What kind of shrimp are raised in rice fields? They don't feed them much, but farmers in Hau Giang catch them and sell them for 150,000 VND/kg?

Rice-shrimp production is considered a sustainable development model, bringing high income to farmers. Therefore, Long My district, Hau Giang province not only expands the production area, but also actively converts ineffective production areas to implement this model.

Expanding rice-shrimp area

Seeing the effectiveness of the shrimp-rice model, in 2023, the People's Committee of Long My district actively converted from rice cultivation to a model of rice cultivation combined with shrimp farming, with a total area of 137 hectares, including the area inside and outside the dike to prevent salinity in Luong Nghia commune, Long My district, Hau Giang province.

On difficult, saline, and acidic land all year round like Luong Nghia commune, many rice-growing households have quickly changed their lives thanks to the shrimp-rice model.

It can be said that the problem of saline intrusion in recent times has unintentionally created new ways for local people to think of. That is, in the dry season, they use salt water to raise shrimp, and in the rainy season, they store fresh water to grow rice. With this production method, farmers in Luong Nghia commune not only flexibly cope with drought and salinity but also quickly improve their family income.

Mr. Tran Bao Binh, in Hamlet 7, Luong Nghia Commune, said: “Seeing the practical effects of the rice-shrimp model, I boldly participated and initially saw positive results from the model. With an area of 1 hectare, I raised shrimp, after 6 months of raising, I could reach a yield of about 290 kg/ha. Thereby, the income brought in is twice as high as growing rice 3 crops/year”.

Nuôi con gì trên ruộng lúa, chả cho ăn mấy mà nông dân Hậu Giang bắt lên bán 120.000-150.000 đồng/kg?- Ảnh 1.

The rice-shrimp model is highly effective, sustainable and well adapted to saline intrusion conditions in Long My district, Hau Giang province.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Kien Em, in Hamlet 7, Luong Nghia Commune, Long My District, shared: “After harvesting the winter-spring rice, my family took the opportunity to clean the fields and carefully prepare the ponds to wait for the salt water to return to the appropriate concentration to plant more than 5 hectares of tiger shrimp in the rice fields. After 3-4 months of care, if the price of tiger shrimp fluctuates between 120,000-150,000 VND/kg, farmers will live well.”

According to Mr. Kien Em, this shrimp farming area is located outside the dike to prevent salt intrusion in Long My district. Previously, due to salinity and acidity, farmers usually only sowed one rice crop per year, then left the land fallow; only a few households waited for the rain to sow another rice crop, but the results were low, even causing losses.

In the dry season of 2016, saltwater appeared here with high concentration, so people switched from ineffective rice cultivation to the model of raising black tiger shrimp on rice fields. The agricultural sector and local authorities actively supported people in production techniques, finding outlets when it was time to harvest...

Through calculation, the profit from shrimp farming is about 60-70 million VND/ha/year; plus taking advantage of the revenue from selling natural shrimp and freshwater fish, an additional 10-20 million VND is added, much higher than rice farming.

Promote positive effects

From the achieved results, the People's Committee of Long My district, Hau Giang province, in collaboration with specialized agencies, strongly converted the rice growing model to the rice-shrimp model with the desire to increase people's income and develop the local economy .

In 2023, from the agricultural career fund, Long My district boldly built a model of raising giant freshwater prawns on rice fields with a scale of 25 hectares, stocking density of 3 shrimp/m2, people invested in raising more whiteleg shrimp and tiger prawns.

Accordingly, after 6 months of farming, shrimp productivity reached nearly 290kg/ha. According to preliminary calculations, the average cost for production of 1ha is 15 million VND, while the average income is from 25-30 million VND, the average profit is from 10-15 million VND.

The shrimp farming model on rice fields is a model that is both adaptive to climate change and contributes to solutions for sustainable, environmentally friendly green agricultural development. In particular, in Luong Nghia commune, Long My district, there is a potential area for producing one rice crop and one shrimp crop.

According to the Long My district agricultural sector, in this locality, due to the suitable environment for shrimp to develop well and grow quickly, farmed shrimp only use natural food sources or supplement with a little processed food, so the economic efficiency is quite high.

The combination of shrimp farming on rice land not only brings high economic efficiency, but also creates clean shrimp products. Growing rice on shrimp land has improved the water environment, created food for shrimp and reduced pathogens.

Mr. Le Hong Viet, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long My district, Hau Giang province, said: The rice-shrimp model has been proven by many scientists to be effective, sustainable and well adapted to saline intrusion conditions, so the district continues to expand the production planning for areas outside the dike so that people can confidently convert shrimp farming species suitable for different saline and brackish sub-regions...

The model contributes to the effective and sustainable exploitation of land and water resources as well as creating regular income for people in areas affected by climate change.

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