Farmers earn billions from raising shrimp on sand

(Baonghean.vn) - Shrimp farming on sand is bringing in billions of dong to farmers in Dien Chau (Nghe An) because of the high quality of the shrimp and favorable output.

Visit the "billion-dollar" farm of veteran Ngo Xuan Dai in Dien Trung commune when he is renovating the pond to be ready for the first shrimp crop in early March. This is the most successful shrimp farming model in Dien Trung because Mr. Dai's farm rarely has diseases, has the highest productivity, and is favored by customers because of the delicious quality of shrimp.

According to him, the secret to successful shrimp farming is to constantly learn and apply science and technology to shrimp farming. Special attention should be paid to clean hygiene measures to prevent diseases such as pond renovation and ensuring clean water treatment.

Taking care of shrimp in a VietGAP farm in Dien Trung, Dien Chau. Photo: Nguyen Hai.

5 years ago, Mr. Dai implemented biosafety VietGAP farming and invested billions of VND to build infrastructure according to standards including: separate water supply and drainage systems, settling ponds, food warehouses, machinery... During the farming process, with the technical guidance of specialized engineers, he established a strict farming process with recording, monitoring, and synthesizing data on food, shrimp health, focusing on periodic probiotic treatment.

In particular, this season, he applied new technology, which is to build an underground filtration system, so the water source is guaranteed and diseases are limited.

Mr. Dai shared: About 3 years ago, I only raised 3 hectares, but in recent years, shrimp prices have been stable and the consumption market has been good, so I expanded to 1 more hectare. On average, each hectare of mine yields 10-12 tons/hectare/crop. All the shrimp I have are sold to traders in Hai Phong and Hanoi.

Traders buy shrimp at a pond in Dien Trung. Photo: Mai Giang.

Especially in the shrimp crop before Tet, the price of shrimp increased from 190,000-200,000 VND/kg for 60 shrimp/kg, and the price of 80 shrimp or more fluctuated from 140,000-150,000 VND/kg, 30% higher than previous years. With high shrimp prices, after deducting costs, each crop still earned nearly 2 billion VND in profit.

Mr. Ho Cong Sau, who is raising shrimp on sand with 3.5 hectares of shrimp in Dien Trung, also said: My family has expanded from 1 hectare of shrimp farming to 3.5 hectares. The ponds are lined with tarpaulin, raised according to biosafety, and are stocked on a seasonal schedule, so shrimp diseases have decreased compared to before. The output market for shrimp in the past 3 years has been very stable, mainly for tourist areas in the province such as Quynh Luu, Cua Lo and neighboring provinces such as Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh.

Almost all of the sandy coastal land of Cua Hien Dien Chau has now been converted to shrimp farming. The area in 2010 was only about 15 hectares, now it has increased to nearly 50 hectares.

According to Mr. Tran Van Dung - Chairman of Dien Trung Commune People's Committee, the households here basically follow the Viet GAP model. The average shrimp farming productivity of the people, high houses compensate for low houses, also reaches 15-18 tons/hectare/year, minus expenses, it also reaches about 1.5 billion VND/hectare/year.

In recent years, shrimp farming on sand in the coastal area of ​​Dien Chau has developed quite strongly, the area is increasing with over 230 hectares concentrated in Dien Trung, Dien Thinh, Dien Kim, Dien Van... helping hundreds of farming households become millionaires, billionaire farmers. On average, each year, revenue from shrimp farming on sand in Dien Chau reaches 300 - 350 billion VND.

Mr. Le The Hieu - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dien Chau said: All shrimp farming communes are near the sea, so Dien Chau district directs shrimp farming households in the district to carry out shrimp farming according to the seasonal schedule, renovate ponds, collect water, select and buy good quality shrimp seeds. Absolutely do not discharge untreated water or dead shrimp into the environment.

Mai Giang