Find a total solution to treat environmental pollution in pangasius ponds
Pangasius farming has long brought great benefits to the economy of the country in general and Dong Thap province in particular, is one of the main national products, creating livelihoods for millions of people in the Mekong Delta.
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Export turnover in 2020 will reach nearly 3 billion USD. Currently, the total cultivated area is 7,800 ha, the average yield is 222 tons/ha, the total output is 1,420 thousand tons/year. Dong Thap province alone has a farming area and production accounting for about 30% of the whole region. Pangasius products are exported to 132 countries, of which the highest is the US (accounting for 24%), followed by China (23%), EU (11%), Asean (9%), and etc. Vietnam Pangasius Association, 2020).
In addition to the great economic value and potential for development, Pangasius farming is facing many difficulties and environmental challenges, such as water pollution, soil and air pollution due to development. The main reason is that during the farming process, farmers stock fish with too thick density (40-70 fish/m2), and the food is left over. Wastewater and fish feces from the ponds have not been treated (estimated about 90%) and are directly discharged into canals, canals, rivers and etc. At the same time, before each new crop, farmers often renovate the pond with draining the water, removing the liquid mud, spreading lime to balance the pH and exposing the bottom of the pond to sterilize. This process consumes a lot of time, labor and efficiency is not high. Notably, some pangasius farming areas are located deep in the field, the ability to exchange water is not good, causing accumulation in waterways and negative impacts on water quality. In addition, another big problem is that the collection of sludge is still done manually at the end of the harvest season, this process rapidly increases the amount of pollution in the pond environment, greatly affecting the environment of fish growth; At the same time, the amount of sludge dredged from the ponds currently does not have a general treatment method, accumulating over time has the potential to create disease outbreaks and cause severe environmental pollution.
To help the people of Dong Thap province and other provinces in the Mekong Delta have advanced technological solutions in the treatment of the farming environment – an urgent issue in the rapidly growing intensive farming of Pangasius, ensuring sustainability and creating fish products of higher quality and economic value. On the basis of the proposal of the People's Committee of Dong Thap province, the local Department of Science and Technology Development, in collaboration with relevant units, advised the Ministry of Science and Technology to accompany the locality and mobilize scientists to find scientific solutions and technology, technical processes to solve the problem of pollution in Pangasius intensive farming in a holistic and sustainable way. To concretize this goal by organizing the national scientific research task "Research on overall solutions to environmental pollution treatment of intensive pangasius ponds in Dong Thap province and surrounding areas". Hopefully, the results of the task will meet the requirements of sustainable production practices and contribute to improving the added value of pangasius farming for Dong Thap province in particular and the Mekong Delta in general.
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