Nhieu, who lives in Nhi My Commune in Dong Thap ProvinceCao Lanh District, gives a first hand report that they have adopted the practice of shrimp-rice farming for the last three years. They used to cultivate only a one-hectare field. The profits we made from it encouraged us to expand this year. She told that last year her family earned VND60 million (US$3,300) from the one hectare, with VND45 million coming from shrimp.
According to her the switch to alternately farming shrimp and rice has helped change the lives of thousands of farming households living in areas with brackish water in the Cuu Long (Mekong) River Delta. Nhieu explains that in the past, before we took up shrimp farming, they often had to use 30 sacks of fertilisers for their one hectare of paddy. But she said that the shrimp grow more healthily since their habitat is cleaner thanks to the rice and our spending on feed for the shrimp is significantly down because they feed on the organisms left behind after the rice is harvested.
Giang Van Luoc, a farmer in Tan Phong Commune in Bac Lieu Province, has also taken up shrimp-rice farming on his 4.4 hectares. He told that the shrimps fetch me more than VND120 million a year. On the same land, he make about VND7 million from rice. The practice of alternately farming rice and shrimp began in the Cuu Long Delta in the 1960s. But it has only become popular and professional in recent years after State-owned agricultural extension agencies and local authorities stepped in to develop the system after realising its advantages.
Dr Do Minh Nhut, director of the Kien Giang Agricultural and Fishing Centre, said shrimp-rice farming is now the first option in his province, with farmers adopting the system on 70,000ha, the largest area in the region. It is expected to expand to around 100,000ha in the coming years. Most areas in the country favour intensive farming and multiple cropping to increase output.
To ensure the health of shrimps, the farmers do not use chemicals when cultivating the rice. The shrimp crop lasts six or seven months starting in December. When the shrimp are still young they mainly eat organisms left behind after the rice harvest. The Southern Institute of Hydrographic and Environmental Research forecasts most coastal areas near rivers, especially those lying at up to 0.6 metres above sea level, in the delta to be hit hard by the rising sea level.
