Nghe An farmers raise silkworms in air-conditioned rooms
As a locality with a long history of silkworm farming, after a period of decline, farmers in Thuan Son commune, Do Luong district have restored the silkworm farming with a new method. That is, raising silkworms in air-conditioned rooms.
The fields of Thuan Phu hamlet, Thuan Son commune (Do Luong) are covered in a lush green color of vegetables, of which mulberry trees occupy a large area.
Ms. Tran Thi Nam said that the silkworm farming profession in Thuan Son commune has existed for a long time. Just a few years ago, the silkworm farming and mulberry growing profession had somewhat declined, with only a few households maintaining it. "Now people have restored 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) has a rather special feature. Many households have dedicated rooms with air conditioning for raising animals. The objects raised in the cold room are both old and new, silkworms. “The new silkworm breed needs a stable temperature of about 25-30 degrees Celsius to grow best, so I dedicated a room with air conditioning for raising them,” Mr. Phan Ba Dinh shared.
Mr. Dinh's silkworm breeding room is located right next to his family's living room. He has just invested in installing a silkworm breeding rack and 16 new cocoon trays. Mr. Dinh said: Each cocoon tray is about 1.7m long and wide, divided into small cells just enough for a silkworm cocoon to develop. Each tray yields 2 - 2.5 kg of cocoons and is sold for 200,000 VND/kg. To monitor and maintain the temperature, Mr. Dinh also bought a thermometer and checked it regularly to adjust the temperature in time.
Officials of the People's Committee of Thuan Son commune said that in addition to selling silkworm cocoons, the contracting enterprise also committed to purchasing silkworms from ages 1 to 3 and mulberry leaves.
“This new method of growing mulberry and raising silkworms does not require much capital. The cost of seeds for my 16 cocoons is only a few hundred thousand dong. Raising silkworms, incubating cocoons and selling 3-6 day old silkworms does not require much mulberry leaves, so the profit potential is quite high,” Mr. Dinh shared.
As for Mrs. Tran Thi Nam's family, with the guidance of the local authorities, she registered to plant 17 sao of mulberry and raise silkworms. Currently, she has planted 6 sao and started raising and selling silkworms. According to the commitment from the enterprise, silkworm eggs will hatch after about 20 days, and will be sold after about 3-6 days.
The traditional way of growing mulberry and raising silkworms in Thuan Son commune was to sell silkworm pupae and draw silk thread from the cocoons. Now people grow new mulberry varieties and raise young silkworms, selling young cocoons according to a production line model.
Some households invest in buying silkworm eggs, after about 20-23 days the eggs hatch into silkworms, then sell a large portion to the contracting company, the rest will be sold to cocoon traders. These households buy silkworms to continue raising them to make cocoons and harvest them.
Thuan Son Commune Party Secretary Nguyen Van Loi said that in order to restore the traditional occupation of the people and bring high economic efficiency, the local government has proactively built a plan, visited and studied good models in other localities to guide people in implementation.
Currently, Thuan Son commune is gradually implementing a plan to plant 20 hectares of new mulberry trees with higher productivity. Along with that is the method of raising silkworms by selling silkworms and cocoons for sale. The local government connects with businesses to sign contracts to purchase products for the people.
Restoring the silkworm farming profession is one of the economic development orientations in Thuan Son commune for the period 2024-2029. Currently, the whole Thuan Son commune has 6 households raising silkworms in a new way, with nearly 7 hectares of mulberry planted compared to the planned 20 hectares for the whole commune. People are continuing to grow mulberry and expanding the scale and number of silkworm raising households.