Farmers in coastal areas of Kien Giang province invest in green mussel farming. (Photo: VOV)

The green mussel, or green-lipped mussel, is now widely bred in coastal areas of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, and has improved the lives of many local people.

It’s harvest time for the farmers of An Bien district in the U Minh Thuong region of Kien Giang province.

Local green mussel farmers say that, despite a decrease in prices this year, green mussels are massively procreative, so they don’t have to spend money on breeding stock.

What they need to do is invest in wooden piles, build underground frames for the mussels to cling to, monitor the growth of the mussels, and wait for the harvest time.

Nguyen Van Trang, a farmer in hamlet An Bien 6, said, “Green mussel farming produces a huge amount of profit. I’ve invested more than 1,300 USD producing 4 tons of mussel. The current price is 66 cents a kilo.”

The current price of green mussels is 66 cents a kilo. (Photo: VOV)

Vo Van Son of Nam Thai commune said that last year he borrowed more than 2,200 USD from the district’s Bank for Social Policies to invest in green mussel farming. The earnings from his first crop enabled him to pay off the loan and still save half his profit.

“It cost me more than 1,300 USD to buy wooden piles and build underground frames, plus other expenses. I harvested more than ten tons and earned more than 8,800 USD and still have a few tons left that I haven’t harvested yet,” said Son.

Nam Thai commune in An Bien district has more than 1,000 hectares of coastal alluvial land, which has long supported hundreds of farms households.

Poor farmers here have received unsecured loans from the Bank for Social Policies to do shrimp, crab, shellfish, and green mussel farming, are slowly getting oout of poverty.

In each 2-hectare mussel farm, 1,000 to 5,000 piles ò melaleuca wood are erected. Each pile produces out up to 30 kilos of green mussels.

At the current price of 66 cents per kilo, farmers can double their investment in each crop, according to Do Van Hoi, a local green mussel farmer.

He told VOV, “For more than 3 years, I’ve borrowed money from the Bank for Social Policies to raise green mussels. We’ve paid off all bank loans and will borrow more to expand our farming area.” 

An Bien district has a coastline of 21 km with more than 7,000 ha of water surface allocated to farmers for cultivation.

Despite climate change and price fluctuations, local farmers appear to have restructured agriculture in the right direction.