Nghe An farmers raise soft-shell turtles and eels for reproduction, earning 200 million VND/year

After many years of learning techniques at turtle and eel farms in the Western provinces, 2 years ago, Mr. Nguyen Viet Quynh returned to his locality to invest in building a closed farm system, including a nursery area and a breeding farm on an area of ​​7,000 m² to raise these breeds.

Initially, he bought 10,000 eel breeds and 10,000 soft-shell turtles for breeding. Thanks to his experience and proper care following the technical process, he had many advantages right from the first steps in the self-production process.

Mr. Quynh mainly makes eel farms out of canvas to reduce investment costs. Photo: Hong Dien

Mr. Quynh shared: When the eggs are ready to spawn, the breeder must be meticulous, gentle, and careful in collecting them, minimizing the risk of breaking the eggs of eels and soft-shell turtles. After that, he arranges soft-shell turtle eggs in foam boxes and covers them with sand, keeping them in a house with a temperature of 30 - 32 degrees Celsius to ensure the eggs are not damaged. After more than 20 days, the eggs hatch. For eel eggs, he puts them in plastic tubs with an oxygen system to support the eggs after hatching.

During the breeding process, turtles and eels are placed in cages of suitable size according to each growth stage and raised completely naturally outdoors. At the same time, to provide shelter for the animals, cool in the summer and warm in the winter, Mr. Quynh often puts dry banana leaves, nylon ropes, and water hyacinth in each cage. For eel cages, he mainly makes them from canvas to reduce investment costs. In particular, after harvesting 2-3 batches, the canvas can be washed or replaced to avoid contamination and disease outbreaks.

Regarding food, he often buys ditch fish, chicken eggs, duck eggs, and ground earthworms, dividing them into certain proportions for the turtles and eels to eat. Mr. Quynh always chooses cool weather, early morning and late afternoon, to release food, helping the fry eat well, grow quickly and reach the desired weight. The water source in each eel and turtle pond is always changed regularly by him, ensuring it is always clean.

The water in each eel farm and turtle pond is always changed regularly to ensure it is always clean. Photo: Hong Dien

According to Mr. Quynh, usually from March to August, turtles breed a lot, but from September onwards, due to the cold weather, turtles lay less. At night, turtles often crawl around the pond bank to find a wet, soft, and secluded place to make a nest to lay eggs and bury them. When digging the soil to get the eggs, he puts them in the same position in the styrofoam box.

Every year, his farm raises thousands of commercial turtles and eels. After 1 year of raising, when the turtles reach a weight of 1 - 2.5 kg/each, he gradually sells them for 250 - 420 thousand VND/kg, and for eels, he sells them for 150 - 220 thousand VND/kg. After deducting expenses, his family earns more than 200 million VND in profit in a year.

Currently, many households in the area have bought turtle breeds from him. He comes to take water samples from anyone who comes to buy breeds at the farm, then sends them to the Institute of Agriculture for analysis. After that, the water at the farm is treated with ingredients in the water of each household so that the breeds can quickly adapt to the new environment and achieve a high survival rate. At the same time, he also imparts scientific and technical knowledge to help people raise turtles most effectively. After having products, he continues to purchase products for the farming households.

Every year, Mr. Quynh's family sells 200,000 soft-shell turtles to the market. Photo: Hong Dien

Mr. Dau Phi Chau - Chairman of Tan Son Commune People's Committee, Quynh Luu District said: Mr. Quynh has a great passion, so he has succeeded in developing and raising new breeds on the largest scale in the commune. The locality always creates favorable conditions in terms of land, environment and other conditions for Mr. Quynh to actively build it into a new model of the commune. According to the assessment of the commune-level departments and branches, this model is really very effective.

Currently, Mr. Quynh is continuing to build an eel farming system in mud, expanding the farm scale by another 7,000 m²With bold thinking and creative ways of doing things, Mr. Quynh not only enriches his family but also contributes positively to the development of the local economy.