Raising frogs for commercial purposes yields high economic returns.

Driven by entrepreneurial aspirations, Mr. Bui Van Nhan, from Chieng Doi hamlet, Lo Son commune (Tan Lac district), abandoned farming to pursue his idea of building an agricultural production model based on a circular economy .

Mr. Bui Van Nhan, from Chieng Doi hamlet, Lo Son commune (Tan Lac district), has achieved high economic efficiency with his commercial frog farming model.

Recognizing that commercial frogs are easy to raise, yield high economic value, require little labor, and have a stable market, in 2018, he persuaded his family to convert 12 square meters of rice paddy land to build a frog breeding farm. Mr. Nhan shared: "Initially, everything was difficult. Through a friend's introduction, I went to Ba Vi - Hanoi to learn from their experience and bought 3,000 froglets and feed with a capital of about 20 million VND. While working and learning, after accessing capital from the Social Policy Bank, I borrowed an additional 50 million VND to further expand my investment on nearly 200 square meters of my family's rice paddy land and increase the number of froglets to 10,700."

To ensure a good breeding stock, Mr. Nhan usually selects parent frogs from the first batches of the year that are of moderate size, avoiding those that are too large as they lay eggs slowly or are very poor breeders; he also avoids frogs that are too thin as they lack nutrients for the eggs, resulting in weak tadpoles. A weight of around 400-500 grams is suitable. On average, frogs breed 3 times a year, each time producing 200-300 froglets. After hatching, they are raised for over a month until they reach 100 froglets per kilogram, at which point they can be separated into tanks for commercial farming. After another 2 months, the froglets reach a weight of 3-5 froglets per kilogram and are ready for sale. According to Mr. Nhan, he chose to raise frogs in concrete tanks instead of ponds to utilize vacant land, facilitate cleaning and water treatment, and reduce losses. This closed-loop frog farming model helps him increase his income while also ensuring a readily available source of froglets.

After 5 years of implementing the model, Mr. Nhan sells about 2 tons of frog meat to the market each year. After deducting expenses, he earns a profit of over 50 million VND per batch, with the selling price of commercial frogs ranging from 55,000 to 60,000 VND/kg. For him, the most important goal is raising and producing "clean frogs" for consumers. Therefore, the commercial frogs he raises follow a closed-loop system, adhering to clean standards, and absolutely no antibiotics are used during the rearing process. If frogs get sick, he only treats the water source and supplements vitamins and digestive enzymes to ensure the frog meat is completely clean. Based on his experience, Mr. Nhan is always ready to share his knowledge with other farmers who come to buy froglings and acts as a bridge to ensure product distribution.

Besides raising frogs for commercial purposes, Mr. Nhan's family boldly converted 300 square meters of rice paddy land to grow commercial pumpkins. The family's income from this pumpkin farming model reaches over 40 million VND per year, with an average selling price of 9,000 - 15,000 VND per kilogram. Ms. Dinh Thi Tham, a land management officer of Lo Son commune, stated: "Mr. Bui Van Nhan's family's commercial frog farming model is one of the commune's exemplary models in implementing the restructuring of crops and livestock on the same area of cultivated land. It is clear that this model brings high economic value. The People's Committee of Lo Son commune will replicate such successful models to improve economic efficiency, contributing to increased income and socio-economic development of the locality.”

The model of commercial frog farming and vegetable cultivation implemented by Mr. Bui Van Nhan's family has proven to be both economically efficient and environmentally friendly. This model has effectively utilized the local potential, opening up a path to higher income for farmers.

Quyen Anh (Cultural, Sports and Information Center of Tan Lac District)

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