Food silkworms at the end of the breeding season are not enough to sell.

At the house of Ms. Pham Thi Que (43 years old) in Hamlet 8, Khanh Son 1 Commune, in the old house, on the table, on the bamboo rack in the middle of the house, there were many trays of silkworms in the feeding period. While spreading mulberry, Ms. Que told the story of raising silkworms and affirmed that "her family has been in the business for decades".

For the past 3 years, people in Khanh Son commune have switched to raising silkworms for food. Photo: Huy Thu

This year, Ms. Que's family has set aside 2 sao of land to grow mulberry, raising one batch of silkworms each month. With 1.5 egg cycles, when the silkworms eat, she can spread them out into 7 baskets. In the summer, it takes about 25 days to complete a batch; in the winter, it takes longer, about 28 - 30 days. Each good batch of silkworms can raise about 35 kg, selling for 80,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, she earns more than 2.5 million VND.

Ms. Que said: “The advantage of raising silkworms for food is that it is simple and anyone can do it, as long as they are diligent. Compared to other livestock such as pigs and chickens, I find that raising silkworms brings a more stable income, and in general, it is easy to make money. This year, silkworms are getting more expensive towards the end of the season. Every day, people ask to buy silkworms but there are none to sell.”

The last baskets of silkworms of the season are in the process of feeding. Photo: Huy Thu

Leaving Ms. Que's house, we went to Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang's house (51 years old) - a neighbor. While drying silkworm manure in the yard, Mr. Hoang excitedly said: "This year, my family has set aside 4 sao of land to grow mulberry to raise silkworms. Each batch of 2 egg cycles yields 9-10 baskets of silkworms to eat. Living alone at home, in addition to raising 3 cows, geese, and chickens, I can still raise quite a lot of silkworms."

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang is harvesting silkworms. Photo: Huy Thu

Leading visitors into the house, Mr. Hoang did not hesitate to share his family's silkworm raising techniques. In the horizontal house, he placed 2 rows of shelves to hold large silkworm trays. The last room of the main house was used by him to collect mulberry leaves. Every day, he drove his cart to the field to pick 5 bags of mulberry leaves for the silkworms to eat gradually for 1 day and night (6 times/day). Each batch of well-raised silkworms produced about 54 kg of mature silkworms, bringing in an income of about 4 million VND; in addition, 40 kg of silkworm manure was also purchased by traders at 3,000 VND/kg.

Food silkworms are "ripe" and fat and juicy. Photo: Huy Thu

According to Mr. Hoang: “Silkworm is a nutritious food, in this time of chemical chaos, it is also a clean product, easy to process, so it is popular with everyone. Silkworms are not yet “ripe” but people come to the house to order, so there is no need to worry about output. The price of silkworms at the end of the season is stable at 80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, and everything is sold out.”

Thanks to raising silkworms for food and knowing how to combine it with other livestock models, Mr. Hoang's family has a fairly stable source of income; raising silkworms alone earns 40 million VND/year. "People say that raising pigs means eating while lying down, raising silkworms means eating while standing up. Although it is a bit busy, in agricultural production, I find that raising silkworms is the most profitable, with little capital, good health and quick income" - Mr. Hoang happily said.

Each silkworm basket yields about 5 kg of "ripe" silkworms. Photo: Huy Thu

It is known that silkworm farming in Khanh Son has existed for a long time. Previously, people raised silkworms for silk, but in the past 3 years, they have switched to raising silkworms for food, and "ripe" silkworms are sold as food. Currently, there are only about 30 households in the commune still maintaining silkworm farming, concentrated in hamlets 8 and 10.

The household that raises the most silkworms is Mr. Ho Dinh Huy's family in hamlet 10. Each batch usually incubates 3 egg cycles, raising about 75 kg of commercial silkworms.

The silkworms that people choose to raise here are the Vietnamese golden silkworms imported from Thai Binh. This silkworm breed has good resistance to hot, humid weather and is rarely sick; when it produces high quality food products, it is favored by customers.

Silkworm droppings are also purchased by traders. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Ho Dinh Cong - Secretary of the Party Cell of Hamlet 8, Khanh Son Commune said: The silkworm farming profession exploits the potential of the alluvial land along the Lam River, takes advantage of idle labor resources and brings high income to farmers. Although there are many advantages in terms of natural conditions, production experience, market demand, etc., the expansion of livestock farming and replication of silkworm farming models in households are still limited. If the authorities pay attention and people boldly invest, the silkworm farming profession in Khanh Son will have new developments, bringing higher economic efficiency.