Billionaire clam farmer earns nearly 5 billion VND/year

(Baonghean.vn) - From raising clam seeds and clam meat, Mr. Thai Ba Khang (Son Hai - Quynh Luu) has achieved a revenue of nearly 5 billion VND/year, of which the profit is nearly 2 billion VND.

Mr. Thai Ba Khang's clam breeding farm

In 2003, thanks to a friend's "tip" about clam farming; learning about clam farming models, seeing that the locality had potential and advantages for commercial clam farming, he applied to the People's Committee of Son Hai commune to contract 10 hectares of wasteland along the coast to test clam farming. With the capital he had saved, he borrowed more than 200 million VND from the bank to hire people to drive stakes, spread nets, block the shore with sandbags, and buy 12 tons of clam seeds in Ben Tre to raise. However, more than 80% of the clam seeds brought back died due to improper preservation according to technical procedures.

Learning from the experience of the previous dead clams, this time he hired an expert to help bring the clams back. Because they were protected in equipment that ensured the prescribed temperature, the survival rate of the clams was over 90% and the clams imported from Ben Tre grew well on the Son Hai coast. In the first harvest, the family earned more than 1 billion VND.

Mr. Khang checks clam seeds

From the results obtained, the family is confident to continue investing in expanding the area to 30 hectares in the alluvial plains of Son Hai and Quynh Tho communes to raise commercial clams. Thanks to proper care according to technical processes, the clam fields have developed stably, achieving an average yield of 30 tons/ha; the price of commercial clams has reached 24,000 VND/kg in some years. During the farming process, Mr. Khang found that clam seeds play a decisive role in the success or failure of the whole process, while having to buy seeds from Ben Tre, transportation is difficult, and the survival rate is limited.

He came up with the idea of ​​researching and learning to produce clam seeds locally. Therefore, at the end of 2012, he cooperated with aquaculture experts to successfully produce clam seeds using technology transfer from Taiwan with a total investment of over 7 billion VND. The clam seeds spawned in Son Hai were tested on an area of ​​1 hectare of tidal flat land in Quynh Tho commune.

After a period of effective breeding, the clams grew and developed well and the clam breeds not only served the family but also supplied the entire North Central region. Mr. Thai Ba Khang shared more: "Currently, the clam breed production facility is developing stably. In addition to clams bred from Ben Tre, I am collecting and breeding native clams from Nghe An. Because this clam breed has the advantage of being strong, high quality, and adaptable to the local marine environment."

Mr. Thai Ba Khang at the farm. Photo: PV

Up to now, Mr. Khang's family's commercial clam farming area is about 30 hectares, and clam seeds are more than 1 hectare. Annually, the total income from clam farming is about 5 billion VND, after deducting costs such as labor, machinery, tidal flat rental tax, etc., the family earns about 1.5 - 2 billion VND. Clams are not only sold domestically but also exported abroad, mainly to China. The family's clam farming model has created regular jobs for 25 - 30 workers with a salary of 5 - 6 million VND/person/month.

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