September 27, 2024

 

Bến Tre, Vietnam, makes major strides in high-tech brackish water shrimp farming

 

 

Vietnam's Bến Tre Province has achieved a major development in high-tech brackish water shrimp farming after implementing a policy of developing the sector towards its eastern coast.

 

A resolution at the province's 11th Party Committee Congress for 2020-25 mandated developing towards the sea to exploit its great potential in aquaculture, power, tourism, and other maritime sectors.

 

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has three coastal districts, Ba Tri, Thạnh Phú and Bình Đại, which can be used for breeding brackish water shrimp, especially using high-tech methods. The province breeds the shrimp in 36,300 hectares of ponds, or 76% of its total aquaculture area. After three years of implementing high-tech models, it now has 3,509ha of ponds as of September this year, mostly in the three coastal districts.

 

The models produce 50,000 tonnes of shrimp a year, or half the province's total shrimp output, according to its People's Committee.

 

High-tech shrimp farming fetches much higher profits than traditional methods when prices of the crustacean are high, one farmer said.

 

Huỳnh Văn Cung, head of the province's fisheries sub-department, said the models have a breeding density of at least 200 shrimp per cubic meter and waste treatment facilities to keep the ponds clean and reduce the time needed for replacing water in the ponds, which helps keep out disease pathogens.

 

The models can achieve outputs of 60–70 tonnes per hectare per year and the shrimp can be bred year round, he said.

 

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has collaborated with shrimp processing companies and consulting units to help farmers develop high-tech farming to export standards.

 

The province has a 90ha high-tech shrimp farm with Best Aquaculture Practices certification and a 96ha farm with certification from the Global Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), both in Thạnh Phú District. It is developing a 200ha farm to ASC standards in Bình Đại District.

 

Bến Tre plans to have 4,000ha of high-tech shrimp farms by 2025. For that, it focuses on developing infrastructure such as roads, power supply, and irrigation in coastal areas.

 

Lê Minh Truyền, deputy director of its management board of agriculture and rural development projects, said: "The board is implementing two infrastructure projects to serve farming areas in Ba Tri and Bình Đại districts."

 

In Ba Tri, it is building roads and power supply infrastructure to serve 2,000ha of aquaculture farms, including 500ha of high-tech shrimp farms in Bảo Thuận Commune and Tiệm Tôm Town. It is also building six rural roads with a total length of 18.48km, a bridge and 18 sluices along them, and installing a three-phase medium voltage line of 24km length and 26 transformer stations to serve agriculture.

 

75% of works has been completed in that regard and remaining works are expected to conclude by the end of this year.

 

Bến Tre has also sought funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for building infrastructure for a high-tech shrimp farming area in Thạnh Phú District at an estimated ₫300 billion (US$12.2 million). In its plan to have 4,000ha of high-tech shrimp farms by 2025, 1,500ha will be in Thạnh Phú.

 

Đào Công Thương, chairman of the Thạnh Phú People's Committee, said: "The district will collaborate with relevant agencies and CP Việt Nam Corporation for advocacy activities to encourage shrimp farmers to switch from traditional intensive methods to high-tech farming." It would instruct relevant sectors and communes to establish high-tech shrimp breeding co-operative groups and co-operatives, which would develop linkages with stakeholders in the shrimp supply chain and meet conditions to access government support, he said.

 

The committee would closely co-operate with CP Việt Nam Corporation to guide farmers in breeding models suited to their localities areas, Thương added.

 

The district has established the Thạnh Phú High-Tech Shrimp Breeding Co-operative and three high-tech shrimp breeding co-operative groups.

 

Nguyễn Văn Buội, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said linkages are being developed between stakeholders in shrimp breeding, and selling.

 

Relevant agencies would focus on managing shrimp fry, especially their origin and quality, to ensure steady export, Buội added.

 

– VNS