Engineer Ha Van Hanh with his flock of free-range chickens in the pomelo orchard.
“Initially, this hill named 32 was quite barren; even cassava plants were stunted. Then, I gradually improved it, applying manure to increase the humus and nutrients in the soil. From there, I developed a pomelo orchard and many other fruit trees. After researching the technical process, I boldly invested all my capital in building more livestock pens and digging a fish pond at the foot of the hill,” Mr. Hanh said.
In poultry farming, he gradually developed his flock of Hoa Binh native chickens, reaching up to 10,000 birds at its peak. The difference here is that the chickens are only kept in confinement for about a month, then released onto a vast grapefruit orchard. The chickens get plenty of exercise and direct sunlight, so disease outbreaks are rare. Because of this semi-natural free-range farming method, the chicken meat here is much better than that of many other farms. Traders and partners come with trucks to collect and sell the chickens. In addition, he processes his own feed using corn and agricultural by-products, following food safety procedures, so the chickens were certified VietGAP in 2023. In recent years, he has secured long-term contracts for the purchase of his chicken meat from several businesses, including GASAVI Joint Stock Company. According to Mr. Hanh, because the quality of the chicken meat raised here is highly rated by partners, it always fetches a high price. The lowest price was 80,000 VND, and the highest was around 110,000 VND/kg at the farm. Each year, chicken farming alone generates a profit of approximately 800 million VND.
Besides chickens, he also raises pigs, averaging about 100 pigs per litter, using industrial farming methods. He sells three litters of pigs annually, earning a profit of over 500 million VND. All waste from the chicken and pig farms is collected and processed into fertilizer for his crops. As a result, his orchards remain lush and green year-round, and his 3-hectare pomelo orchard is always laden with fruit. From 2018-2020, with the support of the local authorities, he continued to lease and rent adjacent gently sloping hills to develop nearly 4 hectares of pineapple, 2.2 hectares of sugarcane, and 0.8 hectares of kudzu. To date, the total area of this integrated economic model has expanded to 10 hectares, becoming one of the largest farms in Tho Xuan district.
Taking advantage of the ponds at the foot of the hills, in recent years, the farm owner, born in 1983, has also developed flocks of about 2,000 ducks and geese. The waterfowl manure serves as feed for the hybrid catfish farms. Located far from residential areas, and with the construction of a livestock waste treatment system and the application of biological bedding in the chicken farms, environmental issues are well-maintained.
To ensure a stable and consistent supply of broiler chickens to his partners, Mr. Hanh rallied and gathered seven more farm owners in the area to establish the Tan Hung Phat Agricultural Cooperative for mutual support. All members develop their farming practices organically, prioritizing food safety and hygiene as a competitive criterion for sustainable development. As their products gained increasing prestige, more businesses joined, and the cooperative now has 11 members, becoming one of the largest collective economic models for chicken farming in Tho Xuan district.
According to Mr. Ha Van Hanh's calculations, the total profit from farming and livestock activities in the production area in recent years has reached approximately 2.2 billion VND per year. To date, he has also invested more than 3 billion VND in livestock facilities, production infrastructure, and an automatic irrigation system for his fruit orchards. With a considerable amount of daily work, in addition to family labor, he has created stable jobs for 8 local workers with an average income of 8 million VND per month.
Text and photos: Linh Truong
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chang-ky-su-mo-ve-que-khai-pha-vung-doi-252843.htm
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