Farmers in Nghe An raise silkworms in air-conditioned rooms.

The fields of Thuan Phu hamlet, Thuan Son commune (Do Luong district) are covered in a lush green of various vegetables, with mulberry trees occupying a large area.

Ms. Tran Thi Nam said that the silkworm farming and mulberry cultivation profession in Thuan Son commune has a long history. However, a few years ago, the silkworm farming and mulberry cultivation profession declined somewhat, with only a few households still maintaining it. "Now, the people are reviving the old profession, but with new methods and new mulberry varieties compared to the past," Ms. Nam added.

Thuan Dong hamlet, Thuan Son commune (Do Luong district) has a rather unique feature: many households dedicate a room with air conditioning specifically for raising silkworms. The species raised in this "both old and new" air-conditioned room is silkworms. "The new silkworm breed needs a stable temperature of around 25-30 degrees Celsius to thrive, so I've set aside a room with air conditioning for raising them," shared Mr. Phan Ba ​​Dinh.

Mr. Dinh's silkworm rearing room is located right next to his family's living room. He recently invested in installing a new type of silkworm rearing rack and 16 cocoon trays. Mr. Dinh said: Each cocoon tray is about 1.7 meters long and wide, divided into small compartments just large enough for one silkworm cocoon to develop. Each tray yields 2-2.5 kg of cocoons and sells for 200,000 VND/kg. To monitor and maintain the temperature, Mr. Dinh also purchased a thermometer and checks it regularly to adjust the temperature accordingly.

According to officials from Thuan Son commune People's Committee, in addition to selling silkworm cocoons, the contracting enterprise also committed to purchasing silkworms aged 1 to 3 years and mulberry leaves.

"This new method of growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms doesn't require much investment. The cost of silkworm larvae for my 16 trays of cocoons is only a few hundred thousand dong. Raising silkworms, spinning cocoons, and selling young silkworms from 3-6 days old doesn't require much mulberry leaves, so the profit potential is quite high," Mr. Dinh shared.

As for Mrs. Tran Thi Nam's family, with guidance from the local authorities, she registered to plant 17 acres of mulberry trees and raise silkworms. Currently, she has planted 6 acres and has started raising and selling silkworms. According to the commitment from the enterprise, the silkworm eggs will hatch after about 20 days, and the silkworms will be ready for sale in about 3-6 days.

The traditional method of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing in Thuan Son commune used to involve selling silkworm pupae and spinning silk from cocoons. Now, however, people are growing new mulberry varieties and raising young silkworms, selling young cocoons using a production line model.

Some households invest in buying silkworm eggs. After about 20-23 days, the eggs hatch into silkworms, and a large portion is sold to businesses that purchase them under a contract. The rest is sold to households that trade in cocoons. These households buy the silkworms and continue raising them until they produce cocoons and are harvested.

According to Nguyen Van Loi, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thuan Son commune, in order to restore the traditional crafts of the people and achieve high economic efficiency, the local government has proactively developed plans and visited and learned from successful models in other localities to guide the people in implementing them.

Currently, Thuan Son commune is gradually implementing a plan to plant 20 hectares of new, higher-yielding mulberry varieties. Along with this, they are developing silkworm farming methods focusing on selling both young silkworms and commercial silkworm cocoons. The local government is connecting with businesses to sign contracts guaranteeing the purchase of products from the farmers.

Restoring the mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing industry is one of the economic development orientations in Thuan Son commune for the period 2024-2029. Currently, the entire Thuan Son commune has 6 households practicing new silkworm rearing methods, with nearly 7 hectares of mulberry trees planted compared to the planned 20 hectares for the entire commune. People are continuing to plant mulberry trees and expand the scale and number of households engaged in silkworm rearing.