Among the most successful examples is the household of Nguyen Thi Lan, born in 1974 and a resident of Xuan Thang village. Lan and her husband, Tran Van Luc, previously relied on fishing and seasonal diving work in Vietnam’s southern provinces. Around 2010, they shifted their focus entirely to land-based work, relocating to Le Loi village in Ky Xuan Commune to open a seafood shop and start raising goats.
“Back then, we had no experience and didn’t know if the goats could adapt to the coastal terrain and tough weather,” Lan recalled. The couple began cautiously, investing in just 10 goats as a trial. Encouraged by their healthy growth, they gradually expanded the herd.
Today, their flock numbers 63 mountain goats, generating an average annual income of around VND100 million. The success story is just one of many in Ky Xuan Commune, where goat farming is proving to be a viable path to stable and sustainable rural development.
According to grower Nguyen Thi Lan, raising a herd of mountain goats is not hard work. In the morning, the goats are let loose to roam freely up the mountain, along the coastal road to find food such as flowers, leaves, and natural grass; in the cool afternoon, the goats go down to the sandy and rocky areas along the coast to rest and drink seawater.
Compared to raising buffalo, cows, and pigs, raising mountain goats is much more economically efficient, suitable for the weather and soil here. In particular, mountain goats are rarely affected by diseases, require little care, have a rich and diverse food source, and do not require much supplementary food or investment costs. In addition, mountain goats reproduce and develop well, self-breed every year, increasing the herd without having to invest in buying breeding animals.
Mountain goats raised in coastal areas are healthy and of good quality. Each year, each mother goat gives birth to about 2-3 litters, each litter has 2-3 kids, the consumption market is stable, the price is higher than goats raised in other areas. Therefore, mountain goats have become a branded livestock chosen by many households in Ky Xuan Commune to expand and develop the economy. In addition, mountain goats raised in the form of semi-free grazing also contribute to promoting business and tourism development, attracting tourists to come here to relax, swim in the sea, especially tourists are very excited when they can pet, take pictures and play with the herd of goats, she said .
Similarly, for many years, resident Nguyen Xuan Linh said that his family has had a high income thanks to raising a herd of mountain goats. Previously, he worked as a fisherman, often staying up late and waking up early, which was very hard work and had an unstable income. However, from around 2013 until now, the family has started to switch to raising a herd of mountain goats in the form of semi-free grazing from 40 to more than 50 goats a year, bringing in an income of more than VND50 million a year, much higher than raising buffalo, cows, pigs, especially because it is not hard, less costly in terms of investment, food, and care. Thanks to that, the family's economy has developed stably and sustainably, and life has improved.
According to some local people, Ky Xuan Commune is an area with both sea and mountains, so in the past, raising mountain goats was quite new, the number of households raising them and the number of herds of mountain goats were small, but after the raising process, when they saw that they were very successful, mountain goats are suitable for the weather and soil, creating high and stable productivity and economic value. After that, households began to boldly invest in gradually increasing the size of their goat herds.
In the area, it is estimated that there are more than 30 households raising mountain goats, with an average of about 40 to over 60 mountain goats a household yearly, estimated to bring in an economic income of about VND50 million to over VND100 million a household yearly.
Along with the traditional seafaring profession, the mountain goat raising profession has really taken root to help many households in Ky Xuan Commune gradually increase their stable income, improve their lives, reduce poverty and strive for economic development.
