New Farming Practices Yield Profitable and Sustainable Benefits
With organic shrimp certification in place, MAM guided farmers in negotiating a favorable purchase agreement with Minh Phu, the world’s second-largest seafood processor by shrimp export value. The farmers can sell their shrimp at a 10-percent price premium with significant benefits. The net income from selected integrated mangrove-shrimp farming in 2013 has increased 1.5 times by comparison with traditional shrimp aquaculture or rice-shrimp without mangroves. Van has already realized the value of this new approach.
“Previously, farmers could make 60 to 70 million Vietnamese dong per year. Having joined this project, we are able to make 150 to 200 million Vietnamese dong,” Van said.
Shrimp
SNV and MAM are implementing sustainable shrimp farming practices-which can increase benefits to farmers while reestablishing the carbon-storing mangroves.
This arrangement does not just benefit the farmers. Mr. Le Van Quang, the Managing Director of Minh Phu also values the program’s contribution to the company’s corporate responsibility mandate.
“With certified shrimp from the farmers in the area, we oversee the shrimp farming process and protection of the forest. We have a responsibility to protect the forest, and at the same time ensure that the shrimp industry here will develop enough to supply our factory and global market demand.”
A stable market and increased income from certified shrimp provides a strong incentive to all actors in the shrimp value chain to maintain and conserve the mangrove forest.
Without the support of regional and national authorities, the gains of the MAM project will likely be short-lived. SNV has supported ongoing efforts by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) to introduce national policy that provides the legal basis for mangrove protection. Because sustainable shrimp farming reduces carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, this policy also incorporates strategies to leverage carbon finance to fund ongoing rehabilitation of the mangrove forests.
Extending the Benefits of Sustainable Shrimp Farming
The MAM project continues to develop interventions to preserve and restore the mangrove forest, which include improved forest management based on the UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN REDD+) standards. In addition, the project team is consulting with Naturland to explore opportunities to incorporate carbon specific standards into their certification process. This change will allow farmers to earn carbon credits against the carbon savings in the shrimp value chain. Such carbon in-setting would monetize the carbon savings for farmers, further incentivizing sustainable shrimp production. Furthermore, new certification standards would specifically require climate change mitigation, providing an opportunity to market the ‘low carbon’ benefits of Naturland certified shrimp.
Across the Cà Mau shrimp value chain, SNV is working with producers, businesses, and governments to improve incomes for farmers like Van, incentivize protection of the mangrove forest, and safeguard the sustainable future of shrimp farming. Tran Quoc Van, the leader of one shrimp farmer group, is now much more optimistic for the future.
“All of the farmers have put what they learned into practice on their farms, so this project has been really successful for us. And with plans to expand this approach to up to 6000 hectares, it really is just the beginning.”
New Farming Practices Yield Profitable and Sustainable BenefitsWith organic shrimp certification in place, MAM guided farmers in negotiating a favorable purchase agreement with Minh Phu, the world’s second-largest seafood processor by shrimp export value. The farmers can sell their shrimp at a 10-percent price premium with significant benefits. The net income from selected integrated mangrove-shrimp farming in 2013 has increased 1.5 times by comparison with traditional shrimp aquaculture or rice-shrimp without mangroves. Van has already realized the value of this new approach.“Previously, farmers could make 60 to 70 million Vietnamese dong per year. Having joined this project, we are able to make 150 to 200 million Vietnamese dong,” Van said.ShrimpSNV and MAM are implementing sustainable shrimp farming practices-which can increase benefits to farmers while reestablishing the carbon-storing mangroves.This arrangement does not just benefit the farmers. Mr. Le Van Quang, the Managing Director of Minh Phu also values the program’s contribution to the company’s corporate responsibility mandate.“With certified shrimp from the farmers in the area, we oversee the shrimp farming process and protection of the forest. We have a responsibility to protect the forest, and at the same time ensure that the shrimp industry here will develop enough to supply our factory and global market demand.”A stable market and increased income from certified shrimp provides a strong incentive to all actors in the shrimp value chain to maintain and conserve the mangrove forest.Without the support of regional and national authorities, the gains of the MAM project will likely be short-lived. SNV has supported ongoing efforts by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), and The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) to introduce national policy that provides the legal basis for mangrove protection. Because sustainable shrimp farming reduces carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, this policy also incorporates strategies to leverage carbon finance to fund ongoing rehabilitation of the mangrove forests.Extending the Benefits of Sustainable Shrimp FarmingThe MAM project continues to develop interventions to preserve and restore the mangrove forest, which include improved forest management based on the UN Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN REDD+) standards. In addition, the project team is consulting with Naturland to explore opportunities to incorporate carbon specific standards into their certification process. This change will allow farmers to earn carbon credits against the carbon savings in the shrimp value chain. Such carbon in-setting would monetize the carbon savings for farmers, further incentivizing sustainable shrimp production. Furthermore, new certification standards would specifically require climate change mitigation, providing an opportunity to market the ‘low carbon’ benefits of Naturland certified shrimp.Across the Cà Mau shrimp value chain, SNV is working with producers, businesses, and governments to improve incomes for farmers like Van, incentivize protection of the mangrove forest, and safeguard the sustainable future of shrimp farming. Tran Quoc Van, the leader of one shrimp farmer group, is now much more optimistic for the future.“All of the farmers have put what they learned into practice on their farms, so this project has been really successful for us. And with plans to expand this approach to up to 6000 hectares, it really is just the beginning.”
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