Aquatic farmers in Vietnam’s Trà Vinh Province boosted their profits by 20% through integrating the cultivation of mangrove forests and aquatic species over the past year according to Vietnam News.
The famers reported that they have raised species including shrimp, fish, crabs and bivalve molluscs in the mangrove forests where they ate mostly natural food. The forest aquaculture products were able to sell for 20% more than industrial bred ones, earning an average profit of VNĐ150 million (USD$5,900) per hectare.
The article said Huỳnh Văn Tài of Duyên Hải’s Long Vĩnh Commune has implemented the model for eight years on four hectares of forest land in which he uses 40% to grow trees and the rest to breed shrimp and mud crabs.
The mangrove aquaculture farms are a clear example of the crossover and interconnection of Blue Economy industries supporting one another. Mangroves can sequester four times more carbon dioxide per hectare than rainforests, according to recent research. They’re a key source of blue carbon as well as a healthy nursery for aquaculture.
Phạm Thị Hồng Diễm, deputy head of the district Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development said that with the forest aquaculture model, farmers do not have to worry about disease outbreaks and the cost of animal food is reduced by 80% compared to conventional breeding methods. Farmers can decide when they harvest their shrimp and fish to avoid facing price declines due to oversupply during the main harvest season, she said.
The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has about 5,750ha of forest-aquaculture area in the coastal zones of Duyên Hải Town and Cầu Ngang, Châu Thành and Duyên Hải districts.
Local authorities have encouraged farmers to expand the model as it offers stable income, adapts to climate change and contributes to increased forest cover. The article said the province has zoned roughly 24,000 hectares of forest land in coastal areas in which about half are used to grow mangrove forests and half for aquaculture. Local policies include a subsidy of up to VNĐ37 million ($1,500) per hectare for buying seedlings to grow trees.
The province plans to grow 150 hectares of new forests this year and the province Forest Protection Sub-department has organised 23 trips for 933 people to visit forests and grow forest trees as of September this year the article said.
