Floods bring alluvium, green mulberry fields

Good mulberry, silkworm cocoon full basket

More than 8 months have passed since the day the wrath of heaven and earth descended, spreading terror with a historic flood, but the memories of those tragic days are still vivid in the minds of the people of Tran Yen district, Yen Bai province.

However, amidst the remaining layers of mud, the mulberry fields now stretch out green on the once desolate coastal area.

Nature is also fair, the great flood with its terrible destructive power, when it receded, generously left behind layers of fertile alluvium to nourish the barren fields. After the efforts of the people to improve the fields, the land areas that were covered from a few dozen centimeters to a meter, the mulberry trees grew strongly, the leaves were large, thick and darker green than in previous years.

This season, people do not need to spend much time taking care of and fertilizing as usual, but the mulberry trees are still lush and full of life.

People pick leaves to raise silkworms.

Along the winding dikes along the Red River, the atmosphere of work is urgent and bustling. Under the lush mulberry fields, taller than a person, dozens of farmers are nimbly picking leaves, taking advantage of every hour and every minute to bring food home for the silkworms in their free feeding season. Lines of motorbikes and three-wheeled vehicles line up, waiting for sacks full of mulberry leaves that have just been picked.

Carrying a heavy load of mulberry leaves from the field, Mrs. Tran Thi Lien in Lan Dinh village, Thanh Thinh commune, sweat beaded on her sunburned face. Mrs. Lien stopped, quickly wiped the sweat, and said cheerfully: "It's true that in misfortune there is luck, uncle! God never takes everything from anyone. After the red flood, the alluvial soil was newly deposited, the soil was cool and fertile, so the mulberry beds just kept growing lushly, the leaves were both big and thick, the silkworms could not eat it all."

People are busy with the silkworm season.

Ms. Lien calculated, "From the beginning of the season until now, it has only been about a month and a half, but my family has raised 4 batches of silkworms. I am the only main breadwinner in the family, and my children are working far away, so each batch only dares to raise 5 baskets of silkworms. Each batch yields 50 - 60kg of cocoons. In less than 2 months, we have earned more than 40 million VND."

Not far away, Mrs. Tran Thi Tuyet and her husband in Truc Dinh village were also busy harvesting mulberry leaves in the morning. Today, her family had to ensure enough leaves for the rapidly growing silkworms.

Ms. Tuyet shared: "In the first three batches, my family harvested more than 200 kg of cocoons. After deducting expenses, we earned more than 40 million VND in our pocket. This fourth batch is about to go to the nest. Looking at the silkworms eating well and growing quickly, we expect to harvest nearly 100 kg of cocoons again. Compared to working for hire, the labor cost at home with silkworms and mulberry trees is much higher and we can be proactive with our time."

This year, the weather is favorable, the price of cocoons is stable at a high level, farmers are very excited.

Cocoon prices peak

This year’s spring silkworm season in Yen Bai has been going well, the cool weather has created ideal conditions for mulberry trees and silkworms to grow and develop. The number of silkworms getting sick has decreased significantly compared to previous years. Therefore, this year’s cocoon yield is outstanding, the quality of the cocoons, the whiteness and shine of the silk threads have also been significantly improved.

The joy of farmers who work hard in Yen Bai is multiplied when the purchase price of cocoons from Yen Bai Sericulture Joint Stock Company (a unit that purchases and processes silk cocoons) is also maintained at a high and stable level.

Currently, the average purchase price of cocoons ranges from 190,000 - 200,000 VND/kg. At the beginning of the season, the price sometimes reached 215,000 VND/kg. This is the highest price in the past few years, helping thousands of households in the district have a more prosperous life.

People raise cocoons in batches and can harvest 2-3 batches of cocoons per month.

Talking to us, Mr. Tran Duc Tien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bao Dap Commune (Tran Yen District) said that the whole commune currently has more than 500 households engaged in the profession of growing mulberry and raising silkworms, with a total area of nearly 200 hectares. Mulberry areas are concentrated in villages such as Dinh Xay, Dong Sam, Dong Gianh, Dong Buoi and Dong Trang.

Last year, the commune's cocoon output decreased by about 50% due to natural disasters. During the entire harvest, people were almost unable to raise silkworms and had to focus on repairing the fields and replanting the mulberry areas that had died due to flooding and deep silting. After the heavy losses caused by natural disasters, this year the strong and rapid recovery of the mulberry growing and sericulture profession has great significance for the lives of households whose main income comes from sericulture. A cheerful atmosphere has returned to the villages, people are busy raising silkworms and selling cocoons. In this spring alone, it is expected that many households will have an income of hundreds of millions of dong.

Silkworm cocoons in cold storage of silk reeling factory.

Bustling silkworm breeding, supplying foreign customers

We are present at the Silk Reeling Factory of Yen Bai Sericulture Joint Stock Company, at this time, dozens of large cocoon bags are stacked high in the cold storage. The silk reeling machines are working at full capacity to have products to supply to foreign customers.

The silk reeling machines are busy during the cocooning season.

Mr. Vu Xuan Truong, Director of Yen Bai Silk Joint Stock Company, shared that since the beginning of the spring crop, the factory has purchased nearly 150 tons of cocoons from cooperatives and people in the region. We always try to maintain the best purchasing price for farmers, an average of about 200,000 VND/kg. With this price, it will help farmers have high profits, thereby making them more excited, confident to stick with and invest in expanding production.

Currently, the factory has installed 6 machines with modern technology, capacity of 150 tons of silk/year, equivalent to 1,200 - 13,000 tons of raw cocoons. The processed silk products will be exported to the markets of India, Japan and European countries.

Silk products will be exported to international markets.

The previous crop was affected by storms and rains, and the factory had to stop operations for many months due to lack of raw materials. This year, the silkworm cocoon output has met production needs, but due to a lack of labor, overtime cannot be worked. The company is continuing to recruit workers and support vocational training to increase silk export output. In addition to the silkworm cocoon raw material area in Yen Bai, the company is continuing to expand its purchases in other provinces such as Cao Bang, Ha Giang , Tuyen Quang, etc.

Trucks loaded with white cocoons still roll daily from all over the countryside towards the silk reeling factory. After the natural disaster, mulberry trees and silkworms have affirmed their role as a superior source of livelihood compared to rice, corn and other vegetables. Mulberry is an important economic lever, contributing significantly to the construction of prosperous and developed villages.

(According to Agriculture Newspaper)

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/351502/Lu-ve-tang-phu-sa-bai-dau-xanh-ngut-ngat.aspx