Vietnam’s aquaculture industry is currently facing several natural resource issues such as water and energy, as well as environmental issues, including fishpond effluent treatment. These problems hold back the country’s aquaculture industry development.
USSEC Vietnam emphasizes In Pond Raceway System (IPRS) technology to promote profitable and sustainable pond aquaculture production.
IPRS was introduced to the Mekong Delta provinces in mid-2016, but did not seem to attract farmers’ attention, since they have been going with a high stocking rate (pangasius at 300 metric tons (MT) / hectare (ha); snakehead at 200 MT/ha).
USSEC organized trips for Vietnamese farmers to visit different IPA sites in Shanghai and Jiangsu, China in 2015 and 2016. In August 2016, USSEC conducted a seminar to introduce IPRS technology to Cargill farm customers in Hưng Yên province, in northern Vietnam.
IPRS technology could help create a positive image for Vietnam as a seafood export country to the export market and IPRS demonstrations in Vietnam could set up economic evaluations to attract investors. Aquaculture producers can use IPRS as a tool for branding, but would need to identify the appropriate positioning such as environment or food safety, etc.
The objectives are to push the use of commercial feed in high tech culture which consequently increase the demand of soy in aquafeed, especially U.S. Soy products with the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol (SSAP) to create a whole green value chain.