Aquaculture mission in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
From 5 to 9 September 2022, the Aquaculture scoping mission took place in Vietnam, organised by the Netherlands Embassy in Vietnam and the Topsectors. With a variety of companies, the mission started in Ho Chi Minh city with a warm welcome by the Embassy and the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Vietnam.
Monday 5 September | Field visit ShrimpVet
The mission visited the demo farm of ShrimpVet. At this farm, researchers analyse shrimp and fish disease, and investigate best ways for shrimp hatchery and farming. Signify (lighting technology) and Skretting (feed formulation) shared information on their collaboration with Shrimpvet to improve shrimp and fish farming.
Tuesday 6 September | Field visit Skretting and De Heus
First, the mission visited the site of Skretting in Long An which is the residence of the current shrimp- and fish feed factory and of a brand-new state-of-the-art factory (that will be opened later this month). The new EUR 24-million production facility enables Skretting to meet the growing demand for fish feed in the delta. The second stop was at De Heus Aquaculture Research & Development Centre in Vinh Long, Vietnam. This R&D Centre was developed in collaboration with Fresh Studio and Wageningen University & Research to test innovative feed formulas and ingredients as well as new, sustainable aquaculture farming technologies
Wednesday 7 September | Aquaculture Business Forum
The Aquaculture Business Forumtook place, with over a hundred Vietnamese private parties attending! The kick-off was done by Mrs. Willemien van Asselt, Topsector Agri&Food. Mrs van Asselt emphasized the importance to collaborate and to include the Dutch private sector to build a sustainable delta. Overall, the key messages of the Forum were:
· There are many challenges in the aquaculture sector in the Mekong Delta;
· To be able to better control the shrimp value chain a lot of research and data is needed (e.g., on water quality and pollution;
· The need for sustainable nature-based solutions;
· The role of the private sector and the government in addressing the challenges.
In the afternoon, a B2B matchmaking event took place with the Vietnamese- and Dutch private sector. With as result, a great number of interested potential future partners.
Thursday 8 September | Visit Fresh Studio
Before heading back to Ho Chi Minh city, we visited the R&D farm of Fresh Studio, dedicated to fresh water aquaculture. Here they research options for sustainable small-scale farming of pangasius, such as optimal ways to clean and re-use fresh water. Also, they gather – much needed - data on all steps in the production chain.
Friday 9 September | Closure
Overall, it may be said that the Dutch participants obtained a good view of the aquaculture sector in Vietnam, the opportunities and the (many) challenges. Interesting enough, many of them mentioned that they did not only find potential Vietnamese counterparts, but that they also learned a lot from other participants, and they want to continue the contacts to further develop the aquaculture chain in Vietnam and the business opportunities.
Source: Mekong Delta Business Platform