By growing weeds to sell as specialty vegetables, a farmer in Hau Giang province earns a substantial income at the end of each month.

Water spinach requires little care and low investment costs, but it brings very good profits to growers, especially since water spinach is popular in the market and has a stable demand.

Thanks to the profits generated by growing water spinach, Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan, a farmer in Hamlet 8, Vi Thuy Commune, Vi Thuy District, Hau Giang Province, converted his low-yield rice fields to water spinach cultivation over the years, bringing in an income of more than ten million VND per year for his household.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan's bulrush field, covering an area of 1,500 square meters, is three years old and still yields bulrush stems for harvest every day.

They quickly pulled up the water spinach plant and showed it to us; the plant's quality remained stable despite having been grown for many years.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan shared: "Thanks to growing water spinach, my family's life has improved significantly over the years. Compared to rice, water spinach yields much higher income, because rice is cultivated twice a year, and rice yields are low due to the low-lying, acidic soil; if the weather is unfavorable, the entire crop can be lost."

Trồng cỏ dại bán làm rau đặc sản, một nông dân Hậu Giang hễ hết tháng là

Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan, a farmer growing bulrush in Vi Thuy commune (Vi Thuy district, Hau Giang province), is harvesting bulrush to sell to traders.

In reality, with 1.5 acres of rice land, if the harvest is favorable, the profit earned is about 3 million VND/2 crops/year. As for the water spinach, it takes about 4 months from planting to harvesting, and the plants can be harvested every day. To date, the water spinach field, which is 3 years old, is still yielding good results.”

According to Mr. Tan, with an area of 1,500 m2 planted with water spinach, he harvests more than 400kg each month. After harvesting, traders come to his house to buy the water spinach at a price of 35,000-40,000 VND/kg. After deducting expenses, he pockets more than 10 million VND per month.

Besides selling fresh water spinach, Mr. Trung Tan also makes pickled water spinach to sell according to customer orders. On average, he sells 10-30 jars of pickled water spinach per month at a price of 110,000 VND per jar.

Although water spinach is easy to grow and requires little care, achieving a high yield and good quality harvest requires careful attention.

Once a month, Mr. Tan will apply granular fertilizer to the entire area of his water spinach field, and at the same time, he will regularly observe the plants for pest attacks, using biological products to control them.

The health and vitality of the water chestnut plant largely depend on water availability, so the water level in the field must be maintained at a stable level, about half a meter, for the plant to thrive.

To increase income from his water spinach farming model, Mr. Hoang Gioi released various types of freshwater fish such as: butterfly catfish, striped catfish, perch, snakehead fish, yellow catfish… into the water spinach fields.

Fish raised in rice paddies planted with water spinach don't need to be fed, so there are no feed costs.

He also raised about 40 egg-laying ducks, releasing them directly into the fields where he grew water spinach, feeding the ducks golden apple snails to limit the snails from damaging the water spinach.

The model of growing water spinach in rice fields combined with raising freshwater fish such as striped snakehead, tilapia, catfish, and common snakehead... is practiced by Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan, a farmer in Hamlet 8, Vi Thuy Commune, Vi Thuy District, Hau Giang Province.

The farmed fish will be harvested twice a year, yielding a profit of nearly 10 million VND per year after deducting expenses; the ducks laying eggs also bring in several million VND per year from selling duck eggs. In addition, around the embankment of the rice paddies, Mr. Tan also grows bananas and coconuts, which provide him with monthly income.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Tan added: "Cultivating water spinach has many advantages, as it can be combined with raising freshwater fish because the water level in the rice paddies is kept stable year-round. Around the embankments where water spinach is grown, other vegetables and short-term industrial crops can be grown, along with poultry farming."

"Through cultivating water spinach, combined with raising fish, poultry, and planting bananas on the embankments of the water spinach fields, I earn over 50 million VND per year from an area of 1,500 square meters dedicated to water spinach cultivation."

Ms. Tran Thi Hong Anh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Vi Thuy commune (Vi Thuy district, Hau Giang province), said: "Water spinach is one of the characteristic crops of the low-lying, acidic soil in the commune. To develop water spinach production in the future, the commune is also mobilizing, encouraging, and guiding farmers to grow water spinach in a safe manner."

"The locality is building a brand for its water spinach products, aiming to bring the best quality products to the market and create competitiveness, contributing to increasing the value of water spinach products, especially increasing income for people who have long been involved with water spinach production."

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