For years, Ta Thi Thanh Thuy toiled on a sliver of land sandwiched between the Mekong River and the South China Sea, a region widely known as Vietnam’s rice bowl, to grow the prized grain.
But Thuy, along with many of her neighbours, has over the past 10 years completed a production swap – to shrimp – a previously unlikely shift that was spurred by the effects of climate change.
As rising seawater significantly pushes salinity levels in the Mekong Delta region up, the trend towards shrimp ponds is expected to supercharge the country’s seafood industry.
The government has set an ambitious target to more than double shrimp exports from current levels to $10bn by 2025 and Delta farmers have benefitted from local authority training sessions and other measures, including some soft loans.
By Syndicated Content
By Khanh Vu
TRAN DE, Vietnam (Reuters) â For years, Ta Thi Thanh Thuy toiled on a sliver of land sandwiched between the Mekong River and the South China Sea, a region widely known as Vietnamâs rice bowl, to grow the prized grain.
But Thuy, along with many of her neighbours, has over the past decade completed a production swap â to shrimp â a previously unlikely shift that was spurred by the effects of climate change.
As rising seawaters bring significantly increased salination levels in the Mekong Delta region, the trend toward cultivating shrimp ponds is expected to supercharge the countryâs seafood industry.
May 06, 2021
published at 2:37 AMReuters
A shrimp farmer harvests in a pool in Soc Trang province, Vietnam, on April 27, 2021.
Reuters
TRAN DE, VIETNAM - For years, Ta Thi Thanh Thuy toiled on a sliver of land sandwiched between the Mekong River and the South China Sea, a region widely known as Vietnam s rice bowl, to grow the prized grain.
But Thuy, along with many of her neighbours, has over the past decade completed a production swap - to shrimp - a previously unlikely shift that was spurred by the effects of climate change.
As rising seawaters bring significantly increased salination levels in the Mekong Delta region, the trend toward cultivating shrimp ponds is expected to supercharge the country s seafood industry.