"Live healthy" by raising soft-shell turtles

We were amazed and impressed by the large, imposing house, with full modern amenities. Mr. Luong smiled simply, confiding that he and his wife were inherently hard-working, both fishing for seafood near the shore and doing agriculture . About 17-18 years ago, with the desire to increase income, after learning about turtle farming techniques, Mr. Luong and his wife built a pond, and boldly sold 6 taels of gold, ordered from the southern provinces, to buy 300 turtle breeds.

Mr. Luong continues to breed to proactively develop production. “When the turtles are young, it is okay to raise them at a high density, but when they grow to about 0.3-0.4kg, they must be separated into tanks, with a density of 4 turtles per square meter. This ensures both technical aspects and prevents turtles from biting each other. Farmers need to pay attention when separating the tanks to choose separate male turtles and separate female turtles. Feed them twice a day (food is fish scraps, snails, vegetables, industrial powder...) to ensure good turtle development.”

Because they grow their own seeds, Mr. Luong and his wife save on this capital. When the soft-shell turtles grow to about 0.8kg - 1kg, they can sell them. At the price of 300,000 VND/kg, after deducting all expenses, Mr. Luong and his wife earn about 200,000 VND/kg.

Raising with the right techniques, proactively sourcing breeds, and always having demand from the market, Mr. Luong and his wife expanded production. From the initial few ponds, Mr. Luong invested in building 7 ponds. 5 ponds raised soft-shell turtles for meat, releasing 600 turtles each. 2 ponds raised soft-shell turtles for breeding, to provide a source of breeds for some households in neighboring communes such as Vinh Xuan, Vinh Thai (now Phu Gia commune).

Seeing that raising soft-shell turtles is economically efficient, 8 years ago, Mr. Luong's younger brother and sister also invested in this model. When we arrived, Mr. Phan Ba Tuong (Mr. Luong's younger brother) and his wife were releasing newly hatched soft-shell turtles (after the incubation process) into the lake. Mr. Tuong's family has 2 soft-shell turtle breeding ponds, each pond has several thousand soft-shell turtles. In addition to the income from soft-shell turtle meat, each year, Mr. Tuong's family earns 100 million VND in profit from soft-shell turtle breeding. Mr. Tuong said that in addition to supplying breeds to neighboring localities, 2-3 years ago, 2 households in village 1 (Vinh Thanh) also started raising soft-shell turtles. Mr. Tuong is the one who regularly supplies breeds to them. “Currently, I have 2 ponds for breeding soft-shell turtles and 4 ponds for meat turtles. My wife and I are preparing to expand and build 2 more ponds for meat turtles. Our sister, Ms. Phan Thi Chuong, also has a stable and steady economy from raising soft-shell turtles for meat,” said Mr. Tuong.

According to Mr. Luong and Mr. Tuong, the supply of soft-shell turtle meat is still not enough to meet demand. Therefore, soft-shell turtle farmers in the area are still "living well". However, in addition to raising soft-shell turtles, Vinh Thanh coastal residents are still diligent in their fishing and farming jobs. "But when our health is no longer guaranteed, we may not be able to go to sea anymore, but we are at ease because we have the job of raising soft-shell turtles" - Mr. Phan Ba Luong is proud that from the fruits of his labor, he and his wife have raised 6 children to become useful people for their family and society. Mr. Luong's children are doctors, bank officials, and business owners. All are currently living and working in Ho Chi Minh City.

Source