October 28, 2019

Vietnam's Bac Lieu province to expand two sustainable shrimp farming models

The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu plans to expand its super-intensive shrimp farming and shrimp-rice farming models, Vietnam News Agency reported last week.

The former model was first developed by companies in 2017 and later expanded to households, according to the province's Agriculture Extension Centre.

The province has 1,845 hectares of super-intensive shrimp farming ponds, including 950 hectares belonging to companies and 324 hectares to households.

The model requires a relatively large initial investment of 1-1.6 billion VND (US$43,100-69,000) per hectare, but offers profits of 600 million-1 billion VND (US$25,900-43,100) a year.

As for the shrimp-rice farming model, farmers grow rice in the rainy season and breed shrimp in the dry season on the same rice fields.

The province has 37,700 hectares under the model, and, according to its Agriculture Extension Centre, has the capacity to expand it to 50,000 hectares.

The shrimp yield is 230-350 kilograms per rice crop.

The shrimp-rice farming model is environmentally-friendly as farmers use few pesticides and chemicals and it adapts to climate change.

Speaking at a seminar in Bac Lieu on October 24, Duong Thanh Trung, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, instructed local agencies to cooperate with research institutions to finalise the farming processes for the two models and train farmers.

However, waste treatment facilities should be included in the super-intensive model to protect the environment, he cautioned.

The growth of shrimp cooperatives and cooperative groups that use advanced farming techniques should be fostered, he added.

The province has encouraged farmers to breed shrimp to quality standards like Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

Luu Hoang Ly, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province was quickly building infrastructure for a high tech agriculture zone to develop shrimp farming, which would help to develop Bac Lieu into the country's shrimp industry hub.

The province plans to have four high tech aquaculture areas, including one for producing fry, by next year, and 10 by 2025.

It targets US$750 million worth of shrimp exports next year and US$1 billion by 2025.