Experts promote sustainable aquaculture practices
The conference sought to
create a platform for stakeholders in aquaculture to share information
and seek co-operation in strengthening application of VietGap, the
Vietnamese version of GAP, and boosting sales of VietGap-certified
products.
Pham Anh Tuan, the Fisheries General
Department's deputy general director, said rapid development of the
aquaculture industry in the last few years has led to environmental
pollution and disease outbreaks, threatening the industry's development.
Consumers nowadays not only demand quality products but
are also concerned about how they are produced, he told the conference,
organised by the General Department of Fisheries and Metro
Cash&Carry Viet Nam.
"Like other aquaculture
certificates such as GlobalGap and ASC, VietGap certification also
covers environmental protection, food hygiene and safety, social
responsibility, and product origin to ensure our aquaculture industry
can produce a lot of fish and shrimp, but do not have an adverse impact
on the environment and can easily trace product origins."
It would help Vietnamese aquaculture products gain wider acceptance in both domestic and international markets, he said.
Nhu Van Can, deputy director of the Department of Aquaculture, said the
country's good agricultural practices focus on inspection of on-farm
production and inputs to raise awareness of standards among producers
and develop brands for Vietnamese aquaculture products.
When farmers adopt VietGap they can easily upgrade to other certificates required by import countries, he pointed out.
Under the Government's policy on VietGap development in aquaculture,
the country would foster its application in breeding of key export items
like tra fish, tiger prawn, and white-leg shrimp, he said.
Government agencies are also working to find more markets that accept VietGap-certified products, he stated.
But he admitted that it is not easy to popularise VietGap among aquaculturists.
Many participants said farmers are reluctant to adopt the safe
production method because they think it is expensive and makes them
uncompetitive.
Tuan said adoption of VietGap standards
may cause high production costs in the initial stage, but in the long
run it helps reduce costs and improve the quality and competitiveness of
Vietnamese goods.
Adopting the standards helps farmers
sell their produce more easily and significantly cut costs since fish
contract fewer diseases, he explained.
Philippe Bacac,
chairman and managing director of Metro in Vietnam , said his
supermarket has co-operated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development to develop the fisheries sector as part of the "Public
Private Task Force on Sustainable Agricultural Growth in Vietnam ."
The programme aims to raise productivity and incomes for farmers while
securing the sustainability of both the fisheries industry and the
environment, he said.
Under the programme, since 2011
Metro has worked with farmers in the Cuu Long ( Mekong ) Delta to ensure
the supply of best quality products for its outlets.
Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Viet Nam Association of
Seafood Exporters and Processors, said: "Most seafood processing firms
have good food safety control systems. We need to focus more on checking
the pre-processing stage to ensure sustainable development ." .-VNA