The Faculty of Fisheries of the University of Agriculture and Forestry (FoF-UAF) in collaboration with the Aqua Outreach programme of the Asian Institute of Technology has implemented since 1994 farmer-managed on-farm trials in two different agroecological (rainfed and irrigated) areas of four provinces (Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and Long An) to develop fish culture in ponds of small-scale households in the southeast region of southern Vietnam. Baseline surveys carried out prior to the trials have pointed out problems of fish culture of farmers in the two selected areas, e.g. pond preparation, cultured fish selection, stocking density, and water quality management. After 3 years implementation of the on-farm trials, appropriate recommendations of low-cost fish culture for small-scale farmers in the two agroecological areas have been produced. The average fish yield of 56 project farms in three provinces (Tay Ninh, Binh Phuoc and Long An), has increased around 40, 25 and 70%, respectively. Since 1996 the project staff have collaborated with Agricultural Extension Centres (AECs) of the three provinces to train about 700 farmers on fish culture based on the proven recommendations. Moreover, three sets of leaflets on fish culture in ponds for different agroecological areas based on appropriate techniques have also been designed to support extension activities of the provincial AECs. To improve the efficiency of the AECs on aquacultural technique transfer, the FoF-UAF has organized several short training courses to upgrade knowledge and skills for AEC staff. In 1996, 64 extension staff of the three provinces were trained on integrated fish culture and extension methods and 41 extension workers have been trained on methods of fish culture on-farm trials and extension material production to date. The fish culture on-farm trials have been shown to be an efficient method to produce appropriate recommendations for small-scale farmers. However, some difficulties in implementation of the trials need to be overcome for further expansion.
Aquaculture has been successfully practiced in Viet Nam for centuries, but the sector still faces sustainable development challenges. This paper aims to briefly review the aquaculture development in Viet Nam, including history, the status of farming systems and key challenges to sustainable development. The sector was diversified in cultured species and environment, farming systems, intensified levels and consumed markets. Aquaculture has contributed significantly to the development of the country economy in terms of food security, income generation, restructure strategy in agriculture, international trade as well as the implementation of hunger alleviation and poverty reduction program. In 2019, aquaculture accounted for 54.31% of the total fisheries outputs (8.27 million MT); in which cultured fish accounted for 69.86% and cultured shrimp for 20.04% of aquaculture production (4.49 million MT). Among geo-ecological zones of aquaculture, the Mekong River delta has the highest potential for development due to its favorable conditions. In 2019, the region accounted for around 72% of the total national aquaculture area and 70% of the total production; in which 71% and 84% of fish and shrimp production, respectively. The sector has contributed about 65-70% of seafood export values yearly. In 2020, the seafood export value of Viet Nam reached 8.5 billion USD. The country aquaculture was highly developed during the last three decades, particularly of striped catfish and marine shrimp farming, and driven by many factors such as state development policies, international collaboration, technological adaptation, etc. However, the sector is still facing challenges of sustainable development on disease control, environmental pollution, certification, small-scale household exclusion, etc.
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