Mu Cang Chai residents raise carp on terraced fields

Economy

Mu Cang Chai residents raise carp on terraced fields

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Nowadays, a lot of Mong people in Mu Cang Chai district are engaged in the farming of carp on terraced fields after each transplanting season, bringing higher economic value.

The Mong people in Khao Mang commune, Mu Cang Chai district, create water tanks at upstream of the water source or near the fields for fish to spawn.

Sung A Chinh, who resides in Hang Chang Lu village, Khao Mang commune, has 1,400 sq.m of rice field. For many years, he has raised native carp in combination with rice cultivation, which not only brings symbiotic benefits to the plant’s growth but also generates additional income. He is also one of six households participating in the carp farming cooperative group.

"Raising carp in rice fields is very simple. It does not need much care,” Chinh said, adding that the most important factor is clean water.

Carp will eat harmful insects and their manure fertilises rice. It also helps minimise some pests and bugs that might be harmful to the plant, he said. As a result, rice grows well while fish can also be sold at prices ranging from 120,000 VND (5.1 USD) to 130,000 VND (5.5 USD) per kg, bringing in an average income of 20 million VND each year from fish for farmers.

Nguyen Duc Toan, Secretary of Khao Mang Commune Party Committee, said the commune has helped with the establishment of a cooperative group for breeding carp in the field to help households connect and share experiences.

It also collaborates with an establishment in Bac Ninh province in organising field trips and instructing locals on how to raise carp on rice fields to have products all year round as well as to serve tourism.

After breeding carp in rice fields for many years, local residents now know how to prepare the fish stock. From the beginning of the second lunar month, many Mong households have transported the broodstock raised from the previous crop to the fields or created small water tanks at upstream of the water source and put some bundles of dry grass or aquatic plants so that fish can spawn.

When the young fish are strong enough, people begin to release them into the fields. Then, farmers do not have to take much care, but just need to drain the water in the field, ensuring that the water level is kept at 5-10cm so that the rice and fish can grow together.

About 15 days before harvesting rice, households drain the water to catch fish while helping the rice plants to ripen evenly. It takes up to three months for fish breeding on terraced fields to reach their maturity. Carp raised in rice fields have become a specialty of highland people and many tourists when arriving at Mu Cang Chai.

Raising carp on rice fields not only brings income to people but also contributes to building a brand name for local clean rice and rice products because it is necessary to limit the use of chemicals or other harmful substances during cultivation for carp to grow well.

Currently, many households in Lao Chai, Khao Mang, and Ho Bon communes cultivate Seng Cu rice in combination with breeding carp on a total area of nearly 500 hectares with rice yield of between 4 and 4.5 tonnes per hectares.

The selling price of unhusked rice is 14,000 VND per 1kg and 22,000 VND per 1kg of rice.

In the coming time, the district will expand the areas of breeding fish on rice fields, contributing to the restructuring of rural economy, increasing income and gradually reducing poverty for the people in the highland region.

Hoai Anh

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