Bac Lieu shrimp farmers use shrimp shells to make organic fertilizer

Economic efficiency

Long Van Nghia, deputy director of the Management Board of the Bac Lieu high-tech agricultural application and shrimp development zone, said that processing shrimp shells into fertilizer brought a lot of benefits, particularly in protecting the environment and making use of agricultural waste.

On average, about 20-25 kg of shells were collected from every ton of farmed shrimp per day, Nghia said. 

Nghia said that a shrimp farm with an area of ​​3,000 sq.m of pond water required only a composting area of about 200 sq.m.

On average, each hectare harvests about 200-250 tons of shrimp/ha/year. The amount of composted shrimp shells can be used as fertilizer for a whole year.

“Shrimp shells compost is very good for crops. The most important thing is that a large amount of waste from shrimp farming such as shrimp manure and shrimp shells can be turned into fertilizer for plants, which ensures environmental sanitation and brings economic efficiency to shrimp farmers,” he said.

Besides waste from shrimp farming, organic waste such as straw, leaves, tree trunks, coffee carcasses, sugarcane carcasses, sawdust, rice husks or waste from starch production and processing facilities, animal manure, organic waste from processing plants will be an abundant fertilizer source for crops.

Son Ngoc Xuan, a farmer in Cong Dien hamlet, Vinh Trach commune, Bac Lieu City said that his family applied the model of composting agricultural waste into organic fertilizer in 2019. 

He used the compost to fertilize chilli and organic watermelons in a net house. 

After seasons, the crops have grown quite well, the products are very welcomed by traders, he said.

Xuan added that many farmers used to use chemical fertilizers a lot and few people cared about composting agricultural waste as organic fertilizer. 

Since being trained by officials of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, he made the organic fertiliser from agricultural waste and used it very effectively.

With the initial effects of shrimp shells compost, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Bac Lieu province continued to coordinate with relevant units to expand the model.

Trinh Khanh Ngoc, Head of the Environmental Protection Sub-Department of Bac Lieu province, said that currently, the province’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment was coordinating with many localities, integrating and promoting circular economic models.

Waste treatment in aquaculture

Up to now, the total aquaculture area of ​​Bac Lieu province is over 140,000 ha, of that, the area of ​​super-intensive, intensive and semi-intensive shrimp farming accounts for over 24,000 hectares. 

The area of ​​aquaculture on shrimp-rice land is about 40,000 hectares and the combined improved extensive shrimp farming area is nearly 73,000 hectares. The total aquaculture production in the province is nearly 300,000 tons/year with shrimp production being over 200,000 tons/year.

The treatment of wastewater and shrimp shells is a concerning problem to the province now.

Ngoc from the Environmental Protection Sub-Department said that over the past time, the department coordinated with organisations such as Farmers' Union, Women's Union, Veteran's Association, Elderly Association, Provincial Youth Union, Fatherland Front Committee, Department of Industry and Trade to open more than 40 classes on environmental protection framework, models of composting organic waste into organic fertilizers.

Lu Thanh Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Bac Lieu province, in the 2021 plan, the department actively worked with the People's Committees of districts, towns and cities over the issue of waste treatment at shrimp farms.

The department also studied and learns new technologies relating to waste treatment methods in agricultural production, especially the waste from shrimp farming.

Making compost from agricultural waste will limit air pollution, reduce landfill area and add nutrients to the soil, reduce the abuse of chemical fertilizers. As waste is classified at source, the waste treatment will help the community to change their behaviours and get used to protecting the environment," said Trinh Khanh Ngoc, Head of Bac Lieu's Environmental Protection Sub-Department.