Field workshop on commercial catfish farming model

On the afternoon of November 17, in Yen Ninh town (Yen Khanh), the Center for High-Tech Agriculture and Trade Promotion (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) coordinated with the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Lu district to organize a field workshop on the commercial farming model of catfish.

After surveying and selecting locations, the Project Management Board deployed the construction of a commercial catfish farming model with a total scale of 1 hectare, including: Production farm belonging to the Center for High-Tech Agriculture and Trade Promotion (Yen Ninh town, Yen Khanh) with a scale of 0.5 hectares; and at the household of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Mai, Trung Tru village, Ninh Giang commune (Hoa Lu) with a pond area of 0.5 hectares.

The project has carried out the following technical steps: organized a training course on commercial catfish farming techniques and disease prevention and treatment methods for 30 delegates and aquaculture households in Ninh Giang commune; prepared ponds, stocked seeds, signed contracts, handed over material support (feed, preparations, lime, etc.); assigned technical staff to direct and provide technical guidance to 2 locations for implementing the model.

Field workshop on commercial catfish farming model — Catfish reach an average length of 28 cm.

During the entire farming process, the environmental factors of the pond water at the two locations were maintained quite stable, good water quality ensured favorable conditions for catfish to grow and develop. Up to now, there have been no signs of disease outbreaks in the fish.

Surveyed at 8 growth stages, the survival rate of catfish fry was quite high, reaching 87.3% (raised at households) and 89.7% (raised at the Center). After more than 14 months of release, the catfish have reached an average length of 28 cm, with an estimated total output of 7,040 kg. After deducting all costs and total profits, the model is expected to earn 264.6 million VND/ha.

Catfish is a fish with delicious and nutritious meat. Currently, catfish is considered a specialty fish in riverside areas. Compared to the market price, catfish gives a much higher price than some traditional fish species.

Ninh Binh has nearly 19,000 hectares of inland water surface that can be planned for aquaculture development. The results of successful models in the coming time will be propagated and expanded to gradually change the farming structure, contributing to improving economic efficiency and increasing income for farmers.

"Research on perfecting seed production techniques and commercial farming of catfish (Cranoglanis henrici) in Ninh Binh province" is a provincial-level project, implemented in 26 months (April 2023 to June 2024).

News and photos: Minh Duong

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