To raise snails organically, Mr. Tran Vu Tuan chose a cement tank with an automatic water regulation system. Food is used from fruit and vegetable waste. Low cost, snail brings him a good income.
Leaving the city to go home to raise snails
Wishing to get rich in his native land, in 2019, Mr. Tran Vu Tuan (48 years old, in Xuan Ky village, Dien Quang commune, Dien Ban town, Quang Nam) left town to return to his hometown to start a business with snail farming model. black pomelo.
“After many years of wandering with the construction decoration profession, although my income is good but the job is not stable, I decided to change direction. Realizing that the black apple snail market is still open, I tried it, did not expect this model. Early imaging gives high efficiency”, Mr. Tuan said.
With no experience, Mr. Tuan went to Dong Nai to learn farming techniques, and at the same time searched the internet to supplement his knowledge. Returning to his hometown, he renovated more than 1,000m2 of the family’s mixed garden, of which more than 500m2 built 39 cement ponds, each with an area of 10m2, with an automatic water regulation system, and raised 2,500-3,000 snails.
Initially, due to lack of experience, along with the lack of water supply in the summer, snails were infected and lost. Undeterred, Mr. Tuan spent a lot of time “eating and sleeping” with snails, finding the cause to overcome.
The second time, he continued to buy free-range seeds with the belief that it would be effective. Thanks to experience and technical stability, snails gradually develop and grow well. After a year of effective farming, Mr. Tuan invested 12 more ponds lined with canvas and 2 lakes on an area of 200m2.
In order to have stable output, Mr. Tuan actively links consumer markets inside and outside the province, and at the same time joins associations and groups to raise black apple snails on social networks to share and learn experiences.PhátTurn on the sound
Through many farming seasons, Mr. Tuan shared, Black apple snail is an easy species to raise. The food of snails is quite diverse and available, such as vegetables, grass, tubers and fruits. Farmers only need to maintain the water level in the lake deeper than 1m and let the duckweed serve as both a source of food and shade for the snails. Each batch of snails can only be sold for 3-4 months.
“I plant gourd and squash above the ponds to help cover and use as food for snails. The vacant land around the garden also grows more vegetables and grass, so it saves a lot of money. I do 2 crops a year. , each export and sell over 2 tons of commercial snails, giving an income of more than 200 million VND”, Mr. Tuan said.
Experimental raising eels living with snails
In order to take the initiative in breeding and commercial snails to supply to the market, Mr. Tuan put the process of raising breeding snail parents into production.
Black apple snails breed all year round, but the peak is from April to October of the lunar calendar. However, naturally spawning snails have a low hatching rate. To have a quality seed source, every day, Mr. Tuan collects eggs and puts them in an incubator. In order for the eggs to develop well, he regularly checks and adjusts the temperature, keeping the incubator at the right humidity.
According to Mr. Tuan, in the summer, the eggs are incubated for 7-10 days and can be brought to the pond to raise snails. In winter, about 15-20 days, new eggs hatch into baby snails. “In the process of hatching eggs, farmers have to spray water regularly twice a day to keep moisture,” Tuan said.
Not only buying commercial snails, people’s demand for buying snails is also very high. There was a time when Mr. Tuan did not have enough seed snails to sell. Every year, he supplies the market with more than 30,000 seed snails, selling for 400-700 VND/one depending on the size.($1=24,000 VND)
In addition to raising black apple snails, on the remaining garden land, Mr. Tuan allowed him to grow more guava, jackfruit, and areca and raise chickens, ducks and cows to rotate capital. In particular, Mr. Tuan is also piloting field eels living with black apple snails.
Sharing about this idea, Mr. Tuan said, in one time when he picked up duckweed and dropped it into a lake that had mixed with field eels, he kept it for a few months and discovered that the eels and snails were still developing normally. Moreover, eels grow well in snails and have a beautiful yellow color.
“Snails live on the surface, eels live on the bottom, so they don’t affect each other. The lost snails become food for eels. Besides, I raise more earthworms to supplement food for eels. The price of eels is high. 3 times higher than snails, I see this model as promising, so I am replicating it”, Mr. Tuan added.
According to Mr. Van Duc Manh – Chairman of Dien Quang Commune Farmers’ Union, Mr. Tran Vu Tuan’s model of raising black apple snails contributes to economic restructuring, converting crops and livestock towards specialized farming, bringing higher prices. high economic value.
According(Dan Tri)