Growing sea worm in the organic rice field

Agricultural Promotion Center in the coastal province of Quang Ninh has developed a commercial farming project that combines organic rice cultivation and sea worm raising in ​​90 hectares in 2020.

The sea worm, which is a favorite ingredient in the local cuisine, often lives along the river area in the districts of Dong Trieu, Uong Bi, and Quang Yen.

In the area, local farmers have embanked the riverbank into ponds and lagoons right in the rice fields to raise the sea worm by themselves spontaneously. Having potential but natural farming like that also faced limitations in breeds, farming procedures, and raising techniques.

In order to sustainably develop the resources and create a stable income for people, Quang Ninh Agricultural Promotion Center has implemented a project supporting farmers with sea worm breeds, agricultural materials, and production monitoring diaries to improve both rice and sea worm productivity.

According to the center, all cultured species in the project were well developed, promising an average yield of 300-350 kg of sea worm per ha per year, an increase of about 200-250 kg per ha per year compared with the natural raising. The rice yield also reached between 1.6 and 1.8 tonnes per ha each crop.

It was expected to have the first harvest of the combined products in January 2021, estimating the possible generate income from sea worm and rice to reach VND120-150 million (US$5,200-6,500) per ha.

Deputy director of the center, Nguyen Ba Lam said: “The center will continue to provide technical guidance to farmers, tours to help them exchange and learn experiences from other sea worm breeding facilities in other localities.”

Lam added they would also promote and support of the product consumption and build the brand for the sea worm of Quang Ninh in the market. Lam also called for more investment to develop other areas with the natural sea worm population in the province.