Nghe An farmers use herbs to prevent shrimp diseases

Mr. Bui Luan in Hamlet 9, Quynh Thanh Commune is one of the shrimp farming households in the area that maintains the use of traditional medicinal plants to prevent diseases for shrimp. Mr. Luan said that in the past, his family's farmed shrimp often suffered from diarrhea and hepatopancreatitis. This is a dangerous disease that can easily cause great losses of shrimp. Every time the shrimp got sick, he used Western medicine or concentrated traditional medicine packaged in boxes produced by domestic companies. Each time, it cost from 5 to 10 million VND but it was not effective...

Therefore, for the past 3 years, Mr. Luan has been looking for plants such as Solanum procumbens, Artemisia vulgaris, and Solanum procumbens... to boil and concentrate, mixing them with shrimp feed regularly. This method only costs him less than 1 million VND/crop, but it is very effective in preventing diseases. Since applying it, each crop on Mr. Luan's family's 2ha area has always been successful, achieving a yield of 13 tons/ha.

From the time the shrimp are 1 month old until harvest, farmers feed them with medicinal herbs, creating safe, high-quality products. Photo: Hong Dien

For Mr. Ngo Thang in Quynh Luong commune, in addition to the plant "nhan tran" and "ca gai leo", he also uses "dien dien" and "co vuon trau". The plant is dried, crushed into powder, then mixed with boiling water, filtered to get the water and mixed into the daily diet to replace antibiotics.

Mr. Thang shared: The price of food and veterinary medicine for aquatic products is increasing day by day, so the cost of raising shrimp is very high. Moreover, using too many chemicals will lead to water sources and pond bottoms being polluted, shrimp farming is prone to disease, leading to early death of shrimp, causing significant economic losses. From that difficulty, I turned to traditional medicinal plants to prevent and treat some common diseases for shrimp...

Using these herbs all year round, he has reduced a lot of costs in the farming process. In particular, creating clean, safe products, helping consumers feel secure in using them.

Medicinal herbs are grown by many Quynh Luu people in their home gardens. Photo: Hong Dien

In An Hoa commune, people also use herbs to prevent liver swelling, enlarged liver, and weak intestines in shrimp. The whole commune currently has 40 hectares, with 80 shrimp farming households, of which over 70% apply this method.

Since using traditional medicinal plants, An Hoa commune has limited the occurrence of diseases in farmed shrimp; each year supplying the market with 800 - 1,000 tons of shrimp, earning tens of billions of VND.

Using medicinal herbs in shrimp farming not only helps increase productivity but also creates a clean food source. Photo: Hong Dien

According to farmers, when the shrimp are 1 month old, every 5 days, farmers mix herbs to feed the shrimp. If the farmers feed them daily, they dilute them with a lighter dose. Thanks to that, the shrimp diseases are controlled very well, helping to reduce investment costs, increase profits; especially limiting the abuse of chemicals and antibiotics banned from use in aquaculture.

Hot weather can easily cause disease outbreaks in shrimp farming areas, greatly affecting the productivity at the end of the season. Therefore, localities with shrimp farming areas in Quynh Luu district are currently promoting propaganda and mobilization so that 100% of farming households use traditional medicinal plants in shrimp farming. Thereby, aiming towards a safe farming environment, creating a clean food source, becoming a reliable address for consumers when buying Quynh Luu shrimp./.