In recent times, shrimp farming in the province has faced many difficulties due to the impact of diseases, climate change, and unstable environment. However, there are still shrimp farming households that have achieved economic efficiency thanks to the application of high-tech shrimp farming processes and multi-stage farming.
People in Hai An and Hai Lang communes harvest shrimp raised using high technology and in many stages - Photo: LA
In 2023, Ms. Cao Thi Thuy in Quang Xa village, Vinh Lam commune, Vinh Linh district received support from the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center to invest in a 2-phase intensive white-leg shrimp farming model with a scale of 1 hectare. Of which, the nursery and rearing pond areas are 0.3 hectares, the rest is the area of water storage and treatment ponds. After nearly 4 months of farming, her family harvested more than 12 tons of commercial shrimp, equivalent to a yield of 30 tons/ha, with a profit of over 700 million VND.
According to Ms. Thuy, with this 2-phase farming model, the shrimp are initially stocked in the nursery pond with a density of 500 shrimp/m2. After about 1.5 months, when the shrimp reach a size of 150 - 170 shrimp/kg, they will be transferred to the rearing pond. At this time, the stocking density is reduced to 150 - 160 shrimp/m2. After 3 months of farming, when the shrimp reach a size of 38 shrimp/kg, she proceeds to harvest some shrimp in the pond to reduce the density as well as ensure economic aspects. After harvesting, she continues to raise for nearly 1 more month, when the shrimp reach a size of 26 shrimp/kg, she harvests all of them.
The actual model at Mrs. Thuy's household shows that raising white-leg shrimp according to the 2-phase process has many advantages. In phase 1, shrimp are raised in a small, covered nursery pond to help stabilize environmental factors, shrimp grow well, and have a high survival rate. The pond has a small area, so the cost of environmental treatment chemicals, biological products, minerals, and water pumping is much lower than the traditional farming method. When moving to phase 2, the exact mass of shrimp raised can be determined to determine the appropriate amount of feed, avoid excess feed, and reduce the amount of waste discharged into the environment.
“In particular, with a large pond area, the water source supplied to the nursery and rearing ponds is carefully treated, minimizing harmful pathogens. Raising shrimp using the water circulation method results in large shrimp sizes and much higher productivity than traditional farming methods,” said Ms. Thuy.
The concentrated shrimp farming area at Quang Xa Cooperative, Vinh Lam commune has a total area of over 23 hectares, of which about 10 hectares apply high-tech shrimp farming according to a 2-3 stage process, all ponds have roofing systems.
According to the assessment of shrimp farmers, this is a suitable choice, helping to overcome unfavorable factors of weather and water environment, helping to regulate temperature, especially in summer, when the weather changes seasons, hot. On average, investing in a floating pond with a roof with an area of 800 - 1,000 m2 costs from 300 - 400 million VND depending on the materials used.
In addition, high-tech intensive shrimp farming also has a large pond system, accounting for about 70% of the shrimp farming area, so the water supply is well treated, ensuring safety, helping to control diseases well.
Head of the Quang Xa Cooperative's shrimp farming team, Hoang Duc Huan, said that over the past two years, high-tech intensive shrimp farming at the cooperative has developed strongly. The output in 2023 reached over 93 tons, with revenue of about 16.5 billion VND; after deducting costs, the profit was about 8 billion VND. Notably, due to the impact of pollution on the Sa Lung River water source, most conventional intensive shrimp farming households suffered losses. Productivity, output and profit are mainly concentrated in shrimp farming households applying high technology, farming according to a 2-3 stage process.
Starting in 2018, the province now has over 100 hectares of high-tech shrimp farming, mainly concentrated in Hai Lang, Trieu Phong, Gio Linh, Vinh Linh districts and Dong Ha city. Most of the high-tech shrimp farming models have been successfully implemented and brought high efficiency to farmers thanks to limiting disease risks and reducing production costs.
For example, in 2023, while traditional shrimp farming households in Vinh Linh district suffered losses with over 250 hectares of shrimp dying due to disease and polluted water, high-tech shrimp farming households, following a 2-3 stage process, were still effective.
Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Huu Vinh affirmed that high-tech shrimp farming has partly solved the difficulties in environmental management, especially the treatment of waste and toxic gases in ponds that are often encountered when farming using traditional methods. Specifically, usually when shrimp are about 60 days old, a large amount of waste accumulates at the bottom of the pond. This is the time when toxic gases are easily generated, affecting water quality and the health of farmed shrimp.
Therefore, the transfer from nursery ponds to rearing ponds helps the bottom of the rearing ponds to be always fresh, the rearing time in each pond is short so the amount of waste and toxic gases generated is not large. On the other hand, the rearing time of one crop of the ponds is not long, usually about 2 months, the rearing ponds are rotated in a rolling manner so farmers can increase the number of rearing crops in a year.
According to Mr. Vinh, high-tech shrimp farming is an effective solution today to help shrimp farmers limit diseases, adapt to climate change and limit environmental pollution. However, high-tech shrimp farming also faces certain difficulties such as having a large enough shrimp farming area, having to build more nursery ponds, stage 2 and stage 3 farming ponds; investing in synchronous machinery and equipment, especially water fan systems, bottom oxygen...; completing infrastructure such as electricity, roads, drainage and supply systems... so the initial investment cost is relatively high.
Therefore, in addition to the initiative of shrimp farmers, in recent times, the agricultural sector has implemented the construction and encouraged the development of many high-tech shrimp farming models such as multi-stage shrimp farming processes, application of bioflock technology, VietGAP... to adapt to climate change, limit risks caused by diseases, improve productivity, quality and gradually form a chain of product consumption links.
“In fact, in recent years, many households raising shrimp using traditional methods in earthen ponds have repeatedly failed. However, high-tech shrimp farming models have mostly brought high efficiency, especially models that follow a 2-3 stage process,” Mr. Vinh emphasized.
Le An
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