After many times of researching and testing, Luong Thi Lien, Director of the Hoang Gia Clean Food Cooperative in Tan My Ward (Bac Giang City) has succeeded in fermenting discarded fruits (bad looking fruits) into water for plants and fermenting leftover food into bran for livestock.

Local farmer uses by-products from Danh Mountain ginseng to make chicken feed.

Her family lives near Mia market (specializing in fruit trading) and can collect from 25-30 tonnes of discarded fruits. From these extracts, she obtains a multi-nutrient solution from fruit fermentation tanks which is used to water plants while the residue is used as fertilizer. The properly fermented leftover food becomes a source of food for cows and pigs.

“Applying the above method helps Hoang Gia Clean Food Cooperative reduce 50% of the cost of buying bran and fertilizer each year. Particularly, the livestock are healthy and the meat is delicious. In the agricultural sector alone, we earn nearly 200 million VND per year in profit,” Lien said.

For years, members of the Manh An Agricultural Ecosystem Cooperative in Quang Trung Commune (Tan Yen district) have used by-products from Danh Mountain ginseng to make animal feed.

The stems, leaves and residue from ginseng roots are boiled into drinking water for animals or chopped with corn, potatoes, cassava, soybeans, fish meal, rice bran, and other medicinal plants then pressed into pelleted animal feed.

Manh An Agricultural Ecosystem Cooperative is currently raising more than 1,000 chickens and 100 pigs. In fact, when using herbal feed, animals have increased resistance; grown and developed well, so the product selling price per kilogram is about 30% higher than that raised by normal methods.

With the above methods, farmers in many places continue to maintain the composting of straw, stubble and animal waste as fertilizer, helping limit chemical fertilizers, saving input costs and protecting land and water resources.

People also utilize waste from livestock to fertilize crops and raise earthworms which are used as animal feed; utilize sawdust and agricultural by-products as raw materials for growing mushrooms; collect corn silk and guava buds to make tea by freeze-drying, helping raise income from things that are thought to be discarded.

In addition, the farmers pay due attention to environmentally friendly rice cultivation; proactively apply mechanization to production, especially using tray seedlings, transplanters and unmanned aerial vehicles to spray pesticides. This method helps save about 150,000 VND per sao (old measuring unit equals to 360 square meters) and solves the problem of labor shortage.

To accompany farmers in production, help save input costs and increase profits, recently, all levels, sectors, and organizations have implemented many support solutions.

According to Le Ba Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, every year, agricultural production in the province discharges hundreds of thousands of tonnes of by-products, which if not properly treated will cause waste and environmental pollution.

Duong Van Huy's household in Yen Son commune (Luc Nam) self produces fish feed.

In 2025, the whole sector will further coordinate and implement solutions to complete the province's target of having at least 80% of livestock waste and 60% of agricultural by-products collected, reused, and recycled into raw materials, fuels, and environmentally friendly products.

In the coming time, the Department will continue to direct and coordinate in implementing the mechanisms and policies to support sustainable agricultural development.

In particular, the Department will pay attention to supporting and replicating good practices and circular production models; supporting expense for purchasing biological products, machinery, organic fertilizers, investing in water-saving irrigation systems, and high-tech agricultural production.