That is a story of grape growers who sell the vine leaves and branches to goat breeders after harvesting the grapes and then, goat breeders sell the goat manure to grape growers.
This is a discreet exchange circle of by-products. In many other localities, cow breeders also exchange manure for straw, helping avoid the burning of dry straw in the fields.
In Ninh Thuan’s grape growing areas, growers not only harvest grapes for sale, but also enjoy another value, selling tickets to tourists who visit their vineyards. The ticket price is low, but grape growers can also sell products made from grapes to visitors.
In the past, the branches and leaves of vines had to be cut off to make green manure or were thrown away but now, all of them are sold to goat breeders.
Also in the past, goat breeders needed large forests or hills to release goats for grass and leaves. Now, with a huge demand for goat meat, goats grazing in this way do not have enough natural food.
Goat breeders who graze their goats have switched to raising goats in barns. The food for goats is now the by-product of other cultivation processes, such as grape leaves, black bean leaves and soybeans combined with a species of grass grown for goats only. Motorbikes carrying fresh grape leaves to goat stables can be seen at Thai An village, Vinh Hai commune, Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province.
Many households do not have land to grow grapes, so they raise goats in stables. They can also collect goat manure to sell to grape growers.
When provided with grape leaves, the goats’ digestive system is stimulated and they grow faster than if just eating a single type of food. In order to have quality grapes, organic fertilizers are very important. Goat manure is small and uniform and can be compressed very tightly and be stuffed into the soil. This is a closed loop, bringing about mutual benefits for both growers and breeders, including a clean and tidy environment.
There is an agreement, a win-win relationship between grape growers and goat breeders in cutting vine branches and leaves after each crop. Grape growers do not need to worry about any delay in cutting that may affect their next grape crop.
Vine is a tree chosen to grow on land lacking fresh water for irrigation. There is a perfect organic combination between this animal and plant. The circular economy is not a far-fetched economic concept but it can be seen through grape cultivation in relation to goat raising. It is the utilisation and saving of raw materials, the connection between producers, and the use outputs or waste products of one industry as inputs for another.
That is also a way of doing business for producers who have a sense of thrift and know how to take advantage of the area's ecological characteristics in a scientific way, aligned with environmental protection.
