Excited to start the new shrimp crop

The successful rice-shrimp crop with reasonable prices creates favorable conditions for farmers to reinvest and creates a favorable environment to start a new shrimp season.

After the rice crop, farmers actively prepared the environment for the new brackish water shrimp crop. Photo: Trung Chanh.

Excited for a good season

Farmers in the coastal provinces of the Mekong Delta have just finished harvesting the rice-shrimp crop. The weather of the last rice crop was quite favorable, with steady rain, good salt washing at the beginning of the crop.

Moreover, the irrigation works for production, especially the sluice system to control the water source on the sea dike route, are invested and promoted effectively. Therefore, rice is not affected by salinity at the end of the crop, achieving a high yield.

In Kien Giang, the rice-shrimp farming area farmers have just harvested is nearly 58,400 hectares, the average yield is estimated at 4.86 tonnes per hectare, the output is more than 265,000 tonnes. After harvesting, the rice is bought by traders at a relatively high price.

Specifically, for ST24 and ST25 rice, the price ranges from VND 8,100 to VND 8,500 per kilogram. Other varieties such as OM 2517, OM 4900, F1 hybrid rice, local season rice prices were from VND 5,600 to VND 6,000 per kilogram. If farmers invest in organic rice production and associate with businesses, the price will add about VND 500-1,000 per kilogram more.

Mr. Phan Van Gioi (Dong Hoa commune, An Minh district, Kien Giang) is actively preparing the farming square to get saltwater in. According to him, the rice is good every year, the shrimp farming season after that is usually favorable.  

Farmers here are very excited to enter the new shrimp crop. However, because there is not much salt water at the beginning of the harvest, people often choose the solution to buy shrimp from farms that are ready or buy shrimp from farms that have been stocked for about 10-20 years.

Currently, the black tiger shrimp breed price is increasing slightly from 5 to 10 per head. Black tiger shrimp post 10-12 heads, price from VND 50-60 per head; Black tiger shrimp post 14 - 15, price from VND 70 - 80 per head. And shrimp, depending on the size (have been reared for 12-15 days, size of 10,000 - 12,000 heads per kilogram), will cost about VND 200 - 250 per head.

Mr. Tran Hai Bang (Thuan Hoa commune, An Minh district, Kien Giang province) said that now the sluices have been opened, the salinity in the canal and ditch system is increasing rapidly, farmers can take in shrimp farming.

"After harvesting rice, my family chooses to buy ready-made shrimp from farms, reared in earthen ponds, suitable for the salinity of the ponds to have a good time to treat the initial water. This shrimp crop has had a good start. Hopefully, the weather will be favorable; about three months later, farmers will have shrimps to harvest and achieve productivity", Mr. Bang expected.

Expanding shrimp farming area

In 2021, Kien Giang will raise 136,000 hectares of shrimp of all kinds (black tiger shrimp, white leg shrimp, and giant freshwater shrimp), the harvest is estimated at 104,700 tonnes, an increase of nearly 7,000 tonnes compared to the plan. In the 2022 plan, the whole province will raise 140,000 hectares of shrimp with a harvest of 108,500 tonnes. The shrimp-rice farming area accounts for the largest with 107,600 hectares, output 58,000 tonnes, shrimp farming extensively and extensively 28,800 hectares, output more than 11,000 tonnes...

Mr. Quang Trong Thao, Deputy Director of Kien Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that to ensure a successful new shrimp farming season, the Department has issued a time frame for shrimp farming and advised farmers to follow... Accordingly, the U region Minh Thuong (the province's main shrimp-rice farming area) stocked black tiger shrimp from January to April 2022, harvested in August 2022. Particularly in the coastal zone, from the anti-American canal to the defense dyke (close to the sea, there is early saltwater), the black tiger shrimp breed will be stocked from December 2021 to March 2022, harvested entirely in August 2022.

The area along the Cai Lon River in the west of Hau River, stocking black tiger shrimp breed from January to March 2022, harvested entirely in August. Long Xuyen Quadrangle, Kien Luong, Giang Thanh, and Ha Tien districts, stocking Black tiger shrimp from March to April 2022, harvested entirely in August. Hon Dat district stocks black tiger shrimp from April to May 2022, wholly harvested in August.

Strictly control the quality of shrimp breed

Specialized agencies focus on disseminating the seasonal schedule, the plan to prevent aquatic diseases in 2022 right from the beginning of the season. The Provincial Sub-Department of Livestock - Veterinary Medicine focuses resources on coordinating the quarantine of transported breeds, diagnosis, and testing of diseases. Actively source disinfectant chemicals, closely monitor the disease situation, detect early, and promptly apply treatment and control measures to prevent the disease from spreading to a large area;

Operate an automatic water environment monitoring system, providing information for aquaculture. Also, strengthen coordination and guide the production facilities of shrimp and shrimp breed, commercial shrimp farming households to build disease-free facilities.

Kien Giang province currently has 342 aquaculture hatcheries and hatcheries, including 20 black tiger shrimp hatcheries, two white leg shrimp hatcheries, two giant freshwater prawn hatcheries, and 123 sea ​​crab breed production facilities and 195 aquaculture hatcheries.

In 2021, the province produced and nurtured nearly 17 billion aquatic breeds, including almost 3.6 billion breed production locally, of which 498.5 million are black tiger shrimp and more white leg shrimp 2.95 billion shrimp, 22.9 million giant freshwater prawns, and 120.7 million sea crabs. In addition, it is also imported from foreign provinces for nursing, providing households with over 13.1 billion shrimp breed varieties of all kinds.

Expanding brackish water shrimp farming area in the Mekong Delta to 720 thousand hectares

According to the project on sustainable aquaculture development in the Mekong Delta to 2030 approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the brackish water shrimp farming area in the whole region will be increased to 720,000 hectares.

Specifically, by 2030, the area for aquaculture in the whole region will reach over 990 thousand hectares, including 740,000 hectares of saltwater and brackish water, 150 thousand hectares of freshwater farming, and 1.26 million m3 of cage and raft farming. In which brackish water shrimp farming alone reached 720 thousand hectares, with an output of 1.2 million tonnes.

The brackish water aquaculture area is concentrated in Long An, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, and Kien Giang provinces with cultured species including black tiger shrimp, white leg shrimp, crabs, mollusks, and other brackish aquatic species;

Develop brackish water shrimp farming with forms of ecological agriculture in mangroves, organic farming, shrimp-rice farming in coastal areas, intensive farming applying high technology to adapt to climate change, seawater rise, and salinity intrusion.