Earn hundreds of millions thanks to shrimp farming on tarpaulin

While thousands of industrial shrimp farming households in Ca Mau have suffered losses, many other farmers have boldly invested in the model of raising shrimp on tarpaulin-lined ponds in small ponds, yielding around 120 tons per hectare per year.

Old farmer La Van Toan in Cai Nuoc district, Ca Mau province said that a few years ago, his family was also living a miserable life with industrial shrimp farming. In 2014, after only a few crops, this farmer lost nearly half a billion dong in savings.

“While I was thinking about quitting my job, mortgaging my land to go to Binh Duong to find work, fortunately, a few friends told me how to raise shrimp on tarpaulin in a small pond, thanks to that my whole family has been able to survive until today,” Mr. Toan said excitedly.

The model of raising shrimp with tarpaulin lining on small ponds is a savior for shrimp farming.

In many localities of Ca Mau province, not only are many farmers changing their lives thanks to new shrimp farming methods, but people are also whispering to each other about ways to get rich sustainably.

Pointing to a house with walls that still smell of paint, Mr. Tran Van Thuan in Luong The Tran commune excitedly said: “This house was built for more than 200 million VND at the end of last year. For more than ten years, my family has been involved in industrial shrimp farming, but only now has my family escaped poverty through the model of raising shrimp under tarpaulin.”

Farmers following this model said that each pond only needs an area of ​​about 200 square meters, reducing costs by more than 50% compared to the industrial shrimp farming model, while the survival rate of shrimp is almost 100%. On average, each shrimp crop, farmers earn tens to hundreds of millions of dong in profit, after deducting costs.

“To have 1,000 square meters of greenhouse, farmers only need to invest a few tens of millions of dong, but the lifespan is about 6 years. However, most farmers only need two years to recover their investment,” Mr. Thuan affirmed.

Many farmers have escaped poverty thanks to applying new production models.

The local agricultural sector said that the pond bottom is lined with canvas and oxygenated to absorb dirt that is harmful to the shrimp. After nearly a month of stocking, the shrimp will reach a weight of 700 shrimp per kilogram and will be transferred to a commercial pond (earthen pond), helping the shrimp grow quickly and resist disease. Before commercial shrimp farming, the shrimp are raised in the pond, covered carefully with a net on top and corrugated iron around to ensure temperature and reduce the impact of weather on the shrimp.

According to Mr. Chau Cong Bang - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ca Mau province, the province currently has about 9,200 hectares of land for industrial shrimp farming, but the area currently used by farmers is less than 40%. The reason is that in 2015, the disease outbreak and the decline in prices caused the farming area to decrease. "The model of using tarpaulin to line the bottom of the pond is being widely replicated by farmers, because it prevents negative impacts from environmental pollution on the pond, helping to increase productivity," said Mr. Bang.

According to experts in the field of aquaculture, the shrimp farming model using tarpaulin lining has a yield of about 100-120 tons per hectare per year, many times higher than that of conventional industrial shrimp.

"We are researching and making plans to deploy and replicate this model to people in the near future," said Mr. Chau Cong Bang.

According to VNE