A Bio-economic Model of a Shrimp Hatchery in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam

Shrimp culture areas and production of the Mekong Delta cover about 60 percent of the total shrimp areas and production of Vietnam. Especially, the Delta contributes about 80 percent of the total shrimp production for export. Rapid development of the shrimp industry is raising a number of serious problems that need to be solved. Shrimp seed supply (post larvae production) plays an essential role in the shrimp industry and it is one of the most important constraints to the development of the shrimp industry in the Delta. The focus of this study is aimed at obtaining an improvement in both the profit per day and post larvae production of the shrimp hatchery in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam. A Monte Carlo simulation approach was applied to develop a stochastic and dynamic bio-economic model of a shrimp hatchery in the Delta. Initial results and policy recommendations are based on the analysis of the hatchery system simulation using a forward recursion approach and by changing the most important assumptions.Shrimp hatchery, larval stage, system simulation modelling, Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics,

A Bio-economic Model of a Shrimp Hatchery in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam

Shrimp culture areas and production of the Mekong Delta cover about 60 percent of the total shrimp areas and production of Vietnam. Especially, the Delta contributes about 80 percent of the total shrimp production for export. Rapid development of the shrimp industry is raising a number of serious problems that need to be solved. Shrimp seed supply (post larvae production) plays an essential role in the shrimp industry and it is one of the most important constraints to the development of the shrimp industry in the Delta. The focus of this study is aimed at obtaining an improvement in both the profit per day and post larvae production of the shrimp hatchery in the Mekong River Delta of Vietnam. A Monte Carlo simulation approach was applied to develop a stochastic and dynamic bio-economic model of a shrimp hatchery in the Delta. Initial results and policy recommendations are based on the analysis of the hatchery system simulation using a forward recursion approach and by changing the most important assumptions

Livelihood Capabilities and Pathways of Shrimp Farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Shrimp farming is a major livelihood activity in the Mekong Delta in the southernmost part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has promoted shrimp farming as a way to reduce poverty, provide employment opportunities and increase exports to support economic development. The shrimp farming system, however, is economically and ecologically risky and may negatively influence the environment and the sustainability of local people's livelihoods. Because very little is known about the diversity of strategies people employ to deal with these risks, a study was performed in the Mekong Delta across four shrimp farming systems: (1) improved extensive non-forest, (2) mixed mangrove-shrimp, (3) intensive and (4) clustered intensive. The risks and livelihood strategies that were encountered differed systematically across the four farming systems. It was found that the uncertainties that the shrimp farmers faced include limited access rights to the mangrove forest, crop failure due to regular occurrence of shrimp disease, high investment costs and volatile markets for shrimp. Shrimp farmers have created several strategies for coping with these uncertainties, including redesigning farms, producing salt, changing the species farmed from Penaeus monodon to Penaeus vannamei, becoming involved in a cooperative cluster, integrating aquaculture and agriculture, and farming shrimp by organic standards

Livelihood Capabilities and Pathways of Shrimp Farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Shrimp farming is a major livelihood activity in the Mekong Delta in the southernmost part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has promoted shrimp farming as a way to reduce poverty, provide employment opportunities and increase exports to support economic development. The shrimp farming system, however, is economically and ecologically risky and may negatively influence the environment and the sustainability of local people's livelihoods. Because very little is known about the diversity of strategies people employ to deal with these risks, a study was performed in the Mekong Delta across four shrimp farming systems: (1) improved extensive non-forest, (2) mixed mangrove-shrimp, (3) intensive and (4) clustered intensive. The risks and livelihood strategies that were encountered differed systematically across the four farming systems. It was found that the uncertainties that the shrimp farmers faced include limited access rights to the mangrove forest, crop failure due to regular occurrence of shrimp disease, high investment costs and volatile markets for shrimp. Shrimp farmers have created several strategies for coping with these uncertainties, including redesigning farms, producing salt, changing the species farmed from Penaeus monodon to Penaeus vannamei, becoming involved in a cooperative cluster, integrating aquaculture and agriculture, and farming shrimp by organic standards