From precious gifts for holidays, Tet…
As a Tay ethnic person born and raised in Dong Com village, Binh Xa commune, Ham Yen district, Nong Thi Lich understands the cultural identity of her ethnic group. She said that for the Tay people here, duck is a sacred animal, respected by the Tay people, and is chosen as a gift during holidays and Tet. Especially on the full moon of July - the "Pay tai" festival, Tay daughters and sons-in-law have the custom of bringing gifts to visit and give their maternal grandparents a pair of fat ducks to show gratitude for giving birth and filial piety to their parents.
Since ancient times, Minh Huong ducks have been famous throughout the region. This is a native duck breed, raised naturally from the spring water of the Cham Chu special-use forest. The ducks are plump, only drink spring water, and eat food from the mountains and forests, giving delicious meat. Therefore, during holidays and Tet, people throughout the region look to buy this breed of duck to prepare dishes and give as gifts. However, because the number of ducks in the population is very limited, not everyone can buy them. "So, the idea of raising, breeding, and preserving this precious duck species originated from there!", Ms. Lich recalls.
“If you want to be rich, raise fish, if you want to be well-off, raise pigs, if you want to be poor, raise ducks,” the old saying is true. The first difficulty Ms. Lich encountered was that the Minh Huong duck breed was quite rare, even at risk of extinction. To multiply the herd, Ms. Lich went to each house to mobilize households to breed and preserve the gene source of this rare duck breed. Ms. Lich herself went to each village every day to buy a little from each house, she chose to buy big ducks, ducklings, and incubated eggs for breeding. Little by little, Ms. Lich had a flock of over 200 ducks. Thanks to that, the Minh Huong duck breed still preserved its gene source, not being crossbred with other local duck breeds.
Enhancing local agricultural product brands
To develop and sustainably breed ducks, Ms. Nong Thi Lich learned more knowledge from books and attended training courses on raising ducks. In 2018, with the support of the local government, Ms. Lich decided to establish the Minh Huong duck cooperative, with herself as the director. The members are all farmers in the two communes of Binh Xa and Minh Huong.
Thanks to the knowledge and experience of a breeder, Ms. Lich has learned many things to develop this precious duck breed on a large scale. She said that this breed of duck is very sensitive, as soon as a stranger comes in, they are afraid and stop eating immediately. If you catch one, the whole flock will be depressed and not eat for several days, so when selling ducks, they must sell all of them or keep the number of ducks for sale in separate cages far away from each other so they cannot see. As for laying ducks, they are only raised in the yard, not released into streams because the eggs can easily be crushed. As for commercial ducks, they are released into streams. This type can be sold after being raised for over 5 months, each duck weighs on average from 1.9kg to 2.2kg/duck, with a selling price of over 150,000 VND/kg.
In 2020, Minh Huong duck was certified to achieve 3 OCOP stars and was welcomed by customers from Hanoi and Phu Tho markets. There were times when the cooperative sold 3,000 to 4,000 ducks. In September 2023, Minh Huong duck products were honored by the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association as a typical Vietnamese cuisine .
To sell duck products, Ms. Lich and the members of the cooperative went to each restaurant and store to "knock on the door" to sell and participated in fairs in Tuyen Quang city, communes and towns. At the same time, they linked up breeding, purchasing and processing and consumed all products for local people. Minh Huong ducks gradually formed a concentrated production area with quality products. In particular, in 2020, Minh Huong ducks were certified to achieve 3 OCOP stars and were welcomed by customers from Hanoi and Phu Tho markets. There were times when the cooperative sold 3,000 to 4,000 ducks.
The family of Mr. Trieu Van Hoa, village 13 Minh Quang, Minh Huong commune is a member of Minh Huong duck cooperative. Currently, his farm has 300 ducks. On average, he sells 2 batches each month. His family's ducks are consumed at restaurants in Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho, Hung Yen ... From raising ducks, Mr. Hoa earns a profit of more than 100 million VND each year.
Currently, Minh Huong duck cooperative has 7 members, and at the same time connects households raising ducks in Minh Huong, Binh Xa, Phu Luu communes... to form a chain "from raising to consuming products" to bring this specialty to more markets. The journey from a Tay farmer to a dynamic and agile female director of the cooperative of Ms. Nong Thi Lich has contributed to bringing the agricultural brand of her hometown far and wide. Especially in September 2023, Minh Huong duck products were honored by the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association as a typical Vietnamese cuisine.
Comment (0)