Farmers harvest white-legged shrimp bred using high-tech farming methods in Bến Tre Province’s Thạnh Phú District. – VNA/VNS Photo Công Trí

BẾN TRE – Bến Tre Province has achieved significant development in high-tech brackish water shrimp farming after implementing a policy of developing it towards its eastern coast.

A resolution at the province's 11th Party Committee Congress for 2020-25 mandated developing towards the sea to exploit its great potential in aquaculture, power, tourism, and other maritime sectors.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has three coastal districts, Ba Tri, Thạnh Phú and Bình Đại, which have great potential for breeding brackish water shrimp, especially using high-tech methods.

It breeds the shrimp in 36,300ha of ponds, or 76 per cent of its total aquaculture area.

After three years of implementing high-tech models, it had 3,509ha of ponds as of this month, mostly in the three coastal districts.

The models produce 50,000 tonnes of shrimp a year, or half the province’s total shrimp output, according to its People’s Committee.

Lê Văn Sấm in Thạnh Phú District’s Thạnh Hải Commune has farmed shrimp under these models for five years in 45ha of ponds.

He harvests 500-700 tonnes of shrimp a year and earns VNĐ40 billion (US$1.6 million), he said.

High-tech shrimp farming fetches many times higher profits than traditional methods when prices of the crustacean are high, he said.

Huỳnh Văn Cung, head of the province’s fisheries sub-department, said the models have a breeding density of at least 200 shrimp per cubic meter and waste treatment facilities to keep the ponds clean and reduce the time needed for replacing water in the ponds, which helps keep out disease pathogens.

The models can achieve outputs of 60 – 70 tonnes per hectare per year and the shrimp can be bred year round, and so they have become popular, he said.

The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has collaborated with shrimp processing companies and consulting units to help farmers develop high-tech farming to export standards.

The province has a 90ha high-tech shrimp farm with Best Aquaculture Practices certification and a 96ha farm with certification from the Global Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), both in Thạnh Phú District.

It is developing a 200ha farm to ASC standards in Bình Đại District.

Infrastructure

High-tech shrimp farming ponds in Bến Tre Province’s Thạnh Phú District. – VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Phúc Hậu

Bến Tre plans to have 4,000ha of high-tech shrimp farms by 2025.

For that, it focuses on developing infrastructure such as roads, power supply and irrigation in coastal areas.

Lê Minh Truyền, deputy director of its management board of agriculture and rural development projects, said: “The board is implementing two infrastructure projects to serve farming areas in Ba Tri and Bình Đại districts.”

In Ba Tri, it is building roads and power supply infrastructure to serve 2,000ha of aquaculture farms, including 500ha of high-tech shrimp farms in Bảo Thuận Commune and Tiệm Tôm Town.

It is building six rural roads with a total length of 18.48km, a bridge and 18 sluices along them, and installing a three-phase medium voltage line of 24km length and 26 transformer stations to serve agriculture.

It has been completed 75 per cent of the VNĐ164 billion ($6.7 million) works and expects to finish them by the end of this year.

The province has also sought funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for building infrastructure for a high - tech shrimp farming area in Thạnh Phú District at an estimated VNĐ300 billion ($12.2 million).

In its plan to have 4,000ha of high-tech shrimp farms by 2025, 1,500ha will be in Thạnh Phú.

Đào Công Thương, chairman of the Thạnh Phú People’s Committee, said: “The district will collaborate with relevant agencies and C.P. Việt Nam Corporation for advocacy activities to encourage shrimp farmers to switch from traditional intensive methods to high-tech farming.”

It would instruct relevant sectors and communes to establish high-tech shrimp breeding co-operative groups and co-operatives, which would develop linkages with stakeholders in the shrimp supply chain and meet conditions to access Government support, he said.

It would closely co-operate with C.P. Việt Nam Corporation to instruct farmers in breeding models suited to their localities areas, he added.

The district has established the Thạnh Phú High-Tech Shrimp Breeding Co-operative and three high-tech shrimp breeding co-operative groups.

Nguyễn Văn Buội, deputy director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said linkages are being developed between stakeholders in shrimp breeding and selling.

Relevant agencies would focus on managing shrimp fry, especially their origin and quality, to ensure steady export, he added.– VNS