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New career, new potential

Mai Son commune has a semi-mountainous terrain, a rich system of ponds, lakes, and rice fields, favorable for aquaculture development. Realizing the available potential, since 2023, the commune government has coordinated with functional agencies to organize propaganda, training, and bring snail varieties for testing. The initial positive results have quickly attracted the attention of the people.

According to Mr. Au Van Tinh - Chairman of Mai Son Commune People's Committee: "Previously, people mainly engaged in agricultural production, with unstable income, depending on the weather. Since the snail farming model was introduced, many households have had more stable income. We have determined that this will be the main economic development direction in the coming time."

Apple snails (also known as black apple snails) are a specialty favored by many people because of their high nutritional value. The demand for consumption in the market is high, while the source of natural snails is increasingly scarce. This creates favorable conditions for the sustainable development of apple snail farming. A typical example of the apple snail farming movement in Mai Son commune is the household of Mr. Hoang Van Vuot in Son Bac village. In 2023, Mr. Vuot boldly invested in renovating a pond and field area of ​​more than 1,000m2 to raise apple snails after visiting and learning about some apple snail farming models in many localities.

Mr. Vuot shared: "At first, I was confused and worried because I had no experience. But after raising a batch, I realized that apple snails are easy to care for, and the food source is readily available in nature. On average, each year, my family releases about 30,000 young snails and collects nearly 3 tons of commercial snails. With a selling price of 60,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, after deducting the cost of food and young snails, my family earns more than 100 million VND in profit."

Thanks to the stable income from snail farming, Mr. Vuot has bought more equipment for production and continued to expand the scale of the pond. Not only that, he also supports seeds and provides technical guidance to many other households in the village and commune, contributing to spreading the model.

Similarly, Au Van Trieu's family in Bac Son village is also one of the successful snail farming households. With a farming area of ​​nearly 1,500m2, on average each year, Trieu harvests about 2.8 tons of snails, earning a profit of nearly 130 million VND.

Mr. Trieu said: "Raising snails does not require as much effort as raising pigs or chickens, and it also takes advantage of available natural food sources such as duckweed and cassava leaves. I plan to expand the area next year to increase production."

Making snail farming a main direction

Up to now, Mai Son commune has 60 households participating in snail farming with a total pond and lake area of ​​over 11 hectares. In 2024, Mai Son commune exported nearly 10 tons of snails to the market, bringing in over 540 million VND in revenue for the people. Currently, the poverty rate in Mai Son commune has decreased to 5.58%. This result is largely thanks to the development of new economic models, including snail farming.

Despite the great potential, in order for the snail farming industry to develop sustainably, Mai Son commune is also facing a number of challenges. These include the management of seed quality, the risk of water pollution due to concentrated farming as well as fluctuations in market prices. "Therefore, along with building the brand "Mai Son snail", Mai Son commune is also continuing to promote propaganda and mobilize people to participate in snail farming by implementing safe farming processes, without using chemicals that are harmful to the environment.

At the same time, we call on large enterprises and partners to invest and sign long-term consumption contracts to ensure stable output for farmers," Mr. Au Van Tinh added.

Looking back over the past 2 years of developing the snail farming profession, the people of Mai Son commune can be completely proud of the achievements. With support from the government and the initiative and diligence of farmers, it is believed that the snail farming profession will continue to open up new directions, contributing to making Mai Son a key economic zone of Luc Yen district.

Hong Oanh