Thanh Hoa: From poverty to wealth through aquaculture

Don't give up after failure.

Born and raised in a poor farming family along the Ma River, Phong's childhood was spent working in the fields and struggling to make a living. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the army and completed his military service. Returning to his hometown, without a stable job, Phong took on various odd jobs such as small-scale trading, construction work, and labor. Due to a lack of capital and unstable employment, his family was always in dire straits.

In 2012, after being elected by the people as the Party Secretary of the village and the leader of the self-defense militia, he became involved in the aquaculture development support program implemented by Quang Phu ward (formerly Quang Phu commune). This program provided technical support and breeding stock, prioritizing poor, near-poor, and newly-escaped-from-poverty households.

Mr. Tran Cong Phong at his family's aquaculture economic development model.

“When I learned that the locality had policies to support technical assistance and provide breeding stock, I immediately discussed it with my family to explore opportunities for starting a business. But at that time, my family hadn't found enough land to implement the model,” Phong recounted.

An unexpected opportunity arose for his family when another household in the village returned 5 hectares of water surface area to the government. Recognizing the chance, he boldly bid for the land, borrowing 500 million VND from the bank to invest in a model for raising shrimp, crabs, and brackish water fish.

When he started implementing the model, due to lack of experience, insufficient technical skills, and complete dependence on the weather, he lost everything in the first year. “I spent over 100 million VND on breeding stock, but because of extensive farming, without a water treatment system, I couldn't control diseases. I thought that the more I stocked, the more I would harvest, but unexpectedly, I lost everything,” Phong shared.

Expanding the economic development model

Refusing to give up, Mr. Phong chose to rise from his failures. He began to change his approach, proactively seeking out experienced farmers and participating in local technical training courses. At the same time, he only purchased breeding stock from reputable sources. As a result, the quality of the breeding stock was guaranteed, and the survival rate of the offspring in his farming model was also higher.

After years of perseverance and continuous learning about aquaculture techniques, his model began to yield clear results. The model thrived, with stable market demand and prices. Not stopping there, noticing there was still vacant land, he invested nearly 200 million VND in buying breeding cows. At one point, he raised more than 10 breeding cows, creating a significant additional source of income for his family.

In addition to developing aquaculture, Mr. Tran Cong Phong also invests in breeding cattle.

On average, after deducting expenses, the aquaculture model brings his family an annual revenue of about 1 billion VND, with a profit of over 200 million VND per hectare.

Not only has Mr. Tran Cong Phong enriched himself, but he has also contributed to spreading economic value to the community by creating stable jobs for 4-5 local workers with an income of 4-5 million VND/person/month.

Despite being busy with social work (currently, Mr. Phong is the neighborhood leader and deputy team leader of the self-defense militia), he continues to ponder and seek ways to expand his production model, helping more households to improve their economic situation. "Thanks to poverty reduction policies and production support from the local Party committee and government, many households like mine have had the opportunity to escape poverty and become wealthy," Mr. Phong shared.