No worries thanks to high-tech shrimp farming

Quang Binh as well as coastal localities in the Central region have the same advantage in developing brackish water shrimp farming on coastal sandy areas.

In 2022, Quang Binh province stocked over 1,400 hectares of brackish water shrimp, with an output of nearly 4,200 tons. This year, localities stocked nearly 1,500 hectares, of which the area of whiteleg shrimp was over 1,200 hectares.

Mr. Le Van Loi, Deputy Director of the Quang Binh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that “The agriculture sector guides shrimp farming facilities to apply effective production processes such as the chemical-limited shrimp farming process, the 2-3 stage farming process, large-sized seed stocking, and shrimp farming according to VietGAP standards. At the same time, encourage the development of production in the direction of chain linkages to reduce intermediaries, reduce production costs, and attain traceability.” 

In whiteleg shrimp farming areas in the coastal sandy areas of Quang Ninh and Le Thuy districts in recent years, there has been a situation of abandoning ponds and not investing in new farming due to the low success rate in shrimp farming. Even shrimp farmers have had to endure the situation that the more they raise, the more losses they incur because of traditional farming methods.

Therefore, applying new technological processes to whiteleg shrimp farming on sand in the Central Coast provinces helps reduce risks, reduce environmental pollution, and increase productivity, quality, and profits.

In the past three years, Mr. Tran Anh Duc's shrimp farm (Hai Ninh commune, Quang Ninh district, Quang Binh) has introduced new technology into the intensive farming process and achieved high economic efficiency.

Mr. Duc's shrimp farm includes a system of seven farming ponds (each pond has an area of 2,500–3,500 m²). In the past, like many other shrimp farmers, Mr. Duc was always worried that raising shrimp was like "gambling with heaven."

“Shrimp farming keeps fluctuating in terms of successful crops and failed crops, so the farmers are always worried. Therefore, when stocking seeds, we only do it in moderation and do not dare to produce on the entire pond area," Mr. Duc shared.

After receiving support and applying new technology, in recent times, the efficiency of Mr. Duc's farming pond has been very high. Therefore, he gradually put the entire pond area into production with an extremely secure mind.

Mr. Duc said that the shrimp farming process is applied with new technology supported by Grobest Vietnam Company. All stages, from water source treatment to seed selection, feed, and disease prevention and control, are carried out by microscopic methods, so the success rate is very high.

“Through six consecutive shrimp farming crops, I achieved higher productivity in each crop than the previous crop. Currently, the productivity has reached more than 40 tons/ha/year. After deducting all expenses, shrimp farming brings an annual profit of about VND 2 billion. Applying this new farming technology helps us feel secure in production," Mr. Duc enthusiastically said.

This model is known to be the one that the National Agricultural Extension Center supports in technology. The Center has coordinated with Grobest Vietnam Company to deploy and select the best technology solutions to transfer to shrimp farming households in coastal provinces across the country.

According to Mr. Hoang Van Hong, Deputy Director of the National Agricultural Extension Center, introducing technology into whiteleg shrimp farming in coastal sandy areas is an opportunity to help shrimp farmers improve awareness and knowledge and regularly update the latest information on scientific and technical advances in seed production and brackish water shrimp farming.

From Mr. Tran Anh Duc’s model in Hai Ninh commune, the Quang Binh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has also directed localities to learn from experience so that they can apply it to other shrimp farming areas.

Mr. Le Van Loi, Deputy Director of Quang Binh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in recent years, shrimp farmers in Quang Binh province have also proactively learned and applied many scientific and technical advances in shrimp farming, such as farming in canvas ponds, 2-3 stage shrimp farming, high-tech shrimp farming, etc., thereby creating a new direction for sustainable brackish water shrimp farming.