Nghe An farmers rent land for high-tech shrimp farming, each crop 'pockets' billions

Applying technology to shrimp farming

Located along the Mo River dike in Quynh Minh Commune, Quynh Luu District, is the high-tech shrimp farming area of Mr. Le Xuan Vinh's family from Dien Ky Commune, Dien Chau District. Each shrimp pond here is covered with specialized nets and plastic tarpaulins to ensure the conditions for winter shrimp farming.

Taking us to visit the model, Mr. Vinh said that this area used to raise shrimp, but due to inefficiency, the people here transferred it to an area of 6.6 hectares in Quynh Minh commune. After completing the land lease procedures, in early 2023, Mr. Vinh and some brothers pooled capital to re-plan the shrimp farming area.

High-tech shrimp farming area in Quynh Minh commune, Quynh Luu district. Photo: Viet Hung

“When approaching the site, we had to mobilize capital to hire machinery and workers to demolish the entire old pond system; build embankments, and build higher ponds. After only 9 months of re-planning, we now have a relatively modern pond system, ensuring technical factors. With an improved pond system using high technology, shrimp farming has become easier, with fewer diseases, contributing to increased productivity and output in each crop,” said Mr. Vinh.

To raise high-tech shrimp, Mr. Vinh planned a water reservoir system with an area of 12,000 ^m2 ; arranged 6 ponds ready to supply water to shrimp ponds; at the same time, planned 6 floating ponds to raise the shrimp for 20-30 days to reach a uniform size before releasing them into the pond. Mr. Vinh said that one of the important factors leading to the success of the model is the water source. Therefore, he had to treat the water through many ponds and add a lot of nutrients to the water, how to ensure a clean water source and ensure providing enough nutrients for the shrimp to grow well and reach a large size. In addition, high-tech shrimp farming controls the amount of food, environment and health of the shrimp according to a fully automatic system.

High-tech shrimp farming reduces adverse environmental impacts and is highly efficient. In the photo: Mr. Le Xuan Vinh checks the weight of farmed shrimp. Photo: Viet Hung

Sustainable shrimp farming

When shrimp farming conditions were guaranteed, at the end of 2023, Mr. Vinh started releasing 1 million white-leg shrimp in 6 ponds, with a stocking density of 350 shrimp/ ^m2 . Under winter shrimp farming conditions with low temperatures of 10 - 15 degrees Celsius, thanks to the pond being tightly covered with nylon material, cold wind could not get inside, so the shrimp grew healthily.

Raised using high technology, shrimp grow healthy. Photo: Viet Hung

Up to now, after 4 months of farming, the shrimp weight in the pond has reached 60 shrimp/kg; it is expected to be harvested on March 23, with shrimp reaching a size of 30 shrimp/kg. "Because this is the first crop to get acquainted with the high-tech shrimp farming process, the estimated output after harvest is from 5 to 6 tons. With the current selling price of 220,000 VND/kg, the revenue from the first shrimp farming crop is estimated to be about 1 billion VND," said Mr. Vinh.

According to Mr. Vinh, in the coming time, he will continue to plan 6 more ponds, bringing the total to 12 ponds. With the additional investment in pond area, Mr. Vinh will raise shrimp in a rolling manner, ensuring a rotation of shrimp harvest every 2 months. Mr. Vinh's shrimp farming area strives to harvest 5-6 crops each year with an average output of 50-60 tons, with revenue reaching over 10 billion VND.

Evaluating this model, Mr. Ho Dien Huu - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Minh Commune (Quynh Luu) said: "High-tech shrimp farming according to a closed process at Mr. Le Xuan Vinh's household has many advantages, such as disease management from the beginning, food and environment management, no use of antibiotics, high stocking density, and very low risk of shrimp death. Farming according to a microbiological process produces clean shrimp products. Currently, the locality is encouraging households to switch to high-tech shrimp farming to minimize disease outbreaks, contributing to increasing productivity and output through each crop."

Shrimp nursery tank in the first 20-25 days at Mr. Le Xuan Vinh's household. Photo: Viet Hung

Mr. Bui Xuan Truc - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district said that in recent years, shrimp farming in the district has encountered many difficulties. The main reason is that the water source is increasingly polluted and the weather is unfavorable. Therefore, the shrimp farming area has also decreased significantly. However, with investment in modern pond infrastructure, applying high technology to shrimp farming like Mr. Le Xuan Vinh's household and some other households, the risk of pathogens in the pond will be minimized.

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