Climate Change Pushes Vietnam’s Rice Growers to Farm Shrimp
May 09, 2021
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Farmer Ta Thi Thanh Thuy worked hard for years to grow rice on her small piece of land near the mouth of the Mekong River in Vietnam. But now Thuy has started farming
shrimp. Many of her neighbors over the last 10 years have done the same.
In the past, such a change was unlikely. However, the effects of climate change are making rice-growing in her area more difficult. Seawater has brought higher salt levels to the Mekong River Delta area.
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.
Philippine Environmental Health Groups call for the protection of fishery resources from chemical pollution 04.05.2021 - Quezon City, Philippines - EcoWaste Coalition
As the Month of the Ocean is observed this May, environmental health groups EcoWaste Coalition and Oceana Philippines urged the government and other sectors to give close attention to the adverse impact of chemical pollution on the country’s dwindling fishery production.
The groups’ clarion call for action to protect fish and other marine organisms from various pollutants followed the release of a new report detailing how chemical pollution is harmfully impacting the aquatic food chain, noting that “progress will require fundamental changes in the way we produce, use and manage chemicals and their associated wastes.”