Teacher starts business from soft-shell crab farming model

Teacher Dao Phuoc Xoàn, who teaches IT at An Thanh Primary School (Thanh Phu Commune, Vinh Long Province) is researching to develop a model of raising soft-shell crabs. The product meets the 3-star OCOP standard and is being registered with the trademark "Cua Mollusk Xu Dua" to be able to reach further.

Teacher Dao Phuoc Xoàn raises soft-shell crabs and has achieved a 3-star OCOP certification. (Photo: HOANG TRUNG)

Teacher raises soft-shell crabs thanks to social distancing

In 2020, when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, students had to stay home from school and people practiced social distancing, so Mr. Xoàn experimented with raising fattened crabs to resell for profit. At that time, Mr. Xoàn chose to buy soft-shell crabs (little meat) and raise them for a while to make them firm (lots of meat) and sell them for about 200,000 VND/kg, 70,000 VND/kg higher than average soft-shell crabs.

One time, he accidentally left a crab in a plastic bucket, so the crab molted by itself, and its meat was delicious. From then on, Mr. Xoàn had the idea of ​​raising the crabs until they molted and then selling them for higher profits. However, raising molting crabs was very difficult at first because he had no experience, so he had to learn while doing.

Mr. Xoàn recounted: “At first, I bought meat crabs to raise and wait for them to molt to sell, but I bought scratched crabs so they didn’t grow. At the same time, industrial feed polluted the water source, so many crabs got sick and died. After that, I had to gradually learn from experience to perfect the model of raising crabs from small to large, and how to treat the water so that the crabs don’t get sick.”

Mr. Xoàn raises crabs in ponds before putting them in plastic tanks to molt naturally.

Initially, Mr. Xoàn raised about 70 plastic tanks. When he saw high efficiency, he expanded the model to more than 300 tanks. At the same time, he raised the crabs in the pond from the small stage until they grew up, then put them in plastic tanks to wait for them to molt and harvest. Currently, after nearly 5 years, Mr. Xoàn has improved and perfected the farming process to produce clean crab products.

Mr. Xoàn said: “Previously, crabs were raised with industrial feed, which easily dissolved in water, causing pollution, making the crabs susceptible to disease. After many times of research, I raised fish myself and used it as food for the crabs, so the water source was not polluted, and at the same time, I produced clean crab products. At the same time, I raised crabs from small to large to achieve higher economic efficiency. Normally, crabs molt at night and in batches, so you need experience to watch the right molt time to harvest immediately. Because, due to the characteristics of the molting crab, the shell hardens in just a few hours, so it is necessary to watch the crabs molt and then take them out and freeze them for long-term preservation, ensuring the product is fresh and delicious.”

Currently, Mr. Xoàn's farming process is divided into four stages: small crabs are raised in a pond for about 20 days, then transferred to a second pond until they reach a weight of 70 grams, then scooped up and transferred to a third pond. After that, when the crabs reach a weight of about 150 to 200 grams, the firm ones will be selected to be raised separately in a plastic tank for about 7 more days to molt, then scooped out, frozen, and sold to the market.

Building brand and OCOP products from soft-shell crabs

In 2021, the product “ Ben Tre sea crab” was granted a geographical indication. Of which, the coastal area of ​​Thanh Phu accounts for 77% of the total crab farming area of ​​Ben Tre province (old) with more than 14 thousand hectares. This is a local specialty raised in rice fields, extensive ponds, mangrove forests, and intercropped with shrimp.

However, the soft-shell crab farming model is the first model that is very suitable for the soil conditions and water resources in the coastal area of ​​Thanh Phu. Currently, the price of frozen soft-shell crab is sold at 300,000 to 400,000 VND/kg but there is not enough supply.

Fresh soft-shell crabs cost from 700,000 to 800,000 VND/kg. Raising soft-shell crabs according to Mr. Xoàn's process will bring in 2 to 3 times more profit than raising normal meat crabs. On average, he sells about 300 to 400 kg/month, bringing in a profit of nearly 1 billion VND/year.

Mr. Xoàn's soft-shell crab products have achieved 3-star OCOP certification.

In June 2025, Mr. Xoàn's "Coconut Land Soft-shell Crab" product was recognized as a 3-star OCOP product (national program for one product per commune). Mr. Xoàn said: "After receiving the 3-star OCOP certification, I continued to submit the application to the Department of Intellectual Property ( Ministry of Science and Technology ) to register the exclusive trademark "Coconut Land Soft-shell Crab". Currently, the soft-shell crab products sold on the market meet VietGAP standards. Once they have a brand, are packaged and produced according to a clean process, we will continue to expand the model to meet market demand."

Chief of Office of Thanh Phu Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Truong said: "Mr. Dao Phuoc Xoàn's natural molting crab farming model is a pioneer model in the locality. The molting crab product has a very high value, 2 to 3 times higher than normal products. This is a new model that can be replicated to increase income from local indigenous resources. Previously, the People's Committee of An Thanh Commune (old) guided Mr. Xoàn to carry out the process and prepare documents to be recognized as a 3-star OCOP product."

Mr. Xoàn transfers soft-shell crab farming techniques to surrounding farmers.

Currently, Mr. Xoàn’s soft-shell crab products are only sold to local seafood warehouses and restaurants. Some customers and seafood suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, etc. have placed orders, but he does not have enough supplies to supply.

Up to now, Mr. Xoàn has provided technical guidance to 6 local farmers to implement the soft-shell crab farming model. After that, he will buy back the soft-shell crab products from the farmers to supply to the market.

According to Mr. Xoàn, the market demand for soft-shell crab products is very large, especially for supermarkets and restaurants in big cities, so he will continue to cooperate with farmers to expand the model, and together get rich from crabs, a local specialty product.

HOANG TRUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/thay-giao-khoi-nghiep-tu-mo-hinh-nuoi-cua-lot-post912072.html