HCM City (VNS/VNA)- Provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta, the country's largest shrimp producer, are increasing their shrimp output this year andfocusing on developing sustainable shrimp farming models that bring highprofits.

Farmers and companies in thedelta are breeding shrimp under several farming models that have proven tobe successful, including industrial farming, intensive farming,super-intensive farming, extensive farming, shrimp – rice farming, and shrimp –forest farming.

Many farming areashave met the Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) andGlobal Good Agricultural Practices (GlobalGAP) standards, BestAquaculture Practices (BAP) and Global Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).

To meet shrimp output targetsthis year, the provinces have set up farming schedules for shrimp crops ineach area and instructed farmers to strictly follow the schedules.

Farmers in Kien Giang province,for example, have received instructions on shrimp – rice farming in UMinh Thuong district, black tiger shrimp breeding along the Cai Lon Riverand in coastal areas, and industrial and semi-industrial shrimp farming.

Kien Giang is working withother provinces to inspect the quality of shrimp fry bought into Kien Giang forbreeding, according to its Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.  

Farmers must design theirshrimp ponds properly to cope with harsh weather conditions like prolonged heatand drought.

The provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development aims to farm 120,000ha of shrimp with anannual output of 85,000 tonnes this year, up about 3,000 tonnes against lastyear.

Soc Trang province plans tobreed more than 50,000ha of shrimp with an annual output of 167,000 tonnes thisyear, up more than 17,000 tonnes against last year, according to the province’sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Last year, most provinces inthe delta, which includes 12 provinces and Can Tho city, had good shrimpharvests and high profits.  

Soc Trang had a good harvest ofmore than 150,000 tonnes of shrimp last year, up 11 percent against 2018,according to the province's Fisheries Sub-department.  

Quach Thi Thanh Binh, deputyhead of the sub-department, said: “We had a good harvest because we provided advancedfarming techniques to farmers, and strictly inspected water used forfarming shrimp and preventing shrimp disease.”  

In addition, the provinceimproved the management of input materials, shrimp fry as wellas co-op groups and co-operatives,and strengthened linkages between farmers and companies to guaranteeoutlets for farmers.

High profits

Pham Minh Truyen, directorof Tra Vinh province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development,said farmers in Tra Vinh earned a profit 200-300 million VND (8,600-12,900 USD)per hectare a crop from breeding black tiger shrimp and white-leggedshrimp under semi-intensive or intensive farming models last year.

Farmers who bredwhite-legged shrimp under the super-intensive farming model also had a profit of500-800 million VND (21,600-34,500 USD) per hectare a crop.

The model of super-intensiveshrimp farming has had a high success rate and is environmentallyfriendly. 

However, the model requireslarge initial investments for shrimp ponds, including anti-sunlight nets,oxygen-generating facilities and other equipment.  As aresult, the super-intensive shrimp farming areas are still smallcompared to other farming models.

Ca Mau province, the country’slargest shrimp producer, has 2,510ha of super-intensive shrimp farming out ofits total 280,000ha shrimp farming area. The province plans to increase thesuper-intensive shrimp farming area to 2,800ha this year, according to itsPeople’s Committee. 

Delta authorities haveencouraged farmers to develop shrimp-rice farming and shrimp-forest farmingmodels because they produce clean shrimp and can adapt to climate change andsaltwater intrusion.

Under the shrimp-rice farmingmodel, farmers in coastal areas breed black tiger shrimp, white-legged shrimpor giant river prawns in the dry season and grow rice in the rainy season inthe same rice fields.

The shrimp-rice farming modelrequires a low investment cost of 30-35 million VND (1,300-1,500 USD) perha and is effective because shrimp eat mostly natural food fromthe rice fields and have few diseases, according to agriculturalofficials.

The model has a yield of 300 –500 kilogrammes of shrimp and 4 – 7 tonnes of paddy per hectare a year.Farmers earn a profit of 35-50 million VND (1,500-2,100 USD) per hectare ayear.

Rice and shrimp produced underthe model are considered "clean" products because farmersuse few chemicals.

The area of shrimp – ricefarming in the Mekong Delta expanded from 71,000ha in 2000 to 185,000ha in2018, mostly in Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces, according to theDirectorate of Fisheries.

Ca Mau province has more than45,000ha of shrimp – rice farming areas, mostly in Thoi Binh, U Minh, Tran VanThoi and Cai Nuoc districts and Ca Mau city.

Farmer Vo Minh Quang of UMinh district said that shrimp-rice farming was the most effective shrimpfarming model in the area.

Quang has rotated breedingshrimp and growing rice in his 3ha fields for five years.

Pham Thanh Quang, head of theDoan Ket cooperative group in Soc Trang province’s My Xuyen district, said:“Farmers receive many benefits from the shrimp-rice farming model,especially improved fertility of rice fields.”

Members of the co-op arealso guaranteed outlets for their produce and given rice seedsby their contracted company.

In addition, 30 percent ofthe cost for organic fertiliser and bio-products are provided by theprovince’s Sub-department of Plant Protection and Cultivation.

The cooperative group has 24members with a total farming area of 14ha. 

Nguyen Phuong Hung, deputydirector of the Bac Lieu Agriculture Extension Centre, said: “The shrimp-ricefarming model is commonly used in low-yield rice fields” and doesnot require advanced farming techniques.

However, the model needsirrigation systems that supply fresh water for rice in the rainy season andbrackish water for shrimp in the dry season, he added./.