The 'key' to success of the shrimp farming billionaire in Nghe An - Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer of 2024
The high-tech shrimp farming model has helped Mr. Cuong become a billionaire in the silver sand region, opening up an advanced shrimp farming direction for local people.
Trial by difficulty
I met Mr. Nguyen Cuong (born in 1970, owner of a shrimp farming model with an income of 25 billion VND/year, the only representative of Nghe An to be honored as an Excellent Vietnamese Farmer 2024 when he and his workers were visiting each shrimp pond, covering the membranes that had come loose under the extreme heat of mid-August.
I just realized that with the brief achievement report sent to the voting council for “Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer 2024”: “Total annual income of 25 billion VND, creating jobs for dozens of local workers”, to achieve the results like today, Mr. Cuong had to “struggle” with shrimp for more than 20 years. At times, it seemed like he was going to lose all his capital and be left empty-handed…
Mr. Cuong said that in 2002, when he was the owner of a reputable construction company in Dien Chau district, with an income that many people dreamed of, he had the idea of raising giant tiger prawns and whiteleg shrimp. From the barren coastal sand area, he invested his capital to convert it into ponds and lagoons to raise shrimp.
At first, he raised black tiger shrimp extensively, but it was affected by the weather, so the productivity was not high and the profit was low. Then, he gradually switched to intensive farming of white-leg shrimp. But white-leg shrimp is not "easy to eat". At first, he raised them using traditional methods, the water source was not guaranteed, there were years when many shrimp died, all the money and effort went down the drain. Mr. Cuong recalled that in 2016, the epidemic was rampant, 1 hectare of white-leg shrimp had reached a weight of 50 shrimp/kg, then became infected, died and floated on the pond, he had to hire workers to scoop them up, destroy them and treat the pond. That year's shrimp crop, he lost everything.
Determined to “fall down and get up”, he continued to borrow money to invest in shrimp, and with successful shrimp batches, brought him billions. But then, just a few years later, in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic caused the market to “freeze”, the price of commercial shrimp hit rock bottom, and even could not be consumed, causing him to lose billions of dong.
“After each failure, I review myself, from choosing the breed to choosing the food and most importantly, the farming process. After each shrimp farming season, my family has to spend a whole month drying the pond, treating pathogens; waiting for the right time to put clean seawater into the pond, so my family can only raise 2 crops each year. The investment is large, the care is meticulous but the profit is not high, and in the year of an epidemic, I am left empty-handed. That makes me worry so much that I can’t eat or sleep,” Mr. Nguyen Cuong shared.
Key to success
After learning from successful whiteleg shrimp farming models across the country, participating in training courses on transferring science and technology on shrimp farming, along with accumulated experience, in 2022, Mr. Cuong devoted all his capital accumulated over 20 years of shrimp farming to renovate the shrimp farming area, switching from shrimp farming on tarpaulin-lined ponds to high-tech whiteleg shrimp farming.
He boldly converted more than 1.7 hectares to build 2 nursery tanks, each with an area of 200m2 and 9 farming ponds, each with an area of over 1,000m2 along with a system of ponds for storage, sedimentation, and discharge to raise shrimp according to a multi-stage super-intensive technology process; built a closed house with full equipment to apply shrimp farming according to biosafety farming technology.
“When applying high technology to a closed 3-phase shrimp pond with a roof that automatically regulates temperature, I was able to raise 4 crops per year. Thanks to intensive crop rotation, there are always shrimps in the pond to sell and there is no situation of good harvest but low price like before. In particular, high-tech farming requires less care, less use of antibiotics for shrimp and ensures disease safety,” said Mr. Cuong.
Mr. Cuong experimented with 1.2 million shrimp fry, in phase 1 the shrimp were raised in nursery tanks with a density of up to 4,000 shrimp/m2for 30 days, then move to phase 2 in the pond with a density of 600 fish/m2for 1 month, and finally move to stage 3 pond until harvest. After a short time, he won the first harvest with 14 tons of commercial shrimp, average size 70 shrimp/kg, profit reached nearly 900 million VND.
From that success, he has now expanded the area to 20 shrimp ponds, 6 ponds applying closed technology model, 2 nursery ponds, 3 waste treatment ponds. The output of commercial shrimp sales reaches 150 tons/year; creating regular jobs for 10 local workers, with an income of 8-10 million VND/person/month.
"Buy with friends, sell with partners"
The application of new technology to the super-intensive shrimp farming process has brought many obvious benefits: easier pond care and management; reduced risk of shrimp disease; reduced production costs; increased productivity and economic efficiency; protected pond environment, thereby bringing higher profits.
Realizing the effectiveness of investing in the super-intensive white-leg shrimp farming model, Mr. Cuong has encouraged farmers in the area to gradually convert. During that process, he is always ready to share his experience, give detailed instructions, and "show each household how to do it by hand".
In addition to shrimp farming, Mr. Cuong's family also trades in aquaculture feed, aquaculture medicine, and provides support to local shrimp farmers. When people have difficulty with capital, he is ready to support, provide shrimp seeds, sell feed on credit with low interest rates, and only pay when farmers harvest. Mr. Cuong's plan is to establish a cooperative to gather aquaculture households in the area.
"The cooperative is expected to have 30 members who are aquaculture households in the area. The cooperative will be a place where people can share experiences and help each other overcome difficult times. At the same time, buying materials and equipment together will have preferential prices, reducing production costs. In particular, when joining the cooperative, members can control inputs and link to find outputs, thereby increasing income for members and developing sustainable shrimp farming," Mr. Cuong shared.
