Bachelor of economics with passion for raising bamboo rats

Quang Nam Graduated from Da Nang University of Economics , Nguyen Thi Phuong returned to her hometown to open a bamboo rat farm, but was scolded by her parents "giving her education is like burning money".

On the morning of the end of June, Ms. Phuong, 36 years old, woke up early to go to the sugarcane field near her house to cut large bundles and bring them back to the farm. Each sugarcane stalk, which was more than 1.5 meters long, was chopped into small pieces and put in the cage for the rats to eat.

The farm is divided into two separate areas, one area behind the house is over 100 m2 wide, raising nearly 200 bamboo rats from young bamboo rats to parent bamboo rats for display and introduction when visitors come to visit and learn about the model. Another area is over 200 m2 wide, about 300 m from the house, raising more than 200 bamboo rats for breeding.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong is passionate about raising bamboo rats, despite her parents' objections. Photo: Dac Thanh

Born into a farming family with three children, in 2007, Ms. Phuong passed the entrance exam for Development Economics at the University of Economics in Da Nang . Loving animals, she often learned about and got to know many animal breeders. One person lent Phuong a piece of land to experiment with raising bamboo rats.

As a rodent, adult bamboo rats weigh from 0.7 to 2 kg, with delicious meat. Due to their nocturnal and daytime sleeping habits, bamboo rats do not require much time to care for, and their food consists of tree trunks and tubers of all kinds. However, to raise bamboo rats, people need to ask permission from the forest rangers and present documents proving the legal origin of the animal.

In 2008, Ms. Phuong spent 15 million VND from her parents to buy a computer and go to Thai Nguyen to buy 10 pairs of bamboo rats. For a student, that was a large amount of money. Because they were transported by bus, when they arrived, 9 pairs of bamboo rats died, leaving only one pair. Not discouraged, during the day she went to class to study, at night Ms. Phuong went online to learn and buy more breeds to raise with the dream of opening a farm.

In 2011, Phuong graduated from university but did not choose the same path as her friends to find a job in the city, but returned to her hometown to rent land to open a bamboo rat farm. Tam Lanh is a mountainous commune, with abundant food sources for bamboo rats and easy to grow.

Hearing their daughter's idea, Phuong's parents objected. Her father said that sending her to school would give her an easy job, help her escape farming, and support her two younger siblings' education. Instead, returning to the countryside to raise bamboo rats would be like "burning" her grandparents' money.

Ms. Phuong brought sugarcane to the farm as a food source for bamboo rats. Photo: Dac Thanh

Phuong explained that bamboo rats are easy to raise and food is readily available, so she was determined to do it. A small farm was set up, she borrowed a tael of gold from a relative to sell to get money to buy 35 breeding rats. At first, bamboo rats died sporadically, losing tens of millions of dong. She worked and learned at the same time, gradually gaining experience in designing warm cages in the cold season and cool cages in the hot season to prevent animals from getting sick.

Mother bamboo rats give birth to 3 litters each year, with 6-7 babies. After three years, Ms. Phuong owns a bamboo rat farm with 100 breeding rats, selling thousands of bamboo rats for breeding and meat to the market each year. She has linked up with many other breeders to expand the model, provide breeding animals and ensure the purchase of commercial products for farmers.

"In the first three years of experimenting with raising and breeding, I spent countless times feeling restless because the rats died for unknown reasons. There were times when I thought the business would end," she said.

Currently, Ms. Phuong mainly raises breeding rats, and purchases commercial rats from a chain of nearly 50 households for consumption. She uses completely natural foods such as bamboo, sugarcane, elephant grass, sweet potatoes, and cassava. "This method of raising rats takes time, but the quality of the meat is better than that of industrial powder. The products I make and sell are confident in their quality and are popular in many places," she said.

On average, Ms. Phuong sells 500-700 commercial bamboo rats per month, mainly in the southern provinces, at prices ranging from 550,000-650,000 VND/kg. There are about 300 bamboo rats for breeding, priced at 0.8-3 million VND per pair. Customers who buy breeding rats are guaranteed a 10-day warranty by her, and if there is any risk, she will support them.

Two adult bamboo rats. Photo: Dac Thanh

Currently, each year, raising breeding bamboo rats and purchasing products, Ms. Phuong earns nearly one billion VND, after deducting expenses, the profit is more than 300 million VND. She built a separate area to introduce and instruct on how to build cages and techniques for raising natural bamboo rats. "With customers, I do not hesitate to introduce my failures, always advising them to know this in advance and dare to overcome it," Ms. Phuong said.

Looking back on a journey of more than 10 years with 4-5 near-bankruptcies, she said she has no regrets. Starting a business was busy, worrying about input and output calculations, ensuring product quality and spending all day with bamboo rats, but she is happy to be the boss in her own hometown, to satisfy her passion for raising animals.

Ms. Phuong is now married and has three children. "I plan to expand the chain and sell clean commercial bamboo rats. Bamboo rat meat will be sold in stores and supermarkets," she shared.

Head of the Department of Agriculture and Development of Phu Ninh District, Trinh Ngoc An, assessed that Ms. Phuong was very determined to start a business by raising bamboo rats. This model brings high economic efficiency and is suitable for the locality. The Department has worked with Ms. Phuong to build a chain of links with the people and develop the bamboo rat raising model.

Son Thuy

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/cu-nhan-kinh-te-dam-me-nuoi-dui-4623576.html