Prospects from civet farming

(QBĐT) - As a young man harboring ambitions to get rich in his homeland, Truong Van Hanh, from Tien village, Vo Ninh commune ( Quang Ninh province), became a pioneer in bringing civet cats to breed in the area.

Be bold and start your own business.

Having worked as a North-South truck driver, Mr. Hanh coincidentally learned about and became very interested in the civet farming model. Recognizing that civets are a highly valuable livestock, while very few people in his locality and surrounding areas were raising them, in 2021, after researching, he boldly brought civets from the South to try raising them. On his family's land, he began building cages and bought 7 civet breeding animals to raise.

Initially, due to lack of experience and knowledge, coupled with climatic differences, Mr. Hanh faced many difficulties in breeding and raising civets. Undeterred, he continued to learn more, joining civet breeding groups to gain experience. Thanks to this, he overcame the initial difficulties and successfully expanded his herd. Currently, Mr. Hanh maintains a herd of 20 breeding pairs of civets and 12 civet pups.

Mr. Truong Van Hanh from Vo Ninh commune with his civet farming model.

Mr. Hanh explained that civets, being wild animals, must be kept separately in individual cages. The cages are designed simply, not taking up much space, but must be sturdy and surrounded by wire mesh. For the civets to thrive, the cages must meet the standard of being "cool in summer and warm in winter." Breeders must regularly check and care for the civets because the weather in Quang Binh is quite harsh, with extremely hot summers and extremely cold winters. To maintain the temperature, Mr. Hanh installed a misting system and cooling fans in the summer.

Civets are relatively easy to raise, but for breeding, breeders need to understand their characteristics and apply appropriate breeding and care techniques for their offspring. Civets prefer solitude, so male and female civets should only be kept together for short periods to breed. In particular, during the breeding process, civets need a quiet environment, and access to their breeding area should be restricted; otherwise, the mother civet may carry her offspring away, affecting their growth.

Civets are omnivores, so their food must be of good quality to prevent disease and promote rapid growth. “To improve their digestive system, I only feed them ripe bananas and tilapia porridge. These are readily available locally, easy to buy, and inexpensive. Raising civets doesn't require much effort and they are easy to care for. Besides raising civets, I still have time to do other work to supplement my family's income,” Mr. Hanh shared.

Civets are easy to raise and offer high economic value.

Stable income

Civet meat is highly nutritious and can be prepared into many delicious and wholesome dishes. Civet musk is also a valuable medicinal ingredient in traditional medicine.

According to Mr. Hanh, civets have high economic value, but to successfully raise them, one needs to understand several aspects of their physiology, digestion, reproductive characteristics, and breeding and care techniques according to age. Typically, a female civet enters the reproductive stage after 10-12 months. Each year, a female civet gives birth to two litters, with 2-4 offspring per litter. About two months after giving birth, the mother and offspring can be separated into two different cages.

"Compared to other livestock farming models, I find that civet farming yields quite high economic efficiency. Many customers inside and outside the province are interested in buying civet breeding stock and commercial civets, but currently I haven't been able to supply commercial civets because all the breeding stock is bought up as soon as it's produced," Mr. Hanh said.

On average, Mr. Hanh sells 10 pairs of small civets and 4 large civets annually, earning over 120 million VND. Civet breeding pairs are quite expensive, costing 9 million VND/pair (2.5-3 months old), while young civets cost 10-15 million VND/each, breeding civets cost 25 million VND/each, and male civets cost 10-20 million VND/each, depending on the breeding stage. Besides selling breeding civets, Mr. Hanh also provides technical support to buyers from the time they bring the breeding stock home until they are successfully raised. He even visits the farms to provide guidance on raising them to suit local conditions.

The civet farming model provides a stable income for Mr. Truong Van Hanh's family.

Currently, Mr. Hanh is continuing to expand his herd with the desire to develop a large-scale farm, not only selling civets for commercial purposes but also supplying breeding stock to local people. In the future, Mr. Hanh plans to breed civets locally to supply the community; at the same time, he aims to create favorable conditions and encourage farmers by providing technical guidance and guaranteeing the purchase of their products. From there, he aims to link and develop a model for breeding and raising civets for commercial purposes, jointly building a brand for the farm and increasing income for the people. To achieve this, Mr. Hanh urgently needs the support and cooperation of all levels of government and local authorities in accessing policies and preferential loan sources to develop and expand the model.

According to Pham Thi Hong Nhan, Secretary of the Youth Union of Vo Ninh commune, Truong Van Hanh's civet farming model is a startup model run by Youth Union members and young people that has proven effective and generated high income. The success of this model not only helps Mr. Hanh and his family increase their income and become wealthy in their hometown, but also demonstrates the pioneering role of young people in opening up new directions for local economic development.

L.Chi

Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/kinh-te/202408/trien-vong-tu-nuoi-chon-huong-2220307/