Farmers change their lives thanks to raising blood cockles

An Bien district ( Kien Giang ) has 4/9 coastal communes and towns. It has a 22 km long coastline, along with more than 5,200 hectares of alluvial land suitable for aquaculture, including blood cockle farming. In 2022, Nam Yen, Nam Thai A, Nam Thai and Tay Yen communes will raise blood cockles on about 5,200 hectares, with an output of 16,000 tons.

Billionaire of the Miet Thu region

Mr. Huynh Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of Nam Thai Commune People's Committee, said that the whole commune currently has 2,065 hectares of coastal alluvial water surface rented by 97 farming households to raise blood cockles every year. Thanks to their diligence and perseverance in the profession, many households have become famous billionaires in the Miet Thu region.

Blood cockle beach in Nam Thai commune, An Bien district, Kien Giang

Among the billionaires raising blood cockles is Mr. Nguyen Van Vui (42 years old, residing in Sau Bien hamlet, Nam Thai commune). From the beginning of 2023 until now, he has released 300 hectares of blood cockles and the cockles are growing well. "This year, I released cockles with favorable weather, little loss. The cockles grow quickly, have thin shells, are bright in color, and are healthy, so it promises to be a big hit," Mr. Vui shared.

15 years ago, Mr. Vui started his business with mussel farming but it was not effective, so he switched to raising blood cockles with an initial area of 20 - 30 hectares. However, due to lack of experience, in the first years he released the seed at a high density, which was ineffective. So, he traveled to buy quality cockles in Hon Dat District and Kien Luong District (Kien Giang), even going to Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces to get the seed to raise before releasing it for farming. Thanks to his diligence, hard work, and experience, he gradually became successful and won big in every crop, and the farming area was expanding.

People of Nam Thai commune, An Bien district harvest blood cockles

According to Mr. Vui, blood cockles are easy to raise, have low risks, and stable output, and can help farmers get rich after a few successful cockle farming seasons. "One of the factors for my success is sparse stocking. Second, I regularly stir the mud to create natural food for the cockles. Third, the weather conditions in the seventh lunar month are rainy, and people pump water from the fields to release floodwaters, which can easily shock the cockles to death. Therefore, farmers need to calculate how to stock and harvest before and after the rice crop to determine success, or harvest before the rice crop," Mr. Vui shared.

Currently, with an expanded area of 300 hectares, Mr. Vui's family can harvest cockles all year round, with an estimated output of 50 tons. Mr. Vui's blood cockles have met the 3-star OCOP standard, so the selling price is high. Specifically: the 1-year-old type has about 80 cockles/kg, priced at 100,000 VND; the 2-year-old type has about 60 cockles/kg, priced at 200,000 VND/kg. Mr. Vui estimates that he will earn about 7 billion VND, after deducting all expenses, he will make a profit of more than 5 billion VND.

"Previously, in the locality, bridges and roads were difficult to travel, and houses were dilapidated. Since implementing marine economic development, especially focusing on blood cockle farming, people's economic life has improved, they have built spacious houses, contributed money to build bridges and roads to open up trade routes and make it easier for their children to go to school," said Mr. Huynh Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of Nam Thai Commune People's Committee.

Exploiting potential and applying science and technology in blood cockle farming

Mr. Trang Minh Tu, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Bien District, said that in order to develop the potential of coastal alluvial land and at the same time implement the marine farming project of the People's Committee of Kien Giang Province, the unit has advised the People's Committee of An Bien District to issue a plan to implement the sustainable marine farming project until 2030, including proposing roadmaps and solutions.

Blood cockles are raised in coastal communes of An Bien district.

Specifically, continue to rearrange farming locations, organize guidance for farming households to register farming procedures according to State regulations on leasing coastal alluvial water surface for aquaculture. Build sustainable development models for blood cockle farming, apply science and technology for farmers to replicate the model in the coming time. Timely provide information on weather developments and natural disasters at sea so that farmers can prevent and minimize damage caused by natural disasters to people. From there, develop and improve the quality of local blood cockles to meet OCOP standards...

Since implementing the policy of developing the marine economy, especially deploying the model of raising blood cockles on the surface of coastal alluvial waters, people in coastal communes of An Bien district have achieved many economic benefits. Blood cockle farming models create jobs for local people. Each farming household helps 7-10 regular workers have stable jobs with incomes of 7-9 million VND/month.

Traders buy blood cockles in Nam Thai commune, An Bien district to bring to other places for consumption.

In the regional economic development orientation, An Bien district plans to develop blood cockle farming combined with investment in eco-tourism development... This model is attracting many tourists to experience. Tourists can visit the "cockle village" and enjoy fresh seafood caught on the spot.

Blood cockle farming has played a significant role in the socio-economic development of An Bien district in recent years. "The district has focused on surveying coastal areas, specifically assessing the current status of land, forests and coastal alluvial grounds... from which, it has proposed groups of solutions to develop the commercial blood cockle farming industry in a sustainable manner," added Mr. Trang Minh Tu.

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