Billionaire Hung Yen is a farmer who raises a variety of specialties, including crabs and crayfish, earning 20 billion/year.

Clip: Close-up of the farm raising specialties such as leather crabs, green-legged shrimp, soft-shell turtles... of Hung Phat Aquatic Products Cooperative, Quang Hung commune, Phu Cu district (Hung Yen province) directed by Hung Yen billionaire farmer - Mr. Luu Van Dung. Clip: Kieu Tam - Vu Ly.

9-hectare specialty farm in the middle of the delta

Following the instructions of Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duc, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Quang Hung Commune, we visited the aquaculture farm of Mr. Luu Van Dung, Director of Hung Phat Aquaculture Cooperative.

Located deep in Quang Xa village, Mr. Dung's farm is surrounded by lush green rice fields and orchards.

The 9-hectare livestock farm has been planned into square concrete ponds and tanks. Currently, the model focuses on raising specialties such as giant freshwater prawns, soft-shell turtles, leather crabs, V1 hybrid carp... according to VietGAP standards.

Mr. Dung confided: I have nearly 30 years of experience in fish farming. I raise all kinds of fish, from meat fish to fingerlings, but the ones that give the best profit right now are still the specialty fish.

Since raising specialty animals, Mr. Dung's revenue has nearly doubled, from 10-15 billion to more than 20 billion/year. Since 2023, when proactively switching to raising specialty animals, Mr. Dung's family has earned up to 20 billion VND/year.

The aquaculture farm of Mr. Luu Van Dung, a billionaire in Hung Yen province in Quang Hung commune, Phu Cu district, has a scale of 9 hectares, raising specialty fish, fish fry, and commercial fish. Photo: Vu Ly.

The giant freshwater prawn is a specialty that brings in a large income for Mr. Dung's family. Characterized by its blue claws, this large shrimp can be raised in both fresh and brackish water. The giant freshwater prawn can reach a maximum length of more than 30cm, which is much longer than freshwater prawns.

Giant freshwater prawns are sold at high prices on the market, ranging from 280,000 to 350,000 VND/kg (from 10-15 prawns/kg). Giant freshwater prawn meat is popular because the shell is not too hard, the meat is firm, chewy, delicious, sweet, rich in protein, and good for health.

According to Mr. Dung, the giant freshwater prawn breed helps farm owners save a lot of costs while generating high profits. In terms of pond area, giant freshwater prawns can be raised at high density in rice fields.

On average, for each hectare of water surface used to raise giant freshwater prawns, farmers can harvest 3-4 tons of prawns.

The model of raising specialty animals has brought in a large source of income for Mr. Dung, a billionaire in Hung Yen. Since raising specialty animals, Mr. Dung's family has earned 20 billion VND/year. Photo: Vu Ly.

Food sources for giant freshwater prawns are also easy to find, mainly fish... Currently, his family is raising giant freshwater prawns with tilapia. In terms of cost, tilapia only costs 5,000-6,000 VND/kg, while 1 kg of commercial giant freshwater prawns at peak season can be sold for 350,000 VND/kg.

However, giant freshwater prawns have poor cold tolerance. When raised in the North, due to the cold winter, giant freshwater prawns often grow slowly.

In warm weather conditions, this specialty shrimp takes about 6-8 months to reach harvest size, but if raised in winter, this period can be extended to 8-10 months.

The green-legged shrimp farming season at Mr. Dung's aquaculture farm starts in March and is harvested in August and September. To avoid winter, Mr. Dung usually only raises one crop of green-legged shrimp per year.

Product display location of Hung Phat Seafood Cooperative in Quang Xa village, Quang Hung commune, Phu Cu district, Hung Yen province. Photo: Vu Ly.

Grasping the market demand, seeing that green-legged shrimp can be sold at a very high price after winter, Mr. Dung is researching how to keep shrimp warm over winter to sell in early spring while still ensuring good shrimp growth.

High technology application in livestock farms

Not only is he good at economics, Mr. Luu Van Dung also actively transfers his experience in raising specialty animals, techniques for raising giant freshwater prawns, soft-shell turtles, and Da crabs... to local people.

Established in 2017, up to now, Hung Phat Seafood Cooperative, with Mr. Dung as Director, has 23 members, producing and doing business in many fields.

Regarding agricultural production, the cooperative is following two main directions: breeding high-quality breeds and raising high-quality commercial aquaculture products.

Depending on the assigned department, members are responsible for different tasks: giant freshwater prawn farming households, fish farming households, turtle farming households, fish farming households, fish care households... Each aquaculture model of the cooperative, after deducting costs, can earn a profit of 5-700 million VND/ha.

Mr. Luu Van Dung, Director of Hung Phat Seafood Cooperative, Hung Yen billionaire, is checking the crab farming tank - one of the expensive specialties. Photo: Vu Ly.

Every year, Hung Phat Seafood Cooperative supplies hundreds of tons of seafood to the market. With a diverse production model, the Cooperative is creating direct jobs for 20 workers, with a monthly salary of 8-12 million.

In addition, to create a large supply output to the market, the cooperative cooperates with farms inside and outside Hung Yen province with a total area of ​​up to 80,000 hectares, creating jobs for many households.

Large-scale aquaculture easily leads to increased labor costs. To improve efficiency while optimizing costs, Mr. Dung boldly applied digital technology to the production process.

In the initial stages, there were many uncertainties and difficulties in digital transformation in the cooperative. According to Mr. Dang Hong Khanh, a member, the cooperative started applying digital technology to production during the COVID-19 period.

"At that time, we didn't know much about new technologies, so at first we made many mistakes. But when travel was limited, we gradually had to learn how to apply automatic systems and technological devices to manage the model remotely. Using it a lot became a habit, now we are not afraid to learn new things...", Mr. Khanh said.

Many steps in the aquaculture process have been automated by Hung Phat Aquaculture Cooperative and can be operated remotely. Photo: Vu Ly.

Mr. Khanh further analyzed: “Previously, to manage 1 hectare of pond, we needed 1 person to look after it. Now, with 9 hectares, we only need 1 person to manage it. Because many steps and stages in raising specialty animals have been digitized, we only need to monitor them via computer or phone...".

With the current model of Hung Phat Seafood Cooperative, directed by Hung Yen billionaire Luu Van Dung, the application of technology has helped reduce labor costs by up to 8 times. If 1 person is paid a salary of 70 million/year, reducing 8 people is equivalent to more than half a billion...

Currently, many steps in the aquaculture process have been automated by the cooperative. Members can operate through machine systems such as: automatic pumps, automatic water regulators, automatic water fans, automatic fish feeders, automatic water regulators, etc.

Talking to Dan Viet newspaper reporter, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duc, Chairman of Quang Hung Commune Farmers' Association (Phu Cu district, Hung Yen province) said: "Mr. Luu Van Dung is an active and exemplary farmer member of Quang Hung Commune Farmers' Association. Hung Phat Aquatic Products Cooperative, of which Mr. Dung is the director, operates effectively, systematically and scientifically. Developing in the direction of raising specialty animals, the model of Hung Phat Aquatic Products Cooperative is being learned and replicated by many households in the commune...".