Đinh Văn Thuận harvests swallow nests at his swallow nest farm in the northern province of Nam Định. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Lành

NAM ĐỊNH – As the first person to raise swallows for their nests in the northern province of Nam Định, Đinh Văn Thuận has earned a considerable income from the business, opening up new opportunities for people in coastal communes and utilising local advantages to bring outstanding economic efficiency.

Being a dynamic young man who desires to prosper in his homeland, Thuận has continuously explored and applied various models of family economic development, including raising livestock, cultivating crops, and breeding aquatic products. He has achieved high efficiency, becoming an exemplary youth in the province.

During the cultivation of aquatic products, Thuận noticed an increasing number of swallows seeking food around the Hải Hậu coast. After careful research, he learned that swallow farming had proven to be economically profitable in many places, leading him to the idea of​​ raising swallows right in his hometown.

In 2018, Thuận decided to give it a try. In the family's garden area, Thuận built a swallow nest farm using Malaysian technology. The three-story house with a floor area of ​​approximately 200 square metres was invested with soundproofing to attract swallows and specially designed to facilitate their nesting.

Thuận's swallow nest farm is about 300 metres away from the beach and close to rice fields interspersed with rivers and freshwater ponds. This is an ideal environment, providing abundant food sources for swallows.

After a year of operation, his swallow nest farm has attracted more than 3,000 swallows to nest.

Thuận shared that swallows are sensitive creatures while the climate in the northern region is unstable, with humid and cold years. Therefore, the family's nest production in the first years only reached 30-40 kilos per year.

This urged him to find ways to increase the flock.

Thuận introduces swallow nest products to a customer. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Lành

Thuận spent a lot of time researching and adjusting the temperature in his swallow nest farm to create an ideal environment for swallows. With these adjustments, the flock was proliferating.

With his experience, Thuận's swallow nest farm currently accommodates around 7,000 birds for nesting. On average, each floor of the swallow farm has about 1,000 nests.

Thuận revealed that only nests from mature young birds are harvested to ensure the sustainability of the population. Typically, nests can be harvested three months after the parent birds build them.

Each year, his family harvests 70-80 kilos of raw swallow nests, with a selling price of approximately VNĐ23 million (US$944) per kilo. Processed swallow nests are sold at VNĐ32 million ($1,314) per kilo, generating an income ranging from VNĐ1-1.5 billion ($41,080-61,620).

In November, Thuận’s two products, raw and processed swallow nests, were awarded a 3-star One Commune One Product (OCOP) certification. He is currently focus on developing convenient products such as pre-prepared swallow nests to meet customer demands.

Thuận stated that he proactively sends his products for analysis, and refines designs, packaging and labels to suit customer needs.

To boost product consumption, he strengthened commercial promotion events and fairs to build customers’ trust in his products.

As a result, his products are consumed wherever they are harvested, with 70 per cent of the products being sold through electronic commerce channels and social media networks. His business also provides jobs for five workers with monthly salaries ranging from VNĐ7-10 million.

Nguyễn Ngọc Anh, a worker at Đinh Thuận Swallow Nest Production Business, said that she is committed to work for the business for a long time as the income helps her raise her family.

Thuận is constructing four additional swallow nest farms to expand his business.

He said that he wanted to expand his product consumption to foreign markets. To achieve this, Thuận plans to invest in machinery to refine swallow nests, perfect product quality to meet export standards, and improve packaging and product designs to satisfy all customers.

Currently, Thuận is supporting over 30 households to raise and process swallow nests.

Vũ Văn Triển, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Hải Hậu District, stated that Thuận's swallow nest farm has been certified according to safety standards.

This is an exemplary case in the district for family economic development, paving the way for a new direction for local people, he added. – VNS