Thanh Hoa: From poverty to wealth through aquaculture

Don't give up after failure

Born and raised in a poor farming family by the Ma River, Phong's childhood was closely linked to the fields and struggling to make a living. After graduating from high school, he joined the army and completed his military service. Returning to his hometown, without a stable job, Phong did many jobs such as small business, construction worker, bricklayer... Because of lack of capital and unstable work, the family was always in dire straits.

In 2012, along with being elected by the people as Secretary of the village Party Cell and Captain of the militia and self-defense team, he approached the aquaculture development support program implemented by Quang Phu ward (formerly Quang Phu commune). This is a program to support techniques and breeds, with priority given to poor, near-poor and newly escaped-poverty households.

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

“When I learned that the locality had a policy to support technology and breeds, I immediately discussed with my family about finding opportunities to start a business. But at that time, my family had not found land to implement the model,” Phong recalled.

An unexpected opportunity came to his family when another household in the village returned 5 hectares of water surface to the government. Seeing the opportunity, he boldly bid and borrowed 500 million VND from the bank to invest in a model of raising shrimp, crab, and brackish water fish.

When he started implementing the model, due to lack of experience, lack of technique, and complete dependence on the weather, he lost everything in the first year. “I spent more than 100 million VND on the seed, but because of extensive farming, no water treatment system, and no disease control. I thought that if I released a lot, I would get a lot, but unexpectedly, I lost everything,” Phong shared.

Expanding economic development model

Not giving up, Mr. Phong chose to rise from failure. He began to change his approach, proactively sought out experienced farmers, and participated in local technical training courses. At the same time, he only bought breeding stock from reputable establishments. Thanks to that, the quality of breeding stock was guaranteed, and the survival rate of breeding stock in his economic model was also higher.

After years of perseverance and continuous learning about techniques, his aquaculture model began to bring about clear results. The model grew well, with stable market output and prices. Not stopping there, realizing that there was still vacant space, he invested nearly 200 million VND to buy 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, each year, after deducting expenses, the aquaculture model brings his family a revenue of about 1 billion VND, with a profit of over 200 million VND/ha.

Not only enriching himself, Mr. Tran Cong Phong also contributes to spreading the economic value of 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 head of the ward, deputy captain of the militia team), Mr. Phong still constantly worries and finds ways to expand the production model, helping more households to develop the economy. "Thanks to poverty reduction policies and production support from local authorities, many households like mine have the opportunity to escape poverty and become rich," Mr. Phong shared.