Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau: Promoting special resources, promoting sustainable poverty reduction in the period 2026-2030

Carrying out the task of advising the Provincial People's Committee on agricultural and rural development and environmental protection, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has recently advised the People's Committee of Ca Mau province to effectively exploit available potentials and advantages to implement sustainable poverty reduction work, especially in the context of the province owning many types of special resources such as mangrove forests, traditional salt production, shrimp-forest ecosystems and wind energy. Promoting natural resources, improving people's livelihoods According to the Department's assessment, economic models based on indigenous resources - especially the shrimp-crab-forest model - have brought about outstanding efficiency, contributing to ensuring ecological balance while creating stable livelihoods for poor and near-poor households. Along with that, the construction and development of the "Ca Mau Crab" brand in the direction of applying science and technology has helped increase product value and create more jobs in the locality.

The province is also promoting green economic access through exploiting the potential of wind power and renewable energy sources, opening up many opportunities to develop supporting industries and create more sustainable jobs for people. The Department of Agriculture and Environment advises the Provincial People's Committee to issue mechanisms to support production according to value chains, integrate national target programs and promote decentralization so that people and businesses can be more proactive in implementing livelihood development models.
Shrimp industry – a pillar in livelihood transformation and poverty reduction
With more than 427,000 hectares of shrimp farming, Ca Mau is the locality with the largest shrimp farming area in the country. According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province is synchronously implementing solutions to shift livelihoods towards green economy and circular economy in the shrimp industry to help poor and near-poor households increase their income.
Key solutions include:
Developing shrimp-forest, shrimp-rice, ecological shrimp models, supporting international certifications Naturland, BAP, ASC, EU Organic.
Applying circular model through biological water treatment, water reuse, shrimp by-product recycling and solar energy integration in pond operation.
Linking production chains helps poor households access breeds, techniques, aquatic veterinary services and ensure output.
Applying digital transformation in production logs, environmental management and traceability.
Arrange green credit sources, support agricultural insurance and build model models.

The shrimp-rice model of Ca Mau people is being implemented and achieving many positive results.

The Department of Agriculture and Environment affirmed that the shrimp industry continues to be the driving force for Ca Mau to achieve the goal of sustainable multidimensional poverty reduction.
Developing salt production associated with heritage conservation and ecotourism
Regarding the salt growing areas in the province, the Department of Agriculture and Environment said the province has oriented many solutions to increase the value of salt grains and ensure stable income for salt farmers.
The main task groups include:
Plan stable salt production areas, do not arbitrarily reduce the area.
Investing in upgrading salt field infrastructure, associated with developing eco-tourism and experiencing the salt industry.
Maintain two production methods: tarpaulin and traditional, in which traditional salt making is associated with cultural heritage and tourism.
Implement support policies according to Decree 113/2024/ND-CP of the Government, especially supporting investment in salt spreading tarpaulins and expanding raw material areas for processing enterprises.
Diversify salt products for medical, spa, beauty, and gift purposes, helping to increase the value of salt grains.

The traditional salt making profession in Bac Lieu (now Ca Mau) has a very long-standing cultural value in the southernmost land of the Fatherland.

Support policies to create change in poverty reduction
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, major policies have had a clear impact on poverty reduction, including:
Social policy credit: creates conditions for poor households to have capital to invest in production, apply new techniques and expand their livelihoods.
Legal support: helping people access policies, reducing legal risks in production and business.
Vocational training, job introduction: improve labor skills, create stable income.
Investing in essential rural infrastructure: electricity, roads, schools, medical stations, clean water, and community facilities.
These policies are synchronous and closely linked, ensuring suitability to the characteristics of each household and each livelihood region.
Tightly control the risk of falling back into poverty
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the province pays special attention to the group of households that have just escaped poverty and near-poverty. These households continue to enjoy health insurance, education support, preferential loans and are directly monitored and supported by local officials when difficulties arise.
In addition, inspection and supervision work is carried out regularly at all levels. Inspection teams directly visit households to grasp the situation, detect errors and promptly make corrections, ensuring that policies are implemented to the right subjects and targets.
The Department also emphasized the importance of promoting people's internal strength through vocational training, entrepreneurship, legal advice, technology transfer and support for credit access, contributing to helping people become self-reliant in their livelihoods.
Key tasks aim at the target of 0.5% poverty rate by 2030
To achieve the goal of reducing the poverty rate to 0.5% by 2030, the Department of Agriculture and Environment advised the Provincial People's Committee to deploy the following groups of tasks:
Strengthening leadership and direction of Party committees and authorities and closely coordinating with the Fatherland Front and mass organizations.
Comprehensive support for poor households with labor: credit capital, production techniques, agricultural - forestry - fishery extension, vocational training, labor export.
Strengthening propaganda to create social consensus in sustainable poverty reduction.
Solutions for vulnerable areas
For coastal areas, beaches and U Minh forest areas, the Department of Agriculture and Environment focuses on:
Developing climate-adaptive livelihood models such as shrimp - rice, shrimp - forest, shrimp - crab - clam, snail - forest.
Develop livestock breeds that are resilient and reduce damage caused by extreme weather.
Investing in irrigation infrastructure, irrigation reservoirs, and resettlement of residents in areas frequently affected by natural disasters.
Provide emergency assistance when disasters occur and restore essential infrastructure after disasters.
Strengthen communication on disaster prevention and control, improve community capacity.
The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ca Mau will continue to advise the Provincial People's Committee to synchronously deploy solutions, take advantage of the potential of local resources, promote the transformation of livelihood models and develop a green economy, aiming towards the goal of sustainable multidimensional poverty reduction for the period 2026-2030.

Source: https://sonnmt.camau.gov.vn/tin-hoat-dong/so-nong-nghiep-va-moi-truong-ca-mau-phat-huy-tai-nguyen-dac-thu-thuc-day-giam-ngheo-ben-vung-gia-291685