Pangasius and snakehead fish farming areas are difficult to develop.

Pangasius farming pond of Bien Dong Seafood Company Limited - Can Tho rented land in Xeo Can hamlet, Ninh Thoi commune, Cau Ke district.

According to the plan on aquaculture area in 2024, pangasius with farming area of 30ha, concentrated in districts of Tieu Can, Cau Ke, Cang Long; snakehead fish area of 450ha (in 2023: 510ha) concentrated in districts of Tra Cu, Chau Thanh, Cau Ngang, Tieu Can...

Currently, most of the pangasius farming areas have been converted to family farming and fish farmers find their own sources of consumption at wholesale markets. In Tieu Can district, a locality with a fairly developed pangasius farming area in the period 2014 - 2015, the farming area is over 120 hectares. Currently, the area of pangasius farming ponds has decreased to only about 05 hectares, concentrated in Tan Hoa and Hung Hoa communes...

According to comrade Tran Van Quan, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tieu Can district: the reason for the decrease in the area of pangasius farming is that the main enterprises are no longer linked with the farmers. In addition, the consumption of pangasius is facing many difficulties when bringing the products to sell at factories. Pangasius farming ponds of households in the district are currently switching to raising snakehead fish or raising pangasius for sale at the market.

In Cau Ke district, the conditions are quite favorable for developing pangasius farming because it is located along the Hau River. However, the area for pangasius farming in Cau Ke has not developed in recent years. By the end of 2023, the entire district only has Bien Dong - Can Tho Seafood Company Limited renting land from people in Hoa Tan and Ninh Thoi communes, about 10 hectares, to raise pangasius. Most of the remaining area (about 15 hectares) is raised by households and consumed at markets.

In addition, businesses are no longer associated with farmers or renting land to raise pangasius, which has significantly reduced the pond area. As for the snakehead fish farming area, due to the impact of continuous and prolonged decline in fish prices in 2022 and 2023, the farming progress has been affected.

Information from the Department of Fisheries - Quality Management (under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh): in the first month of 2024, only 51 households raised fish with an area of 7.1 hectares/3.73 million fry. Due to the decrease in fish prices and farmers only releasing fish in separate seasons, it affected the overall stocking progress at the beginning of the year.

Comrade Du Se Tha, an Agriculture and Environment Officer of Kim Son Commune, Tra Cu District, said: in 2023, the commune's snakehead fish farming area will be about 51.7 hectares, reaching 79.5% of the plan; the reason for the unsatisfactory farming area is due to the sharp drop in snakehead fish prices, all fish farming households are suffering losses. The snakehead fish farming areas are currently stocked by households in scattered seasons, on average households only stock about 35 - 40% of the ponds; some households will switch to other farming objects or suspend their ponds.

Article and photos: HUU HUE

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