Ca Mau (VNS/VNA) - The Department of Agriculture and Rural Developmentof the southern province of Ca Mau has amended its list of key agriculturalproducts, deleting two from the original list and keeping shrimp, mud crab,high-quality rice, and wood.

A plan to restructure agriculture nearly five years ago had listed the fouralong with banana and dried snakeskin gourami.

But after problems arose, the department decided to excise the two items fromthe list.

Now the country’s southern-most province will focus on investing in the fourproducts to add value and fully exploit their potential.

Le Van Su, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said investmentin the four products should be expanded but with conditions in each localitykept in mind.

The investment should focus on building brand names and transferring advancedfarming techniques to farmers, he said.

In the five years of implementing the restructuring plan, the agriculturalsector has achieved high growth and an optimal structure, according to thedepartment.

The sector has been growing at an average annual rate of 4.3 percent in theperiod.

The average annual income per hectare now is 90 million VND (3,877 USD), whichwas the target, the department said.

The province, the country’s largest shrimp producer, has expanded severalefficient shrimp farming models such as intensive farming and super-intensivefarming.

It has established shrimp farming areas that meet local and internationalquality standards like Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP),Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Selva Shrimp.

The province has more than 300,000ha of aquaculture ponds, including 280,000haof shrimp farms.

It targets exports of around 1.2 billion USD worth of shrimp this year.

At many shrimp farms, farmers also breed other aquatic species like mud crab.

Nam Can district, for instance, has 25,600ha of ponds where shrimps are bredwith mud crabs.

The province’s mud crabs are well known for their quality, popular around thecountry and exported to several countries. 

Ca Mau plans to develop organic rice farming and large-scale rice fields, andencourages companies and farmers to link up to ensure the latter haveguaranteed outlets for their produce.

It will also develop cajuput and acacia forests.

There are already around 8,5000ha of acacia forests, mostly in U Minh and TranVan Thoi districts, according to the department.

Acacia farmers earn more than 100 million VND (4,307 USD) from a hectare fouror five years after planting by selling the wood.

Nguyen Tran Thuc, head of the province’s Plant Cultivation and ProtectionSub-department, said the province would restructure rice production and developlinkages between rice co-operatives and companies.

The grain will be grown based on demand from the companies, he said. — VNS/VNA