Overview

Shrimp farming is one of the most rapidly growing aquaculture, which globally has been associated with considerable revenue for farmers. During the last decade, we have witnessed a strong development of shrimp farming in both volume of production as well as value. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO), in 2009, the volume of world shrimp aquaculture reached almost 3.5 million tons worth US$14.6 billion, up to over 300% in volume and over 200% in value compared to the year 2000. According to MARD, in 2010 Vietnam produced approximately 470,000 ton (including both P. monodon and P. vannamei) leading to about 241,000 tons of shrimp products being exported, worth US$2.1 billion (VASEP). However, the rapid growth of shrimp farming also raises some negative impacts on the environment and society. For example, according to FAO, mangrove forests in Viet Nam shrank from 400,000 ha in 1950 to just 269,150 ha in 1980 and then to 157,000 ha in 2005 (FAO 2007). In this "shrinkage", shrimp farming indeed played an important role. Disease outbreaks have also challenged the livelihood of farmers. These are just examples ofthe challenges faced by the shrimp industry, challenges that need to be overcome to move towards sustainable development of the sector.

Better Management Practices (BMPs)

With the purpose to mitigate the negative impacts and improve the sustainability of shrimp industry, over the last decade, there has been an increasing trend towards promoting responsible shrimp farming. For this reason, several stakeholders joined together to develop the Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue (ShAD) standards. The ShAD standards are global in scope and not focused only on Vietnam. In addition, the requirements can be quite strict and expensive. For this reason, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Collaborating Center for Aquaculture and Fisheries Sustainability (ICAFIS), through the Danish funded project "Promoting Certification and Better Management Practices among small-scale shrimp farmers in Vietnam", have been supporting the development and dissemination of Better Management Practices (BMPs) to assist farmers to comply with the standards and produce more sustainably. In fact, BMPs are simple farming management practices that address issues addressed within the ShAD standards and, as such, are meant to help farmers moving towards compliance to the standards at a minimal cost.

Training on BMPs

BMPs were introduced to farmers through trainings conducted in SocTrang province on 12th and 13thOctober2011 and in Ca Mau province on 18th and 19thOctober 2011. The participants included several stakeholders involved in the shrimp industry, such as officers of Agriculture Extension Center (AEC), representative of the Vietnamese Fisheries Society (VINAFIS), National agro – forestry – fishery Quality Assurance Department(NAFIQAD), Non-Governmental Organization (WWF), buyers, farmers, and processing plants.

The purpose of the training was to increase capacity and to assist especially local AEC officers and farmer group leaders to learn about BMPs and how to implement them. It is expected that after the training, participants will work closely with the local administration such as the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD)to develop a work-plan to train the members of the cooperatives within the scope of the project. This effort will result in facilitatingunderstanding of the ShAD standards and their implementation.

Thanks to the commitment of Nordic Seafood, a Danish seafood buyer, products produced following BMPs will face a premium price, which will support farmers in BMPs implementation.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Cong, leader of the Quyet Thang cooperative, Ngoc To commune, SocTrang province declared "We're happy to grow shrimp in a sustainable way that will bring better performance and profits. We're also happy with the agreement and the premium offered, in fact, this is the first time the buyers and processing plants offer to pay more for our products. We do hope to receive more supports from the project in the next phases and look forward to the publication of the final standards."

The way towards

"Following the training, several activities will be conducted such as developing work-plan for implementing of BMPs, evaluate the status of shrimp farming, assist and encourage more farmers to implement BMPs voluntarily" said Mr. Huynh Quoc Tinh, aquaculture field coordinator of WWF Vietnam.

The project is expected to enter its second phase in 2012 and to last until 2014.