Starting with a modest $230 loan, a woman in Vietnam's Mekong Delta has built a turtle farm generating nearly $38,000 annually. Among her prized animals is a giant softshell turtle weighing over 40kg that has become a star at agricultural fairs.
Starting over with a $230 loan
At 60, Truong Anh Nguyet, a resident of Thanh Xuan Commune in Can Tho City, is the director of Thanh Loi Turtle Farming Cooperative and a member of the commune's People's Council.
Few would imagine that her thriving 5,000-square-meter farm, now home to thousands of softshell turtles, began with a desperate decision to change careers after a series of business setbacks.
Recalling her early years, Nguyet said her family made a living growing and trading oranges and mandarins about three decades ago. She traveled to various places to sell fruit, including Cai Be in the former Tien Giang Province.
Truong Anh Nguyet with softshell turtles raised at her farm in Thanh Xuan Commune, Can Tho City.
But the business struggled, and several years of heavy losses nearly wiped out the family's savings, forcing her to look for another way to earn a living.
During a trip to Ho Chi Minh City, she happened to meet a softshell turtle seller. Intrigued by the business, she began learning about turtle farming techniques and eventually decided to buy young turtles to raise back home.
An older sister lent her VND6 million (approximately $230) to get started.
"Without that money, I wouldn't have been able to build what I have today," Nguyet recalled.
She initially set aside about 400 square meters for ponds and purchased 1,000 juvenile softshell turtles.
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Softshell turtle eggs are collected and transferred to an incubation area at Nguyet's farm, where they are carefully tended until they hatch.Newly hatched softshell turtles at Nguyet's breeding facility.
With little experience and makeshift enclosures, however, she soon ran into trouble. Rain and strong winds damaged the corrugated metal barriers surrounding the ponds, allowing many turtles to escape.
After roughly two years, she sold her first batch, but the profit was negligible.
Rather than give up, Nguyet invested in another 2,000 turtles.
This time, drawing on what she had learned, she traveled to remote areas of the former Hau Giang Province to buy inexpensive golden apple snails. She used their meat as turtle feed to keep operating costs as low as possible.
The strategy worked. Her second batch brought in a profit of more than VND20 million (approximately $770), a substantial sum for her at the time.
Encouraged by the results, she gradually expanded her farming area, built additional ponds and deepened her knowledge of turtle breeding and husbandry.
Switching to giant softshell turtles and establishing a cooperative
A giant softshell turtle weighing more than 6kg at Nguyet's farm.Nguyet's 5,000-square-meter farm currently houses approximately 4,000 ordinary softshell turtles and nearly 1,000 giant softshell turtles.Enclosures used for raising giant softshell turtles.
After several years of raising conventional softshell turtles, Nguyet began farming giant softshell turtles, locally known as cua dinh, in 2007 after recognizing their faster growth and higher commercial value.
According to Nguyet, ordinary softshell turtles typically weigh around 1kg after two years, while giant softshell turtles can reach 3-5kg over the same period, depending on feeding and care.
Although the farming techniques are similar, she said giant softshell turtles are generally calmer and grow more quickly.
"Ordinary softshell turtles swim around all day and are constantly trying to crawl away, so they grow more slowly. Giant softshell turtles, on the other hand, tend to rest after eating, allowing them to gain weight much faster," she explained.
Her 5,000-square-meter farm now includes earthen ponds and concrete tanks housing approximately 4,000 breeding softshell turtles weighing 2-6kg each, along with nearly 1,000 giant softshell turtles of different ages.
Among them are around 300 breeding giant softshell turtles weighing 10-20kg each and one remarkable specimen weighing more than 40kg.
The giant turtle has been raised on the farm for 12 years and frequently accompanies Nguyet to agricultural exhibitions and trade fairs across Vietnam.
Nguyet said that while raising the two species involves similar methods, egg incubation and caring for hatchlings require considerable attention and experience.
Ordinary softshell turtles can begin reproducing after about a year, laying approximately 8-10 eggs per clutch, sometimes more.
Farmers generally begin collecting eggs for incubation and raising hatchlings from the second breeding cycle.
Softshell turtle eggs are buried in sand for incubation and typically hatch after about 55 days, while giant softshell turtle eggs take approximately 90 days.
Giant softshell turtles usually begin reproducing at around three and a half years old.
According to Nguyet, the hatchling stage is the most challenging because young turtles require close monitoring and careful care to minimize losses.
Currently, one-month-old ordinary softshell turtle hatchlings sell for around VND3,500 ($0.13) each, while giant softshell turtle hatchlings of the same age fetch approximately VND200,000 ($7.70) each.
For market-ready animals, giant softshell turtles sell for about VND340,000 ($13) per kilogram, while ordinary softshell turtles weighing at least 1.5kg command around VND260,000 ($10) per kilogram.
Nguyet keeps larger giant softshell turtles as breeding stock to produce hatchlings and expand her farm.
Giant softshell turtles are sold at different weights depending on customer demand.
Nguyet's farm now generates annual revenue of nearly VND1 billion ($38,000).
In 2009, she encouraged local turtle farmers to join forces and established the Thanh Loi Turtle Farming Cooperative with nine founding members.
The initiative grew out of a practical challenge: customers were placing large orders for hatchlings, sometimes requesting 20,000-30,000 animals at a time.
Individual farms struggled to meet such demand, while sales were also constrained by inconsistent hatchling quality and insufficient attention to breeding and rearing techniques.
Nguyet proposed that farmers pool their supplies through a cooperative, allowing them to fulfill larger contracts while maintaining consistent hatchling quality before delivery.
Although some farmers were initially hesitant, membership gradually increased as the cooperative secured more contracts and demonstrated the benefits of working together.
Today, the cooperative has 32 members.
According to Nguyet, its greatest advantages are more reliable sales channels and consistent hatchling quality.
When orders arrive, members can coordinate supplies instead of individually searching for customers and selling in small quantities.
The cooperative's softshell turtles and giant softshell turtles are now distributed to provinces and cities across Vietnam.
A 40kg giant turtle becomes a star at agricultural fairs
A giant softshell turtle weighing more than 40kg, raised for approximately 12 years, has been taken to agricultural fairs across Vietnam to showcase Nguyet's specialty farming model.
One of the most unusual attractions at Nguyet's farm is a giant softshell turtle weighing more than 40kg, which she has raised for approximately 12 years.
She has taken the animal to agricultural fairs in numerous provinces and cities, including events as far away as Hanoi, to introduce her farming model.
Whenever the enormous turtle appears at an exhibition, it draws considerable attention.
Visitors often stop to take photographs and videos, ask questions about the species and learn how the animals are raised.
For Nguyet, displaying the turtle is also an effective way to promote her products, showcase a distinctive local farming industry and explore new market opportunities.
Transporting such a large animal, however, requires special care.
Nguyet explained that the turtle is placed in a suitable bag or specialized basket before being transported to an exhibition, where it is transferred into a glass tank.
During long journeys, farmers must maintain appropriate moisture levels and closely monitor the animal's condition.
Assessing the cooperative's impact, Mai Thanh Vu, chairman of the Thanh Xuan Commune Farmers' Association, said it has done more than supply hatchlings and secure buyers for farmers' products.
The cooperative has also helped many disadvantaged households escape poverty and improve their incomes.
"The cooperative's activities have made a positive contribution to local economic development under the new rural development program. We highly appreciate Truong Anh Nguyet's perseverance, dedication and willingness to share her experience with fellow farmers," Vu said.
Vietnamnet.vn
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