(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Kien Giang has announced a plan to stabilize the biosafety rice-shrimp production area at 117,340 hectares by 2030.

For the 2024-2025 Summer-Autumn crop, the province will implement a rotation system involving one rice crop and one shrimp crop, with sowing scheduled from August 25 to October 25, 2024. Farmers will have the option to transplant rice seedlings or sow seeds directly in the field.

Currently, most farmers in rice-shrimp areas have completed sowing their rice crops, with a significant shift toward organic and biosafety farming practices. This approach, promoted by the provincial agricultural sector, aims to help farmers reduce costs, increase productivity, and enhance selling prices, ultimately boosting profits.

To achieve the targeted production area, Kien Giang will convert ineffective rice-growing regions and areas with insufficient irrigation into rice-shrimp systems. This model has proven beneficial for producers, with average incomes rising from approximately 50 million VND per hectare to between 100-130 million VND per hectare.

Moving forward, the province plans to further develop the rice-shrimp model in areas affected by saline intrusion for three months or more, tailoring approaches to specific ecological regions.

Mr. Le Huu Toan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, emphasized that enhancing aquaculture output per unit area is essential. This will be accomplished through the adoption of scientific and technological advances and by fostering production linkages aimed at sustainable development and climate change adaptation. The province will reorganize production based on the value chain, covering everything from breeding and input materials to commercial farming and the processing and consumption of shrimp and rice products. In this chain, purchasing, processing, and consumption enterprises will play a pivotal role.

Additionally, Kien Giang will focus on establishing new forms of production organization, such as cooperatives linked with production enterprises in key shrimp-rice areas. This strategy aims to enhance competitiveness, ensure product traceability, protect the ecological environment, and promote climate resilience.

The province will also act as a facilitator for farmers, fostering connections with cooperatives, companies, and enterprises to provide agricultural input materials and ensure the effective marketing of products at harvest time, ultimately safeguarding farmers’ profits.