Rediscovering the 'golden age' of silkworm farming along the Lam River

In order to restore the silkworm farming profession, in recent years, Do Luong district has encouraged communes along Lam river to expand the area of ​​planting new mulberry varieties, as well as diversify mulberry varieties suitable for feeding different ages of silkworms. The district's goal is to revive the traditional profession and help members earn high income from their homeland.

Present at the Lam River alluvial plain in Dang Son commune (Do Luong), we saw a green mulberry field. Ms. Mai Thi Loan - Head of the Dang Son Commune Mulberry and Silk Cooperative said: Since the beginning of 2022, my family has converted from native mulberry to grow over 5 hectares of new QR2 mulberry variety. This new variety is suitable for the weather and soil conditions in the Lam River alluvial plain area, with large leaves and high yield. Thanks to that, we have proactively provided food sources for silkworms.

Up to now, Ms. Loan has invested in building a silkworm breeding system, from a scale of 10-12 silkworm trays, now increased to over 50 silkworm trays. The silkworm breeding houses are all equipped with air conditioners and water fan systems in the summer. In the cold winter, electric heating systems are installed and other heating devices are used. Therefore, silkworms can be raised all year round, both for sale and for cocoons. In addition, Ms. Loan also makes other products such as silkworm starch.

In particular, silkworms are known to many people because they are a clean food, rich in nutrients, and are consumed as soon as they are produced. In addition, Ms. Loan also buys cocoons and supplies materials for silkworm farming to people in Do Luong district and neighboring districts.

In 2024 alone, Ms. Mai Thi Loan's family purchased and sold over 3 tons of commercial silkworms and 4 tons of cocoons, with a revenue of nearly 1 billion VND, creating jobs for over 20 workers with stable salaries every year. However, according to Ms. Loan, this profession is facing difficulties and needs preferential loans to buy modern silk reeling equipment and machinery to replace outdated manual machinery to compete in products.

A representative of the People's Committee of Dang Son commune said: During the golden age of mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing in Dang Son, hundreds of households participated, but since 2015 many people have quit the profession, and people have switched to growing corn and other crops in mulberry fields. Since 2022, the mulberry cultivation and silkworm rearing profession has been restored.

In particular, the mulberry growing model of Ms. Mai Thi Loan - Head of the Mulberry and Silk Cooperative of Dang Son commune operates effectively and is the person who guarantees the products for the people, supplies white silkworms, which are assessed to be able to withstand the harsh climate in Nghe An and have good silk quality.

Thanks to the person who has taken the lead in purchasing the products, mulberry growers in Dang Son commune are very excited to gradually restore the profession. From only 5-7 hectares of mulberry, now the whole Dang Son commune has over 40 hectares of mulberry, most of which have been replaced by new mulberry varieties. Up to now, there are over 50 households participating in the mulberry growing and silkworm raising profession, bringing in high incomes of 100-120 million VND/year/household.

In addition, Thuan Son commune has so far planted over 20 hectares of new mulberry varieties, creating jobs for hundreds of workers in mulberry growing and silkworm raising.

According to the report of the Department of Agriculture of Do Luong district, up to now, the whole district of Do Luong has over 70 hectares of mulberry, the district is gradually coming up with solutions to develop mulberry growing and silkworm raising to exploit the potential of alluvial land, as well as increase income for people. However, mulberry growing and silkworm raising are still facing many difficulties.

First of all, the difficulty comes from limited silkworm breeding techniques; many households do not have enough funds to invest in a standard and regulated breeding system, but mainly rely on experience, so the cocoon yield is low; the organization of production and consumption of mulberry and silk products is mainly spontaneous. On the other hand, there is no planning to form raw material areas associated with production organization and product consumption linkage; there is a phenomenon of farmers following the trend, when the price of silk and cocoons is high, they expand the area, when the price drops, they switch to other crops...

In order for the mulberry growing and silkworm raising profession in Do Luong district to develop in a sustainable direction, in the coming time, the district will propose solutions such as: Continuing to organize training and vocational training courses; guiding members in planning and investing in building facilities and breeding animals. Forecasting the market for products, diversifying products, stabilizing the market, helping mulberry growing and silkworm raising households access preferential capital sources...

Focus on investing in raw material areas for growing mulberry, raising silkworms for silk and silk reeling technology, building links to production and consumption organizations, building models of cooperatives and cooperative groups with silk processing and consumption enterprises, ensuring stable output and prices for mulberry growers and silkworm breeders.