Scaling up the model of diversified aquaculture for sustainable income.

According to Tran Truong Giang, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Tra Vinh province, it is estimated that in the coastal areas of Cau Ngang, Duyen Hai districts, Duyen Hai town, and Chau Thanh district, thousands of farmers have released aquatic species such as shrimp, crabs, mullet, and sea bass into integrated forest-aquaculture farming models. This model is encouraged by the agricultural sector for farmers who do not have the resources to raise shrimp using high technology, aiming to ensure sustainable income. Over many years of production, the forest-aquaculture model has consistently provided a stable income averaging around 100-120 million VND/hectare/year.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lam, from Long Khanh commune, Duyen Hai district, shared that his family has been implementing the mangrove-shrimp farming model for many years. On a 4-hectare plot, he dug ponds and planted mangrove trees such as Rhizophora apiculata, Avicennia marina, and Sonneratia caseolaris, in a ratio of 40% mangrove to 60% pond surface area to provide shade and shelter for shrimp and other aquatic species. Each year, he raises approximately 50,000 juvenile tiger shrimp and 6,000 juvenile sea crabs, along with naturally occurring fish fry such as mullet, sand crab, and sea bass from the natural environment into the shrimp ponds. The entire farming process only requires the purchase of fry; no aquatic veterinary medicine is needed, and feed costs are negligible, resulting in an annual income of over 200 million VND.

According to Mr. Lam, the integrated farming method of mangrove forests, tiger prawns, fish, and crabs has the advantage of allowing for the proactive selection of tiger prawns, fish, and crabs that meet first-grade size and weight requirements, ensuring higher prices and preventing losses when market prices fall. Ecologically farmed aquatic products are consistently purchased by traders at 25-30% higher prices than those farmed industrially or semi-industrially. On average, 1 kg of ecologically farmed tiger prawns (10-12 prawns/kg) fetches a stable price of 350,000 VND/kg, while first-grade crabs and female crabs with roe fetch prices ranging from 350,000 to 450,000 VND/kg (2 crabs/kg).

According to Mr. Tran Quoc Doan, Head of the Agriculture and Environment Department of Duyen Hai district, in addition to the mangrove-shrimp farming model, for more than 5 years, many farmers in the district have diversified their aquaculture to replace the second or third shrimp crop per year to adapt to climate change, still bringing quite high economic efficiency to farmers. Specifically, the model of raising blood cockles in improved extensive shrimp ponds in Duyen Hai district yields an average of over 4.4 tons/ha. With the selling price of commercial blood cockles at 80,000 VND/kg, farming households earn a net profit of 145 million VND/ha after only 4-4.5 months of farming.

For example, the model of raising one crop of tiger shrimp and one crop of clams in a semi-intensive tiger shrimp pond increases profits by approximately 50 million VND/hectare/crop. The clam farming model in shrimp ponds only requires the cost of the seedlings; it doesn't require labor or feeding because the organic sludge remaining at the bottom of the pond from the shrimp farming season allows the clams to thrive. On average, a 1-hectare shrimp pond stocked with 80,000-90,000 clam seedlings yields about 2-2.2 tons of clams after 6 months of farming, selling at a price of 25,000-30,000 VND/kg.

According to Mr. Tran Truong Giang, in 2025, the province aims to achieve a production output of over 200,000 tons of aquaculture in coastal areas, contributing to an average annual growth rate of 5% in the added value of the fisheries sector. The provincial agricultural sector will strengthen support for the transfer and application of science and technology in aquaculture to farmers to increase productivity and product quality. In addition to encouraging farmers to maintain the area of ​​forest-aquaculture models, the province intends for coastal localities to promote the exploitation of approximately 50,000 hectares of coastal land and 15,000 hectares of alluvial land and sandbanks to diversify aquaculture species, aiming to create added value and help farmers increase their income sustainably.