Nguyen Thong Nhan, deputy director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, says: "With food hygiene and safety standards becoming more stringent in global markets, Ca Mau’s aquaculture farms adopted organic farming several years ago."
Pham Hoc Duyet, deputy director of Nam Can Seafood Import Export Company, says his company has spent a large amount of money to hire experts from the German-based Association for Organic Agriculture and the Swiss-based Institute for Market Ecology (IMO) to consult on organic farming.
Unlike traditional shrimp-farming techniques, organic farming requires careful selection of farm sites, protection of nearby ecosystems, a ban on chemicals, organic feed, and processing according to organic standards, he says.
So far, only Breeding Farm No 184 based in Ngoc Hien District has received a certificate for organic shrimp farming from the IMO, he says.
Duyet adds that his company will work towards obtaining the certificate by June this year.
With high demand and prices for organic shrimp globally, their breeding should be increased, he says.
Mekong Delta Shrimp Farmers Go Organic
VIET NAM - Shrimp farms in the Mekong Delta Province of Ca Mau will go organic this year to improve their quality and hygiene to meet export requirements.
