Awakening a Wild Mountain

After many years of experimenting with crops and livestock, Mr. Dao Duy Toan found suitable breeding subjects for himself: wild boar and red-fleshed dragon fruit. Since then, a wild, mountainous area in Trung Son street, Dong Son ward, Bim Son town has become a model for effective ecological farm development.

Awakening a Wild Mountain The wild and steep Tam Diep mountain system is where the wild boars of Mr. Dao Duy Toan's farm go to forage every day.

After winding for dozens of minutes on the gravel road along the foot of the majestic Tam Diep mountain range, we finally arrived at Mr. Dao Duy Toan's semi-wild boar farming model. From afar, the music of revolutionary songs coming from the level 4 house seemed to dispel the wildness of this land bordering Ninh Binh province. According to the staff of the Gardening and Farming Association of Bim Son town who accompanied us, this is the most remote area of Bim Son town, only a few years ago students went to school and people still enjoyed the 135 regime of the mountainous region.

Having been called in advance, the farm owner had prepared tea and was waiting. Through the stories of renovation and building a business in this mountainous area that is difficult to cultivate, it further shows the owner's will and thinking to develop production. The land to the east of the industrial town is mostly hills and rocky mountains that are difficult to cultivate, especially the Truong Son area. However, with the mindset of daring to think and dare to do, in 2012, Mr. Dao Duy Toan boldly bid for 2.6 hectares of land considered "dogs eat stones, chickens eat gravel" for renovation.

“In the early years, my family faced many difficulties. We did not have much experience in growing crops and raising livestock on a large scale, and lacked capital to renovate and build infrastructure, so we only produced moderately. On the other hand, because we had not applied science and technology to production, the experimental plants and animals did not have high productivity and economic value. Some crops and livestock failed, and many people advised me to give up,” Mr. Toan shared.

However, with the will to get rich and a passion for agriculture, he gradually restructured production, gradually finding suitable crops. Along with many trips to learn and gain experience from many integrated farm models in and outside the province, he firmly decided to raise wild boar and grow dragon fruit as the main direction of development.

According to him, without will and determination, it is impossible to turn a piece of land with little flat ground, many steep rocky mountains and only bushes into a prosperous economic model like today. Taking short-term to sustain long-term, he continues to invest in annual profits to renovate and improve production infrastructure, with a total investment of more than 3 billion VND to date.

Having said that, he led the guests to visit the purebred wild boar farm and introduced the entire production area. Explaining the long but empty barn, Mr. Toan pointed to the mountains and valleys behind the house, saying: All those wild mountains are where pigs live and forage. Every morning, I wake up to feed the pigs with chopped banana stems and corn kernels, then chase them up the mountains to forage. Late in the afternoon, I spread food in the barn and knock on objects to call them back.

According to Mr. Toan, over the years, the pig litters have become accustomed to the habit and biological rhythm of going to the forest in the morning to find food and returning to the barn at night. Then they grow up and reproduce almost wildly. On average, his family maintains 300 to 400 pigs. Of which, there are always about 40 mother pigs, giving birth to 2 litters each year, adding nearly 400 breeding pigs. He sells half of the piglets born, and continues to raise the rest to become meat pigs, so he does not have to spend money on buying breeds like other models.

This is a domesticated animal of wild origin, so it has good resistance and has almost no significant diseases. Pigs can run and exercise like in the wild, and do not use industrial feed, making the meat delicious. Every month, traders from Ninh Binh province bring trucks to the farm to buy pigs to supply to restaurant systems in many provinces and cities in the North.

Awakening a Wild Mountain The fish farm and pond at Mr. Dao Duy Toan's family are visited by many people to learn from his experience.

Maintaining a herd of hundreds of pigs, Mr. Toan's family is quite leisurely thanks to this creative farming method. Not being too concerned about rapid weight gain like many places, saying no to industrial feed is also the solution to maximally reduce costs in farming.

To earn more income, the Party cell secretary and head of Truong Son neighborhood also built a breeding pigeon farm with a total flock of 12,500. Around the house is a renovated land planted with 1,600 red-fleshed dragon fruit pillars, 50 specialized grapefruit trees and many fruit trees such as Thai jackfruit, persimmons, and late-ripening longans. He dug a 7,000m2 pond on the low-lying hillside along the foot of the mountain to raise fish in order to take advantage of crop and livestock by-products.

After more than a decade of efforts, Mr. Toan's family's ecological production model has now proven its effectiveness and sustainable development. According to his calculations, in 2023, this integrated farm will generate revenue of about 1.57 billion VND, including 1.2 billion VND from 10 tons of commercial wild boar. The rest is from pigeons, 25 tons of dragon fruit and various types of fish. Not only 3 regular workers, but 7 seasonal workers in the locality also have additional jobs with an average of 7 million VND/person/month.

In recent years, while many pig farmers, especially large-scale industrial pig farmers, have reported losses and had to hang up their pigsties, this model has been even more profitable because it does not require much investment. Persisting in the direction of clean production, Mr. Toan's family farm has become a small ecological area in the East of Bim Son town. Although he is 72 years old, he still dreams of completing the relevant procedures, raising more ostriches, peacocks, deer, etc., and investing in infrastructure to turn this place into an ecological tourist attraction.

According to the affirmation of the staff of the Gardening and Farming Association of Bim Son town, the organic ecological farm model of member Dao Duy Toan is a new and unique direction in local economic development. Sustainability is demonstrated through the production process of clean, food-safe products, which have been trusted by customers.

Article and photos: Linh Truong

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