Lesson 1: "A good land attracts good birds"

Compared to many other regions in the country, Binh Phuoc is blessed with a mild climate and weather that is less extreme. In particular, Binh Phuoc has a large area of agricultural land with many types of industrial crops and fruit trees – providing abundant food sources such as flowers, fruits, microorganisms, and insects. These are favorable conditions for swiftlets to build nests, grow, and thrive.

A stroke of luck and a blessing from heaven.

“Around 2002, in Tien Thanh commune (now Tien Thanh ward), a family built a house to live in. When the house was completed, flocks of swiftlets came to build nests. To effectively utilize this 'gift from nature,' this family contacted a swiftlet farming organization in Khanh Hoa province to harvest and find a market for their swiftlet nests. Seeing the effectiveness, many households in the area followed suit, and in fact, many have been successful, averaging 3-20 kg of raw swiftlet nests per year,” shared Vu Van Muoi, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Xoai city, about the origin of this "gift from nature" in the area.

In Group 5B, Tan Tra 2 residential area, Tan Binh ward, Dong Xoai city, many newly built or renovated swiftlet farming houses have sprung up side by side.

Currently, there are approximately 200 households in Dong Xoai city engaged in the business of attracting and raising swiftlets. Many of these households also process raw swiftlet nests into refined swiftlet nests to create jobs and increase income. According to our reporter's observations, area 5B, Tan Tra 2 neighborhood, Tan Binh ward is a particularly popular area for swiftlet farming. The swiftlet farms here are built close together, some newly constructed, while others have been renovated or expanded from existing houses. Furthermore, not all of these swiftlet farm owners reside in the area; they come from various other locations.

Mr. Phung Van Hau, residing in Ward 5, Tien Thanh Commune, has been raising swiftlets in his swiftlet farm at Group 5B, Tan Tra 2 Ward, Tan Binh Commune for about 10 years. Mr. Hau explains that producing a large quantity of clean, raw swiftlet nests depends on many factors, from installation techniques and methods of attracting swiftlets to care, hygiene, disease prevention, and processing. With just one swiftlet farm, his family harvests 35-36 kg of raw nests annually, averaging 23-25 million VND/kg, depending on quality and market prices. To create jobs and increase income, instead of selling raw nests, the family processes them, removes impurities, dries them, and packages them for the market at a price of 28-30 million VND/kg. "As farmers, compared to other professions, the business of attracting and raising swiftlets and processing their nests provides a relatively high income. It also reduces labor costs and creates jobs for relatives and neighbors," Mr. Hau shared.

Besides raising swiftlets, Mr. Phung Van Hau, residing in Ward 5, Tien Thanh Commune, also processes swiftlet nests for sale on the market to increase his income.

Not only in Tan Binh ward, but also in many other areas of Dong Xoai city, households are renovating and expanding their houses to attract and raise swiftlets. In 2014, Ms. Doan Thi Phuong's family, residing in residential area 5, Tien Thanh ward, invested 2.5 billion VND in building a house, and simultaneously utilized the upper floor as a swiftlet breeding facility. On average, her family harvests about 20 kg of raw swiftlet nests annually, equivalent to over 400 million VND. Ms. Phuong shared that the swiftlet breeding business is a matter of luck; if you're lucky, many swiftlets will come to live with you, but not everyone succeeds. In reality, many households build large, expensive houses, but the swiftlets haven't nested or have built very few nests despite operating for a long time.

Billion-dollar income

Compared to other localities, the movement to attract and raise swiftlets and produce and process products from swiftlet nests in Chơn Thành town has grown rapidly and developed most strongly in the province in recent years, with 297 households involved. Many of these households possess effective techniques for installation, attracting swiftlets, maintaining environmental hygiene, and preventing diseases, resulting in hundreds of millions, even billions of dong per year from selling swiftlet nests. Notably, recognizing the economic benefits of this natural product, many households have developed dozens of swiftlet nest attracting houses combined with preliminary processing and manufacturing of swiftlet nest products, generating substantial income. “Our family built this swiftlet farming house more than 10 years ago. Currently, we harvest about 10kg of raw swiftlet nests per month, earning over 200 million VND. Seeing the high efficiency, in recent years my family has expanded to include other swiftlet farming houses in Lam Dong, Gia Lai, and Tay Ninh provinces. Because it's a new venture, the income is lower, around 2kg/month,” shared Mr. Tran Minh Tho, owner of a swiftlet farming house in Ward 2, Hung Long Commune, Chon Thanh Town.

Mr. Tho's family is one of many households in Chon Thanh that have become wealthy from the swiftlet farming business. With 16 hectares of land, Mr. Dinh Van Son's family, in Ward 10, Hung Long commune, grows fruit trees and builds more than 10 houses to attract and raise swiftlets, processing swiftlet nest products under the name "Thien Thanh Swiftlet Nests" to supply the market, bringing in a large income. Mr. Son's swiftlet farming model is considered a large-scale, self-contained operation within a home garden in Chon Thanh.

Furthermore, many households have established businesses combining multiple stages of the process, creating additional income and jobs for local workers. For example, starting with two pilot swiftlet farming facilities in 2015 under the name Nam Phu Swiftlet Farm, two years later, this facility upgraded to Nam Phu Swiftlet Farm Co., Ltd. in Quarter 1, Thanh Tam Ward, Chon Thanh Town. Besides attracting and raising swiftlets, the company also provides consulting, equipment installation, and construction of swiftlet houses, purchases and guarantees the sale of swiftlet nests, and processes and produces products from pure and refined swiftlet nests. With clean, high-quality products from nature, Nam Phu Swiftlet Farm Co., Ltd.'s swiftlet nest products were recognized as OCOP 3-star by the Provincial People's Committee in 2020, supplying tens of kilograms per month to the market. In addition, in Chơn Thành town, cooperative groups for swiftlet farming have been established to link and share experiences in farming, preliminary processing, processing, and finding stable markets, such as the swiftlet farming cooperative in Minh Hưng ward with 12 members…

According to Tran Van Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Binh Phuoc province has a climate, natural conditions, soil, and abundant food sources that are very suitable for swiftlet development. Meanwhile, swiftlet nests are a high-value food product that has been processed into many nutritious products for domestic consumption and export. Currently, the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) is implementing guidelines for establishing codes and packaging facilities for processing swiftlet nests that meet food safety standards for official export to China. This will contribute to increasing the value and efficiency of the swiftlet industry.

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