Abandoned farmland: [6] Unlocking economic value of idle fields

Raising ragworms on rice land

In Duc Vinh Hamlet, Duc Quang Commune, local residents have found a way to increase their income by combining organic rice growing with ragworm farming. The approach not only makes more effective use of farmland but also suits the locality's natural conditions and soil characteristics.

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Mr. Hoang Xuan Thoa is one of the pioneering farmers in Duc Quang commune to boldly switch from a 2-crop rice farming system to a model combining one rice crop with one ragworm crop. To transform fields that had long been used exclusively for rice into land suitable for both rice growing and ragworm farming, Mr. Thoa invested considerable money in hiring machinery to renovate the fields and installing a water-control gate system to bring water from the river into the fields, creating favorable conditions for ragworms to thrive.

Small plots have been consolidated into large-scale fields. Surrounding embankments have been built and reinforced to retain water. Water-control gates have been strategically installed, serving both as inlets for bringing water into the fields when the tide rises and as openings for setting nets to harvest ragworms as the water recedes. According to Mr. Thoa, machinery rental for field renovation cost tens of millions of VND, but this is a necessary investment to improve production efficiency.

Mr. Thoa said the most important aspect of this model is maintaining a natural environment for ragworms to grow. Farmers do not use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or lime, as these substances could affect the ragworms' reproduction and growth.

After harvesting the spring rice crop, the fields are fertilized with manure, plowed, and further renovated to maintain a water regime that rises and falls with the tides. According to local farmers' experience, plowing helps create favorable conditions for ragworms to thrive. When the tide rises, river water carries natural food sources into the fields. As the water recedes, ragworms move with the current toward the sluice gates, where farmers set nets to harvest them. As a result, after the rice crop, the fields enter the ragworm crop with virtually no additional investment in feed or care.

Ragworms begin to appear from around July to September in the lunar calendar and are usually most abundant in September and October. This is also when the weather is cooler, and the ragworms are plump, rich in roe, and highly nutritious.

Ragworms have distinctive habits. They usually emerge at night, around 7–8 p.m., and move with the flow of water. In some months, they only emerge on certain days, typically the first or 15th day of the lunar month.

According to Mr. Thoa, ragworms are a gift from nature, with each sao of farmland yielding around 30 kg (500 m²/sao). Prices vary depending on the season, reaching VND 500,000/kg at peak times and typically ranging from VND 300,000 to VND 350,000/kg. In years of good harvests, a family can earn tens of millions of VND from each crop. On the same plot of land, farmers can earn additional income from ragworms while continuing to grow rice, thereby producing clean agricultural products.

Mr. Phan Van Thao, Head of Duc Vinh Hamlet, said the hamlet currently has 315 ragworm-raising households on a total area of more than 10 ha. The combination of rice cultivation and ragworm farming has opened up a production model better suited to local natural conditions, helping residents earn high incomes and build sustainable livelihoods.

Consolidating farmland rather than letting it go to waste

Along the fields in Nam Hong Linh Ward, it is not difficult to see plots lying idle after the cropping season, covered with weeds. However, amid these abandoned fields, some areas are still being put into production.

Unwilling to see weeds overtake barren fields, Mr. Vo Ta Son, a resident of Residential Group 7 in Nam Hong Linh Ward, began taking over farmland from local residents for cultivation. From the scattered small plots, Mr. Son consolidated them into concentrated production areas, at one point covering nearly 30 mau (0.5 ha/mau).

According to Mr. Son, the initial cost of rehabilitating the fields was quite high. In return, consolidating the plots into large-scale production areas has given him greater control over farming operations and allowed him to bring machinery into the fields, reducing labor requirements and facilitating land preparation, sowing, and harvesting. However, maintaining these consolidated fields has required considerable labor and money. Total investment in harvesters and land-preparation machinery reached billions of VND. For each crop, the investment cost alone for the nearly 30-mau area is approximately VND 200 million.

Mr. Son stated that successful rice crops can generate substantial income. With a large production area, when weather conditions are favorable, with good yields and good selling prices, he can earn VND 200–300 million after deducting costs. However, rice farming is also unstable. In the most recent crop, rice prices stood at only around VND 5,300/kg, leaving Mr. Son concerned about the viability of production.

"It is difficult to make a profit from small-scale farming. Fuel and fertilizer prices have all increased, with some nearly doubling, while volatile rice prices mean we can only incur losses. This summer-autumn crop, I just hope the weather is favorable and rice prices rise so we can make a little money," he said.

Nevertheless, he has no intention of giving up and still hopes to make a living from farming once rice prices become more stable. More importantly, he believes some people still want to return to and remain attached to the fields. At present, his biggest concerns are not necessarily the weather but rats and weeds.

Abandoned fields have become habitats and breeding grounds for rats. When the planting season arrives, rats from field embankments and uncultivated plots move into rice fields in search of food, damaging crops and causing heavy losses. Weeds also thrive on land that has remained uncultivated for long periods, increasing the labor and costs required to rehabilitate and maintain the fields.

Another challenge is irrigation. Consolidating farmland into large-scale production areas is difficult when irrigation and drainage systems remain unsynchronized, hampering farming operations. The larger the production area, the higher the investment costs, while prices of agricultural inputs and fuel continue to rise and rice prices remain unstable.

$1 = VND 26,330 - Source: Vietcombank.