A collective cheer went up from the young students as a large schoolof fish surfaced in a pond in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, rushingto eat the feed scattered by a farm worker.
But it was not all fun and games for the young visitors from New Zealand.
Minutesearlier, they'd peppered staff of the 20ha farm with questions onbusiness operations, revenue, markets, jobs and salaries.
Maintainedby the Phu Thuan Fisheries Company, the farm is one of several dozen inthe city that meet GlobalGAP standards, the students learnt.
They'd visited the pangasius catfish farm after a tour of the Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho, which was also an eye-opener.
"It was a wonderful experience," said Josh van Veen, 25, a graduate of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
Currentlyworking on his master's in political science and internationalrelations, van Veen said: "We had the opportunity to experience localculture. It was very different from what I knew earlier. The visit toVietnam has been an eye-opening experience.
"The people were very warm and friendly and the weather was nice. There were many beautiful sites."
The students are on an Asian tour which is part of winning a fellowship awarded by the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
‘Thisgroup of students was not the first, and they will not be the last onefrom New Zealand to come to Vietnam. With this programme, we want togive young New Zealanders the chance to experience and see forthemselves what is happening here, in particular the energy and dynamismof Vietnam," New Zealand Ambassador Haike Manning told Viet Nam News.
He said the programme helps connect the people of both countries.
Whenthe free trade agreement that New Zealand and Vietnam are currentlynegotiating becomes a reality, fish farms like the one the studentsvisited in Can Tho will have more market choices for their products ifthey meet their destination market's standards.
As the studentswalked around the farm, they learnt more about fish farming practices inVietnam. The one they were visiting produces on average 600 tonnes ofpangasius catfish annually. The output can go up to 950 tonnes.
Theylearnt that Vietnam's aquaculture production has grown at an annualrate of more than 12 percent in recent years and that Mekong Deltaaccounts for over 70 percent of the total aquaculture area andproduction in the whole country.
"This trip to Vietnam helped meknow more about the structure of its economy," said Ed Haslam, 20, astudent majoring in economics at the Victoria University in Wellington,New Zealand.
"In New Zealand, we buy ocean fish from SoutheastAsia countries, but this freshwater fish has high quality. Maybe it canbecome more premium product in New Zealand."
Almost all of the students saw opportunities for greater co-operation between the two countries.
"Environmental standard on the Mekong River is one of my concerns," Haslam said.
"InNew Zealand we have high environmental standards. All waste must betreated before it is discharged, but you don't have the same level ofconcern about the environment at the moment. I see an opportunity forco-operation here," he added.
Christina Wray, 20, also a student of Victoria University, said she hoped to return to Vietnam as a diplomat.
"I want to become a politician," said van Veen. "I will return to Vietnam one day and visit Ha Noi again.
Whenvisiting the fish farm in the Mekong Delta, I could see a lot of scopefor co-operation between Vietnam and New Zealand, especially inagriculture and aquaculture.
"We already have strong relationsbetween our countries, but there is much potential for improvement inthe future. In my assignment on New Zealand's relations with SoutheastAsia, I think I will focus on Vietnam."-VNA
But it was not all fun and games for the young visitors from New Zealand.
Minutesearlier, they'd peppered staff of the 20ha farm with questions onbusiness operations, revenue, markets, jobs and salaries.
Maintainedby the Phu Thuan Fisheries Company, the farm is one of several dozen inthe city that meet GlobalGAP standards, the students learnt.
They'd visited the pangasius catfish farm after a tour of the Cai Rang Floating Market in Can Tho, which was also an eye-opener.
"It was a wonderful experience," said Josh van Veen, 25, a graduate of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
Currentlyworking on his master's in political science and internationalrelations, van Veen said: "We had the opportunity to experience localculture. It was very different from what I knew earlier. The visit toVietnam has been an eye-opening experience.
"The people were very warm and friendly and the weather was nice. There were many beautiful sites."
The students are on an Asian tour which is part of winning a fellowship awarded by the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
‘Thisgroup of students was not the first, and they will not be the last onefrom New Zealand to come to Vietnam. With this programme, we want togive young New Zealanders the chance to experience and see forthemselves what is happening here, in particular the energy and dynamismof Vietnam," New Zealand Ambassador Haike Manning told Viet Nam News.
He said the programme helps connect the people of both countries.
Whenthe free trade agreement that New Zealand and Vietnam are currentlynegotiating becomes a reality, fish farms like the one the studentsvisited in Can Tho will have more market choices for their products ifthey meet their destination market's standards.
As the studentswalked around the farm, they learnt more about fish farming practices inVietnam. The one they were visiting produces on average 600 tonnes ofpangasius catfish annually. The output can go up to 950 tonnes.
Theylearnt that Vietnam's aquaculture production has grown at an annualrate of more than 12 percent in recent years and that Mekong Deltaaccounts for over 70 percent of the total aquaculture area andproduction in the whole country.
"This trip to Vietnam helped meknow more about the structure of its economy," said Ed Haslam, 20, astudent majoring in economics at the Victoria University in Wellington,New Zealand.
"In New Zealand, we buy ocean fish from SoutheastAsia countries, but this freshwater fish has high quality. Maybe it canbecome more premium product in New Zealand."
Almost all of the students saw opportunities for greater co-operation between the two countries.
"Environmental standard on the Mekong River is one of my concerns," Haslam said.
"InNew Zealand we have high environmental standards. All waste must betreated before it is discharged, but you don't have the same level ofconcern about the environment at the moment. I see an opportunity forco-operation here," he added.
Christina Wray, 20, also a student of Victoria University, said she hoped to return to Vietnam as a diplomat.
"I want to become a politician," said van Veen. "I will return to Vietnam one day and visit Ha Noi again.
Whenvisiting the fish farm in the Mekong Delta, I could see a lot of scopefor co-operation between Vietnam and New Zealand, especially inagriculture and aquaculture.
"We already have strong relationsbetween our countries, but there is much potential for improvement inthe future. In my assignment on New Zealand's relations with SoutheastAsia, I think I will focus on Vietnam."-VNA
