Blue-legged prawns prove lucrative for Delta farmers

CUU LONG DELTA — Farmers in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta are earning high profits from blue-legged prawn harvest because of high prices.

In Dong Thap Province, farmers in Tam Nong and Lap Vo districts have earned VND60-100 million per ha in profit from blue-legged prawns, according to the provincial People's Committee.

The price of blue-legged prawn is VND240,000-270,000 per kilo, up VND70,000-90,000 per kilo against last year.

Farmers in Dong Thap harvested an average output of 1.2-1.5 tones per ha. In some areas, the output has reached 1.8 tones per ha.

Dong Thap has nearly 1,500 ha of blue-legged prawn, which is farmed in paddy fields during the flooding season.

In An Giang Province, most farmers also earned high profits by using the model for breeding blue-legged prawn in paddy fields.

In Thoai Son District, for instance, this year farmers have earned a revenue of VND200 million per ha by cultivating one rice crop and one blue-legged prawn crop a year in the same paddy field.

Le Minh Hoan, chairman of the Dong Thap Province People's Committee, said the farming of blue-legged prawn in paddy fields in the flood season has brought high economic benefits for farmers.

The province will strengthen investment by cultivating one rice crop and one blue-legged prawn crop a year so they will not have to plant a third rice-crop in the flood season.

In 2012, Dong Thap is estimated to expand the area of breeding blue-legged prawn in paddy fields to 2,200 ha.

Seafood output

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta's 12 provinces and Can Tho City have had a bumper harvest of seafood farm this year, with an estimated of 2.19 million tonnes, up 252,000 tonnes against last year, according to figures from the local agriculture departments.

Of the figure, 300,000 tonnes are from black-tiger shrimp and white-leg shrimp, and 1.2 million tonnes from tra fish. The remaining is from other aquatic species.

Most black-tiger shrimp, white-legged shrimp, tra fish, tilapia and oyster are cultivated for export while blue-legged prawn and red tilapia are cultivated for local consumption.

Other aquatic species, including white promfret, featherfin fish, marble goby and blood coackle are farmed for domestic consumption.

Most black-tiger shrimp and oyster in the Delta are cultivated under the model of extensive farming, an agricultural system that uses small inputs of labour, fertilisers and capital, relative to the land area being farmed.

White-legged shrimp and tra fish are cultivated under the intensive farming model, which has high inputs of capital, labour or heavy usage of technologies such as pesticides and chemical fertilisers relative to land area.

This year, the Delta increased its aquatic area to 762,000ha. — VNS