Agribank Tra Vinh Branch supports the development of aquaculture

From an island commune where people mainly lived by growing rice, Long Hoa commune (Vinh Long province) has undergone a spectacular "transformation" thanks to the development of aquaculture. An important contribution to that success is the "supporting" role of Agribank Tra Vinh Branch in providing timely credit capital, helping people feel secure in investing, expanding production scale and stabilizing their lives.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia (2nd from left) shares with Agribank staff about his family's giant freshwater prawn farming model.

Long Hoa Commune, an island on the Co Chien River (Vinh Long Province), has favorable conditions for agricultural development, especially aquaculture. Currently, the whole commune has more than 1,900 participating households, accounting for over 70% of the total number of households. Previously, nearly 90% of households lived on rice cultivation, now with the support of the government and other sectors, people here have switched to aquaculture. From a wild land, people's livelihoods mainly depended on rice cultivation and small-scale livestock farming, the appearance of the island has changed dramatically, people's lives are increasingly prosperous. This achievement comes from the attention of the Party and State in investing in electricity, road construction, infrastructure construction and the consensus of the people in converting production, making the most of the advantages that nature has given to the island, to rise up and get rich together.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia's family in Rach Ngua hamlet is one of the oldest households in Long Hoa island. More than 30 years ago, when he got married and moved out, his parents gave him and his wife 5 hectares of rice fields to make a living. After 30 years of active labor and production, small savings have made a big difference, the agricultural land area has increased 6 times compared to the day they started their business.

At first, when he converted his rice field to aquaculture, Mr. Nghia tried raising many types of shrimp such as giant freshwater prawn, giant tiger prawn, whiteleg shrimp, brackish water fish, sea crab... However, seeing that giant freshwater prawn has high economic efficiency and stable output, for about 10 years now, Mr. Nghia has converted the entire water surface area to raise all-male giant freshwater prawn.

Credit capital from Agribank has helped local people effectively develop giant freshwater prawn farming models.

In order to increase productivity and increase the farming season, especially to ensure a stable supply of commercial shrimp to the market, Mr. Nghia decided to release shrimp seeds and raise them in a rolling method. A green-legged shrimp farming season lasts about 9 months. Only the first season requires waiting 9 months for the shrimp to be harvested, after that each month there is a batch of shrimp to be harvested. In the months when the water is good and the price is right, Mr. Nghia can earn 80-90 million VND, and in the months when it is less, he can earn a few tens of millions of VND.

The success of the giant freshwater prawn farming business has helped Mr. Nghia's family economy become more and more stable and he has the conditions to raise his 3 children to study properly. During the process of developing the model, his family received timely capital support from Agribank. Mr. Nghia said: "Agribank staff always enthusiastically guide the procedures and advise on preferential interest rate loan packages to help people access capital easily. This is also an important motivation for me to confidently expand production."

Thanks to the advantage of being surrounded by water on all sides, most aquaculture models in Long Hoa Islet are very successful. Farmers' incomes are increasingly stable. The development of aquaculture has led to the strong development of services related to this profession such as buying and selling aquatic feed, digging ponds, changing water, harvesting, purchasing, consuming shrimp, crabs, etc., contributing to solving the problem of idle agricultural labor in the locality and neighboring areas. The average income of workers in the aquaculture - harvesting chain is from 9-10 million VND/person/month.

Agribank also plays a very important role in contributing to the success of local people in converting crops and livestock. Currently, the total outstanding debt of Agribank in Long Hoa commune is up to 145 billion VND. Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi, Vice Chairman of Long Hoa Commune People's Committee (Vinh Long province), said: "In recent times, Agribank has closely coordinated with local authorities, creating more motivation for households lacking production capital to have the opportunity to access bank capital. Households that have borrowed from Agribank have all changed significantly, the number of well-off households is increasing. This is a practical contribution, accompanying the locality in economic development, as well as the work of hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and new rural construction of the commune".

Agribank officials visit the production activities of aquaculture households in Long Hoa commune, Vinh Long province.

The orientation of Long Hoa commune from now to 2030 and the following years is that aquaculture will remain the spearhead to promote economic development. In addition to existing models, the locality is researching and implementing super-intensive shrimp farming models to diversify products and increase income for people.

Mr. Nguyen Van Muoi, Vice Chairman of Long Hoa Commune People's Committee, added: "In the coming time, the locality will continue to coordinate with Agribank to create more favorable conditions, helping people easily access capital to invest in production. In particular, special attention will be paid to supporting households with development orientation towards high-tech agriculture, contributing to improving economic efficiency and sustainable development".

Local government representatives received a working delegation from Agribank Tra Vinh Branch.

Mr. Le Van Son, Deputy Director of Agribank Tra Vinh Branch, said: "Agribank is committed to ensuring adequate capital so that people can confidently develop production, especially shrimp farming, and not let people lack capital during the production process. Currently, the bank is also implementing many credit packages specifically for the aquaculture sector, helping people easily access capital, contributing to the development of the local economy."

The synchronous attention of sectors and levels, combined with the determination of the people in implementing production models, will certainly be the foundation and important driving force to help Long Hoa island commune continue to make greater strides in building and developing its homeland.

Article and photos: MINH KHUONG

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/agribank-chi-nhanh-tra-vinh-tiep-suc-phat-trien-nghe-nuoi-trong-thuy-san-a191957.html