"Poor, rich by yourself"
One sunny and windy afternoon, we visited Mai Phuoc Toan's house in So Tai hamlet, Thanh Phu commune. Thanh Phu commune's agricultural extension officer, Luu Anh Phap, briefly introduced: "In this hamlet, Toan is the best". I looked at the dark-skinned man, whose clothes were still wet with sweat, and immediately asked: "How much land do you have? What is your production model?". The host smiled brightly, did not speak in a hurry, offered the guests a plate of bright red watermelon, and urged: "Here, you guys try a piece of watermelon and see how it is". We tried a piece, then started eating enthusiastically, the watermelon was so delicious.
Without waiting for the guest to ask more, Mr. Toan said: "I have 5.5 hectares of land. Like everyone else, I have done many jobs, traveled everywhere because I thought that with that much land, no matter how good I was, I would not be able to raise my head." But then the scene of struggling, earning money with sweat, feeling sorry for my eyes and being dependent made Mr. Toan decide: "Well, anyway, it is my land, my house, rich or poor, it is all up to me."
Thinking back and forth, with that piece of land, he could not rely on the "luck" of releasing shrimp, Mr. Toan began to look for a new direction. Suddenly remembering the old saying: "One hectare of land is equal to seven hectare of rice fields", Mr. Toan felt excited: "Then one hectare of land is equal to seven hectare of land". But farming on salty square land is extremely difficult in many ways, about 7 times more difficult than farming in fresh land. Then on the square banks, he sowed hope with watermelon seeds that people begged to buy.
For over 20 years, with 3 watermelon crops a year, alternating with other crops, rice, and shrimp and crab, Toan not only has a stable income but also has accumulated valuable experience in production. As a melon grower, Toan has always wondered how to grow delicious, clean, and nutritious melons that will last. Hearing others' advice on using fish and shrimp compost as a base fertilizer for good melons, he immediately started doing it. But after a few days, the place where the fish and shrimp compost was composted was stinking, and the neighbors' dogs and cats came over to destroy and run rampant everywhere, Toan was stunned.
Not giving up, Toan went to the commune agricultural extension officer to ask, then read more online, and realized: "People have to mix in probiotics to compost fish and shrimp manure, no wonder". Since then, Toan's watermelons and vegetables have never been touched by chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Toan shared: "It's easy to say that the land can grow melons three times a year, but it's hard to eat. We have to alternate between melons, long beans or other crops, if we keep doing this, we won't have melons to eat, let alone sell."
Mr. Mai Phuoc Toan with the off-season watermelon crop about to be harvested.
It’s off-season, but visiting Toan’s watermelon field, it feels like Tet is coming. I asked: “Do you cut all at once or sell them little by little?”. He smiled: “Like the main Tet season, the watermelons are beautiful, there are many, but the price is very low. I think differently...”. For Toan, watermelons are sold year-round and not in bulk. The price of the watermelons is good, the income is steady, it turns out that Toan never has to worry about daily expenses. The fruits that are ready to be sold first. Off-season, the watermelons are a bit ugly, but the price is always good.
Showing off the pile of rice behind his house, Mr. Toan said: "Who would throw away rice, but not me. Every year, I sell hundreds of bushels."
Mr. Toan also takes good care of the shrimp and crabs in the square. According to Mr. Toan: "If you do farming without calculating, big or small land is the same. Anyone can do it diligently, but without science , technology, knowledge, experience, and initiative, diligence is useless." Moreover, as Mr. Toan said, farmers must consider the season, the crop, and the price for everything they produce. Those who dare to think a little differently, accept a little risk, and have faith and a basis to believe in what they do may be able to improve.
Think new, do different
And old farmer Le Van Thanh, Cai Ran A hamlet, Phu Hung commune, showed us with his own eyes what a good crab season is like. Mr. Thanh's crab farming method is not new, but it is extremely effective.
According to Mr. Thanh, he has removed the soil from more than 4 hectares of land to create a beach and clear the surface of the pond. Underneath the pond, he has prepared many mounds for the crabs to live in. Before each release season, he carefully renovates the square and chooses to buy quality crab seeds. While many farmers are sad because of the decrease in shrimp prices, Mr. Thanh's daily income from crab meat is still abundant. Every year, his family's crab meat harvest is about 1 ton. And the way Mr. Thanh welcomes the release season and sells crabs is what is interesting.
Old farmer Le Van Thanh had a big hit with the mid-year crab crop, while many farmers were still sad because shrimp prices were low.
The old farmer's experience from reality shows that every year, sea crabs will have "hot" prices such as near Tet, Mid-Autumn Festival, April 30, National Day... If farmers catch crabs to sell at that time, they will feel happy. Unfortunately, most farmers have no crabs to sell when the price of crabs is high. As for Mr. Thanh, that is the time when he puts out his "fighting crabs" to make money.
In the story, Mr. Thanh confided: "I also have to research more ways to feed crabs, use probiotics to treat the water environment, and monitor the crab's development. In general, raising anything now is the same, you need knowledge, otherwise luck will ruin it immediately."
Also from Mr. Thanh, we heard the desire of a farmer whose greatest asset in life is a square piece of land, anxiously saying: “There is no need to calculate too much. Just need to find a way to stabilize the price of crabs and shrimps, then our people will be very happy”.
Yes! Most of the farmers in Ca Mau take crabs and shrimps as a source of joy, sadness and hope. Many people leave their homeland because they think that farming is hard to make a living. But there are also those who choose to stay, choose to dare to think, dare to do and think new, do different things like Mr. Toan and Mr. Thanh. To prove that farming can also achieve desirable achievements./.
Hai Nguyen - Hoang Vu
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