General

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Earthworm production in Ha Tay
                         
     
 
 
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Ha Tay Province

• situated in northern Vietnam
• 2.193 km²
• 14 Districts
• Ba Vi National park 7000 ha
• Population 2.386.770
• Kinh
• Muong Dao (ethnic Minorities)
• Main sources of income
• Agriculture, Small Business, Tourism
• Average per capita income per annum
• 70 bis 120 US

Ha Tay Province
Hanoi
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Ha Tay ProvinceSon Tay and Ba Vi district
Son Tay Ba Vi
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Who we are

• Goat and Rabbit Research Centre in Vietnam
  (VGRRC)
• founded in 1978
• 70 scientific and extension staff
• 64,9 ha
• 50 ha for trials on fodder production, trial
  fields, forest and fish ponds
• VGRRC demonstrates the advantages of integrated
  farming on site

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What we do Research Extension
Training

• Integrated Farming Systems
• Improving small animal husbandry techniques
  (goat, sheep, rabbit, earthworm)
• Breeding programme
• Fodder production
• Renewable energy (biogas)

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Training courses for subsistence farmers in their
villages

• VGRRC offers training courses for subsistence
  farmers
• at VGRRC
• at their villages

• Participants of a training course in Van Hoa,
  November 2002

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Earthworm lumbricus rubellus

• Earthworms are a special breed imported from the
  USA
• They reproduce best in shady, humid, moderately
  tempered environments
• Worms mature after one month, but it takes up to
  six months until they reach their full size.

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Production

• A culture can be started with 1kg worm per m²
  wormbed.
• Earthworms must mate to reproduce, even though
  one earthworm contains both male and female
  reproductive organs.
• Eggs are laid in a cocoon that incubates them.
• Eggs develop into tiny worms in the cocoon and
  crawl out through one after three to five weeks.
• Eggs are laid on top of the ground at one-month
  intervals, with each egg capsule containing 5 to
  15 baby worms.
• They will be ready for harvesting in about five
  months and continuing thereafter with proper
  care.

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Results achieved so far

• are based on simple low-cost technologies and on
  training. The main beneficiaries are small-scale
  women farmers who not only carry out much of the
  work at farm level but who were and continue to
  be the processors and marketers of their high
  quality products.
• Earthworm production has been tested for a couple
  of years at VGRRCs premises. Now the new
  technology is successfully adopted by by local
  farmers.
• Earthworms are a high protein feedstuff produced
  on-farm for poultry (chicken ducks) and fish.
• Compost can be used as almost pathogen free, high
  quality fertilizer in the house gardens. First
  steps towards marketing compost have been taken.

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Production unit

• The production unit consists of a flat bed made
  from bricks and concrete or stamped earth
• It is supplied with adequate drainage
• Earthworms must be protected
• from predators and heavy rains

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The worm bed

• VGRRC recommends to raise earthworms in worm beds
  consisting of 90 goat and rabbit manure mixed
  with 10 soil.
• Unlike traditional systems, no additional organic
  material is needed

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Earthworm production on-farm

• This ethnic minority farmer has recently started
  earthworm production.
• Cover and roof are made from bamboo
• She uses the earthworms to supply her scavenging
  chicken with protein rich feedstuff
• The compost is used to fertilize fruit trees in
  her house garden

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You can find us in the WWW

• For example at
• http//www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/lps/dairy/fdp/vietn
  am.htm
• http//www.kehlbach.de/
• or contact by e-mail binhbavi_at_netnam.vn
• by Telephone [phone]
• via Fax [phone]