In 2023, fish cage farming has continued to recover after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With advantages in sale, fish cage farming has brought a fair source of income to thousands of households, especially those residing around Hoa Binh reservoir.
This year, fish cage farming on Hoa Binh reservoir develops stably with good consumption.
Tien Phong is one of the communes of Da Bac district where fish cage farming has been developing vigorously. Currently, there are about 800 fish cages with 400 local households engaged in farming. After experiencing many difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the two past years (2022 - 2023), fish cage farming households in Tien Phong commune have actively restored production and product consumption. In particular, the establishment of Da Giang Eco Cooperative in the commune has helped promote product supply and consumption linkages.
Xa Ngoc Hung, the cooperative’s director, said it currently has seven official members and 90 affiliated households. When the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting the country, its products were unsold, but the consumption of the fish has been much more favourable over the past two years. At present, farmed fish is sold well, particularly specialty fish such as ca lang (hemibagrus wyckii) are sought after.
To develop fish cage farming stably and sustainably, the cooperative has signed contracts with farming households to purchase fish at market prices, he said.
The cooperative is aiming for intensively processed fish products instead of selling fresh fish as before, he said, adding that this suits the needs of customers and is convenient for transportation, thus improving product values, Hung noted.
In 2023, the Da Giang Eco Cooperative had three products rated as three-star under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, namely Da River black ca lang (hemibagrus wyckii), Da River black ca tram (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Da River ca nganh (Cranoglanis sinensis).
Da Bac district has 143ha under aquaculture and 2,060 fish cages, concentrating in Hien Luong, Vay Nua and Tien Phong and other communes.
Bui Khac Vinh, Head of the district’s Division of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in 2023, the protection of aquatic resources has been strengthened and the use of electric shock, explosives, and toxic chemicals to exploit aquatic resources has decreased significantly. Fish cage farmers have paid attention to managing the farming environment and implementing measures to prevent farmed fish from diseases. The district has focused on promoting consumption linkages to develop sustainable fish cage farming and bring high economic efficiency.
Hoa Binh province has a fish farming area of 2,695ha with nearly 5,000 cages. It has built trademarks for fish and shrimp of Da River, which have been certified by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam. The province has set up three product consumption chains in Hoa Binh city, Da Bac district and Tan Lac - Mai Chau, thereby helping to improve the value of Da River’s fish and shrimp as well as expanding product consumption markets.
Hoang Van Son, Director of the provincial Sub-department of Fisheries, said to develop sustainable aquaculture, in the coming time, the sector will continue to restructure fishery and speed up the application of new technology to fishery activities to diversify products. It will also promote research, transfer and application of scientific and technical advances with priority given to high technology and new advanced scientific and technological solutions.
With funding from the National Target Programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, localities in of Hoa Binh province have invested in essential infrastructure which helps improve local people's lives.
Hoa Binh city has allocated 654 million VND (nearly 26.200 USD) for supporting the protection and sustainable development of 507ha of natural forest to carry out Project 3 on sustainably developing agricultural and forestry production to tap into the potential and advantages of regions to produce goods in value chains.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival nearly a month away, various kinds of mooncakes from popular brands like Kinh Do, Huu Nghi, and Hai Ha have been put on sale at the local shopping malls and business establishments.
In addition to livestock farming, cultivation, and agricultural production, Dao ethnic minority people in Ba Ra hamlet in Hung Son commune of Kim Boi district have also engaged in forestry-based livelihoods, especially bamboo shoot planting.
The Hoa Binh Steering Committee for State Budget Collection on August 15 held a conference to assess the results of state budget revenue between January and July. The conference was chaired by vice chairman of the provincial People's Committee and head of the Steering Committee Quach Tat Liem.
On August 16th, the Community Development Project in Hoa Binh City, under the Good Neighbors International (GNI) Organization, provided 1,300 soapberry seedlings to the Lemongrass Farming Group in Dong Chua Hamlet, Thong Nhat Ward, Hoa Binh City.
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