Raising cold water fish - the right way to get rich of 3 Mong brothers

In Yen Bai province, taking advantage of water resources, climate and weather, Mu Cang Chai district now has many cold-water fish farming models , forming a chain of links, becoming a typical product bringing stable income to people in the highlands, in which the salmon and sturgeon farming model of the three Mong brothers Ho A Su, Ho A Rua and Ho A Cha (in Lang Sang village, Nam Khat commune) is a typical example.

The salmon and sturgeon farming model of the three Mong brothers was initiated and built by the younger brother A Su in 2021 after 7 years of incubation. "After completing my military service and returning to my hometown, with the desire to take advantage of the 'natural gifts' to get rich on my homeland, I researched and went to Sa Pa (Lao Cai) to study and research cold-water fish farming," A Su said, adding that when he had experience, he discussed with his two brothers to contribute capital to implement the model.

Trusting his younger brother and having spent time researching the cold water fish farming model, the three A Su brothers contributed capital, investing over 400 million VND to level the ground to build a pond and buy 4,000 salmon fry for experimental farming.

After nearly a year, over 2 tons of fish meat were sold to the market with a total revenue of over 400 million VND, after deducting expenses, the 3 brothers had more than 100 million VND in profit. The first batch of goods sold created motivation, encouragement and helped the 3 brothers continue to expand the cold water fish farm.

"In our Nam Khat commune, there is a lot of water, it is more favorable and cooler than Sa Pa, so I told my brothers to raise fish together. In 2023, we were able to raise fish and have products to sell to the market. However, currently, the canals and roads are narrow, so there are still many difficulties. We want the State to support us in building roads and providing capital to expand the model," said Mr. A Su.

Despite the difficulties they faced, the three brothers Ho A Su, Ho A Rua and Ho A Cha were still determined to take advantage of water resources, climate and weather to enrich themselves. According to them, raising cold-water fish is not as hard as agricultural production, but has much higher economic value. From then on, in early 2024, the three brothers continued to invest in building 2 more tanks and bought 4,000 salmon and 3,000 sturgeon to raise. Up to now, the sturgeon have reached a weight of about 1kg/fish and promise to bring high income to the family.

"I find that raising cold-water fish like this is not as hard as growing rice, corn and raising other animals. When the fish reach the right weight, they can be sold. The market is good. However, raising these fish requires higher techniques than other animals. In the near future, we will expand the scale of the pond and buy more fish to raise and create jobs for family members," said Mr. Ho A Cha.

Will replicate the cold water fish farming model to villages

Currently, in addition to cold-water fish farming, in Nam Khat commune, Mu Cang Chai district, there are many economic development models that bring high efficiency such as: Rose and mushroom growing models; tomato, chili...

Through these models, jobs have been created for hundreds of local workers with stable incomes. Local authorities are also encouraging the expansion of models towards commodities.

Mr. Ly A Sau, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Khat Commune, Mu Cang Chai, affirmed that in recent years, many young people in the commune have researched and developed models. A typical example in the past 2 years is the model of Ho A Su and his brothers. At first, they were very confused, but after 1 year, the model showed very high economic efficiency.

"We have determined that the commune's conditions are very favorable for models like this, so we will expand them to other villages, especially those upstream of the water source. We will send young people to the model of the three brothers to learn, and we can also organize learning in other provinces," emphasized the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Khat commune.

It can be said that the cold water fish farming model of the three brothers Ho A Su, Ho A Rua and Ho A Cha has demonstrated the determination to get rich of the people in the highlands. Thereby, it shows the awareness of the people in exploiting the potential and strengths of the locality to develop the economy, sustainably reduce poverty, and contribute to building new rural areas in the locality.