New direction for poverty reduction in Yen Khuong border commune

Recently, many households in Yen Khuong commune have boldly developed the model of raising special animals. These models not only bring high income to households, but also contribute to the locality reducing the number of poor households to 19.09% and the number of near-poor households to 42.05%.

The bamboo rat and civet farming model of Mr. Ngan Van Yeu's family in Sang Hang village initially brought high income.

Previously, Mr. Ngan Van Yeu's family in Sang Hang village was considered a poor household in the commune. However, since he boldly raised bamboo rats and civets, the family has escaped poverty and has an income of more than 100 million VND/year.

Mr. Yeu said: “By chance, while watching TV, I learned about the bamboo rat farming model in Tan Ninh and Tho Phu communes, which both bring high economic efficiency. After careful research, I found that bringing these animals to my locality would be very suitable. Because bamboo rats and weasels are rodents and their favorite foods are readily available locally, such as sugarcane, bananas, cassava, bamboo, corn, etc. Besides, both bamboo rats and weasels are easy to raise, with low investment costs and low risks. On the other hand, they are currently popular with consumers and are sought after at very high prices thanks to their delicious, protein-rich meat. Moreover, raising these animals allows for a quick capital recovery compared to raising buffaloes and cows, etc. From these advantages, I decided to choose to raise bamboo rats and weasels."

After obtaining a license from the forestry department and investing in building cages, at the end of 2023, Mr. Yeu went to the above localities to buy bamboo rats and civets to raise. According to Mr. Yeu, at first, due to lack of experience in feeding and watering, the bamboo rats and civets grew slowly, he was discouraged and wanted to give up. However, with encouragement from local authorities and relatives, he went to large, effective breeding facilities in the province to learn more about how to care for bamboo rats and civets. He also actively researched on websites, read books and newspapers to learn about the characteristics and habits of bamboo rats and civets to supplement his knowledge for better care.

Thanks to his perseverance and hard work in learning, after nearly 2 years of developing the specialty breeding model, his family's herd of ferrets and bamboo rats has now grown from 36 peach-cheeked bamboo rats, 50 mottled bamboo rats and 10 civets to 146 bamboo rats and 36 civets. At this time, his family both breeds and sells, so they earn more than 100 million VND/year.

As a near-poor household in the commune, Mr. Lo Van Bang's family in the same village also boldly invested in a cage and bought 10 pairs of breeding rats to raise. Mr. Bang said: "Seeing that Mr. Yeu's family raised rats and civets and brought in a large income, in early 2025 I boldly spent tens of millions of VND to build a cage and buy breeds. At first, because I did not have a firm grasp of breeding techniques, I encountered many difficulties. However, thanks to Mr. Yeu's enthusiastic guidance on care techniques, and my active research through other documents, my family's rats have now adapted to the care environment."

According to Mr. Bang, at this time, his family's bamboo rats have not reached the breeding season, but through information from many sources, he knows that bamboo rats start breeding at 8-9 months old and a mother bamboo rat can breed 2-3 litters per year. Each litter has 3-6 babies, and bamboo rats around 1-2 months old can be sold as breeding bamboo rats. If bamboo rats are raised for commercial purposes, after 5-6 months of raising, they can be sold as meat bamboo rats. With the price of bamboo rats for commercial purposes ranging from 500,000 to 800,000 VND/kg, and bamboo rats for breeding at 1 million VND/pair or more, in no time, Mr. Bang's family's 10 breeding bamboo rat pairs will generate tens of millions of VND/year, and at that time, his family will also escape the near-poor household status.

Talking about the effectiveness of developing special animal breeding models, Chairman of Yen Khuong Commune People's Committee Le Quang Tung said: Although the special animal breeding model has not appeared much in the commune and the model of Mr. Ngan Van Yeu's family has just started to bring in effective income. However, through the reality of understanding the special animal breeding models in the province and in the country as reported by the press, all models bring in income many times higher than other traditional breeding models. The locality has a poverty rate of up to 19.09% and 42.05% of near-poor households, so in order to effectively eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, along with implementing preferential policies of the State for border communes, Yen Khuong will actively implement solutions to develop the economy and improve people's lives. Including encouraging the development of economic models, especially models of special animal breeding such as bamboo rats and civets.

To replicate the model and sustainably develop the target of specialty adoption, the locality will promote propaganda and guide people to develop adoption suitable to the conditions of each family. At the same time, it will guide households to implement disease prevention measures, raise livestock in the direction of biosafety, invest in building solid barns, and ensure environmental hygiene.

Article and photos: Minh Xuyen

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/huong-xoa-doi-giam-ngheo-moi-o-xa-bien-gioi-yen-khuong-256795.htm