In Ninh Binh province, Thien Truong ward is known as a locality that strongly develops red carp farming, creating a stable source of income for many households in the area.
Currently, the whole ward has about 215ha of aquaculture area, mainly concentrated in My Tan and My Trung areas. Among them, aquatic products are mainly raised including Koi fish, ornamental fish and ornamental carp, of which carp account for about 80% of the total farming area.
Approaching the day of the Kitchen Gods, coming to the My Tan and My Trung areas in Thien Truong ward, from early morning the harvesting atmosphere at the farming ponds becomes bustling as people urgently collect and classify fish to supply to the market. Many traders from localities continuously come to order, making the fish farming area more bustling than usual.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, a red carp farmer in Thien Truong ward, said that his family has nearly 8 sao of red carp ponds. After nearly a year of care, the peak harvest time is near Tet. This year, Mr. Dung's family's fish output reached nearly 2 tons and has been fully ordered by traders.
According to local people, raising red carp to serve the market right on the occasion of the Kitchen Gods will take more than half a year to take care of. To have a quality fish crop, people must prepare ponds early, choose good breeds, regularly monitor water sources, and prevent diseases for fish. In particular, fish must be cared for to have a bright red color and be healthy to be favored by the market. Fish harvesting starts from about the 15th to the 20th and 21st days of the twelfth lunar month.
Not far from Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung's house, Mr. Phan Van Dung's family's fish pond is also busy pulling nets to catch fish and classify them for traders to buy.
My family has about 20 sao of ponds for raising red carp, this year's output is estimated at about 5 tons. Almost every day, Mr. Cong and Mr. Tao, the family is almost always in the pond to pull nets from early morning until late at night to have fish to deliver to customers. The price of fish this year is lower than last year, but in return, the output is good," Mr. Dung said.
This year, favorable weather helps fish develop well, the wholesale price fluctuates around 80,000 - 85,000 VND/kg. Depending on the farming area, the harvested output can reach tons of fish, helping farmers earn hundreds of millions of VND per crop.
Vice Chairman of Thien Truong Ward People's Committee Chu Thi Thu Hien said that, promoting the advantage of the Red River water surface, many households in the ward have developed models of farming combining ornamental fish and commercial fish. Diversifying farming subjects contributes to improving economic efficiency and socio-economic development of the locality.
