Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development: Technical and economic feasibility of applying the Better Management Practices (BMP) to household aquaculture in Vietnam - MS 8 ".pdf (fishing)

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development COLLABORATION FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (CARD) 002/05 VIE Technical and economic feasibility of applying the Better Management Practices (BMP) to household aquaculture in Vietnam MS 8: Technical Report Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Better Management Practices for Shrimp Culture in Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Suc1, Dinh Van Thanh1, Bui Kien Cuong1, Virginia Mosk2 and Elizabeth Petersen2 1 2 § Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 (RIA1), Tu Son, Bac Ninh The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, NEDLANDS WA 6907 Corresponding Author: Liz.Petersen@tpg.com.au, Ph/Fax: +61 8 9332 8310 - 2008 - 1 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam Acknowledgements The authors would like to sincerely thank the Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD) Programme for funding this research. We would also like to thank the following institutions for their support: • The Research Institute for Aquaculture Number 1 in Vietnam, • The University of Western Australia, • The Center for Fisheries Extension in Ha Tinh, Nghe An, and Thua Thien-Hue, • Vietnam’s National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate (NAVIQAVED), and • The nine farming households for participating in the trial: o Phan Ngan, o Hau Van Anh, o Tran Dinh Van, o Cao Xuan Hoa, o Le Van Tuan, o Dinh Van Dung, o Nguyen Hong Quyen, o Nguyen Ngoc Hanh, and o Hoang Xuan Kien. Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 2 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam Executive Summary The aim of the report is to provide an initial investigation into whether Better Management Practices (BMPs) can be adopted by Vietnamese shrimp farmers to reduce the environmental and food safety risks of shrimp production, while ensuring the farms remain economically viable. It includes analysis of data from in-field measurements and laboratory analysis of key environmental quality parameters at different locations within shrimp farming systems that implemented BMPs, including water in inlet canals before it enters cultivation ponds, water within the cultivation ponds themselves, and water in outlet canals once it has exited the pond. The same in-field measurements and laboratory analysis is conducted for shrimp ponds of nine farming households implementing BMPs (three each in Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Thua Thien-Hue). Chemical and microbial analysis is also conducted on shrimp produced in these nine households, and the economic viability of their operations is assessed. While trials need to be conducted on a larger number of farms over a longer time period for the findings to be presented with confidence, initial results in this report suggest that implementation of BMPs are generally effective at controlling environmental water quality, and chemical and microbial outbreaks. Moreover, the profitability of farms using these practices are just as cost-effective as farms that do not use BMPs (the benefit cost ratio of BMP and non-BMP farms are similar). Hence, widespread adoption of these practices in Vietnam is not likely to have a detrimental impact on profitability of farming enterprises. Rather, it is likely to have a positive impact if export markets can be ensured or possibly expanded with product certification. Specific key findings 1. Analysis of environmental water sampling showed that, on average, a number of parameters were within recommended limits for maximising shrimp production, including: salinity and water temperature (although significant variation outside recommended limits was reported through time for these two parameters), pH, ammonia, alkalinity, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, 2. Transparency readings were found to be slightly problematic being mostly above the optimal range which showed a difficulty in establishing good phytoplankton blooms. Temperature was sometimes found to be lower than recommended levels for optimal production, 3. The one problematic environmental parameter was dissolved oxygen – with levels being consistently below recommended levels for maximised production, especially in the morning. Moreover, low dissolved oxygen levels in output channels have the potential to be hazardous to significant varieties of fish fauna. Pond aeration prior to discharge is likely to negate these impacts, although the cost impacts to the shrimp enterprise needs to be assessed, 4. Chemical and microbial analysis found no or negligible levels of chemicals or microbes harmful to shrimp (for production or food safety) or the environment, Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 3 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam 5. Total costs of half-hectare shrimp operations is approximately 55 million VND (approximately USD3,400 at the time of writing). These costs are dominated by feeding (51%). There is significant variation in costs across farms, 6. The average production is just over 1 tonne/half-hectare operation, valued at 76 million VND (approximately USD4,700 at the time of writing). This is also very variable across shrimp operations, 7. The average price received for the shrimp was 73,000VND per shrimp, although higher prices were received for larger shrimp compared with the small shrimp (by weight), 8. Profit was approximately 21 million VND (approximately USD1,300 at the time of writing), compared with 8 million VND for non-BMP farmers. The average Benefit Cost Ratio was approximately 1.3, on par with non-BMP farmers. This suggests that the study farms invested significantly more funds into their operations, than the average nonBMP farmer, 9. If environmental water quality is contained within recommended limits, and chemical and microbial outbreaks are avoided, then the major determinant of profit was feeding. The most cost-effective farms were those that invested heavily in feeding the shrimp. 10. There are significant opportunities for increased capitalisation of shrimp enterprises. Significant growth in Vietnam’s shrimp aquaculture industry has the potential to be sustained in the medium-term. Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 4 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................ 2 Executive Summary ................................................................................ 3 1. Introduction ....................................................................................... 6 2. Methodology....................................................................................... 8 3. Environmental Quality of Shrimp Aquaculture Systems ..................... 10 3.1 Transparency........................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Salinity .................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 pH............................................................................................................................ 12 3.4 Dissolved oxygen (DO) .......................................................................................... 12 3.5 Water temperature................................................................................................... 13 3.6 Ammonia (NH3)...................................................................................................... 14 3.7 Alkalinity ................................................................................................................ 15 3.8 Nitrite ...................................................................................................................... 15 3.9 Sulphides................................................................................................................. 16 3.10 Key findings........................................................................................................... 17 4. Household Shrimp Production........................................................... 18 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 General information on household operations........................................................ 18 Environmental water quality data ........................................................................... 19 Shrimp produt quality analysis (chemical and microbial) ..................................... 22 Costs of production ................................................................................................. 23 Production volume and value ................................................................................. 27 Profit and Benefit Cost Ratio.................................................................................. 29 5. Discussion and Conclusions .............................................................. 31 5.1 Environmental water quality parameters ................................................................. 31 5.2 Shrimp production and profitability ........................................................................ 32 5.3 Summary comments ................................................................................................ 33 Bibliography ......................................................................................... 34 Appendix 1: Better Management Practices ............................................ 35 Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 5 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam 1. Introduction Household shrimp production is the predominant form of coastal aquaculture in Vietnam. In 2006, approximately 459,000 tonnes of shrimp was produced comprising 12% of total fisheries production in Vietnam (USDAFAS 2007). Approximately 34% of shrimp production (158,000 tonnes) was exported at a value of USD1.46billion. Shrimp production is increasing, with an average of 13% growth experienced each year from 2000 to 2006 (USDAFAS 2007). Prices have remained steady such that the growth in the value of shrimp production is similar to the growth in volume. Approximately 70% of shrimp production (by volume) is produced through aquaculture operations, which comprises approximately 24% of total aquaculture production by volume but 71% by value (Fistenet 2007). Aquaculture production of shrimp experienced an average of 26% growth between 2001 and 2006, compared with 2% growth in the wild-caught sector. In recent years, residues and contaminants have been detected in exported shrimp, with devastating results in markets. In 2003, five consignments from Thua Thien-Hue (TT-Hue) province to the European Union were destroyed or returned because of the presence of residues, and a far larger quantity from all north central provinces were similarly treated in 2004. Low standards of education, limited farm capital and minimal opportunities for capacity-building amongst households have resulted in inappropriate farm practices, which have caused degradation of the environment, declines in water quality, loss of farm resources and disease outbreaks. As a consequence, the livelihood of many of these farmers is threatened. The loss of production, negative environmental and socio-economic impacts, and food safety concerns have provided impetus for the development and extension of better management practises (BMP) for household shrimp farms. BMPs have been used in many countries to implement the more general principles of responsible shrimp farming (FAO 2005). They can be defined as farm and local-level practices aimed at enhancing efficiency, productivity, mitigating negative environmental and socio-economic impacts, and suppling products that meet requirements of food safety. BMPs are voluntary and are becoming widely used as an important strategy to enhance the marketability of aquaculture product. A number of projects have contributed to the development of practical BMPs for shrimp farming in Vietnam (e.g. a DANIDA-funded (Danish International Development Agency) SUMA/NACA project (Support to Brackish Water and Marine Aquaculture/Network of Aquaculture Centre in Asia-Pacific), and a NAFIQAVED (National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate) pilot project - see Appendix 1 for the list of BMP protocols). These projects have proposed specific BMPs and have conducted some small-scale testing of these BMPs. Their findings have not yet been widely disseminated among producers and BMP implementation is still limited. This is due to a number of financial, social, technical and economic feasibility constraints. Small-scale household shrimp farms are extremely diverse and fragmented, and their capacities to adopt BMP are hampered by lack of awareness, capital constraints and lack of perceived incentive. The benefits of applying BMP to Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 6 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam household farms remain to be fully investigated. However, experience in Thailand, India and Bangladesh has shown that small-scale farmers who applied BMPs made gains in efficiency, productivity and quality (SUMA, 2004). This report is one output of a project jointly funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) through the Collaboration for Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (CARD). The aim of the report is to provide an initial investigation into whether BMPs can be adopted by Vietnamese shrimp farmers to reduce the environmental and food safety risks of shrimp production, while ensuring the farms remain economically viable. It presents the results of environmental and economic evaluation of BMP trials in three provinces of Vietnam (Ha Tinh, TT-Hue and Nghe An). The evaluation includes analysis of water quality as it enters and leaves shrimp ponds, product quality data, and economic assessment of household incomes for those participating in the BMP trials. The report proceeds with a methodology (Section 2), an analysis of environmental quality parameters of shrimp aquaculture systems (including the potential impact of shrimp production on food safety and the environment) (Section 3), and an analysis of household shrimp production (including food safety, production and profitability aspects of households implementing BMPs) (Section 4). The report finishes with a discussion and conclusion regarding the initial assessment of the cost-effectiveness of BMP adoption in reducing environmental and food safety risks (Section 5). Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 7 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam 2. Methodology Data collection was conducted over a five month period, March to July 2007, in three provinces; Ha Tinh, Nghe An, and Thua Thien-Hue (TT-Hue) (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Vietnamese provincial map indicating the location of the three project provinces Data was collected by three sources: 1. Extension officers. These data include in-field measurements and laboratory analysis of key environmental quality parameters at different locations within the project site. Data is presented for inlets (water in inlet canals before it enters the ponds), outlets (water in outlet canals once it has exited the pond), and within the ponds themselves. Readers are referred to Ha and Suc (2007) for more information on project sampling sites. 2. Farmer households. These data include in-field measurements of key environmental quality, production and economic parameters collected by nine different shrimp farmers within the project site. 3. NAVIQAVED officers (Vietnam’s National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate). NAVIQAVED controls food safety and veterinary services for seafood products in Vietnam. They provide chemical and microbiological analyses of shrimp produced by the nine farmer households during the trial period. Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 8 Environmental and Economic Evaluation of Shrimp Culture Practices in Vietnam In-field measurements included: • pH: measured with a portable pH meter (YSI 52) • Salinity: use of refractometer (Spec T2000) • Dissolved Oxygen (DO): measured with an oxygen meter (YSI 52) • Temperature (oC): measured with a digital thermometer (Thermo 100) • Transparency (cm): measured with Secchi disk The running river water was used as a supply source for in-field laboratory analysis. Samples were collected using a peristaltic pump with two heads, were kept cool with ice, and then analyzed immediately upon reaching the laboratory. All analysis followed standard methods (Alpha 1998), and included: • Alkalinity (mg/l), • Ammonia (mg/l), • Nitrite (mg/l), and • Sulphide (mg/l). In-field measurements and laboratory analyses were conducted by Extension Officers and the nine farming households (with assistance from the Vietnamese research team). The nine farming households also completed a shrimp culture diary to collate production and economic information. The Vietnamese project team took the shrimp product samples from the nine households to Vietnam's NAVIQAVED for shrimp product quality analysis (including chemical and microbial analysis). The Vietnamese and Australian partners (Research Institute for Aquaculture No.1 and the University of Western Australia) collaborated in the data analysis and report writing. Three Vietnamese project partners visited Perth in December 2007 to collaborate with the Australian project partners to conduct initial data analysis, discussion and planning. The analysis and report was finalised through email contact. Project team The Vietnam-based project team comprised: ¾ Mr Nguyen Xuan Suc, Project Leader, ¾ Dr Dinh Van Thanh, and ¾ Mr Bui Kien Cuong. The Australian-based project team comprised: ¾ Dr Elizabeth Petersen – Adjunct Senior Lecturer, the University of Western Australia, and Applied Economist, Advanced Choice Economics Pty Ltd, ¾ Ms Virginia Mosk, MSc – Technical Aquaculture Consultant to The University of Western Australia, and ¾ Associate Professor Steven Schilizzi – The University of Western Australia. Research Institute for Aquaculture No 1 & The University of West Australia 9 3. Environmental Quality of Shrimp Aquaculture Systems This section presents data collected by Extension Officers on nine environmental water quality parameters, which was taken at approximately two week intervals over a four month period from March/April – June/July 2007 (the exact time period differs across provinces). These tests were done at three demonstration farms. Testing was conducted on water within ponds, as well as on water before it enters the ponds (inlets) and after it has exited the ponds (outlets). Key findings are presented at the end of this section (Sub-section 3.10). 3.1 Transparency It is recommended that transparency (Secchi disc visibility) remain between 25 and 40cm for maximum production (Boyd 1990). If transparency is less than 25cm and the pond is too turbid with phytoplankton, this may create problems with dissolved oxygen. If the reading is greater than 40cm then the phytoplankton is too scarce. Transparency readings were found to be above the maximum level at the start of the production period in ponds of all three provinces, decreasing to within recommended levels half way through the season in Ha Tinh and Nghe An (Figure 2). While transparency readings were higher than recommended in the inlets and outlets of all provinces (with the exception of the outlets in TT-Hue), transparency is considered to be an indication of pond condition and phytoplankton density, and is therefore less important in the inlet and outlet channels. Transparency levels in the inlet and outlet are unlikely to have an impact on the environment, or affect food safety, as it is purely an optimal range for the best growth of the shrimp. Plankton blooms favour greater shrimp production by stimulating the growth of shrimp food organisms and it also limits the visibility of the shrimp from predatory birds, thus reducing stress to the target species allowing them to roam and feed, and develop more quickly. 10

Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development: Technical and economic feasibility of applying the Better Management Practices (BMP) to household aquaculture in Vietnam - MS 8 "

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