hundreds of millions of dong in profit.

Mr. Quyen shared: With the policy of encouraging the conversion of ineffective agricultural land into local aquaculture and seafood development, I have converted to shrimp farming. Currently, each crop sells 2.5 - 3 tons of commercial shrimp. The grocery business, deer farming and shrimp farming bring the family more than 200 million VND/year, allowing me to send my children to school.

Climate change and extreme weather have caused severe droughts and floods, greatly affecting agricultural production in localities in the province. Each crop season, the province has from 9,000 to 11,000 hectares affected by saltwater intrusion and drought. Increasingly severe extreme weather patterns require farmers to strongly adapt. Farmers' associations at all levels have accompanied people in opening training courses to build effective conversion models; organizing study tours to learn from experiences, supporting sustainable output... Thanks to that, thousands of hectares have been converted, bringing much higher economic efficiency than rice cultivation.

However, for sustainable development, it is necessary to accompany people in choosing suitable crops and livestock, avoiding spontaneous and uncontrolled development, affecting economic efficiency.