April 14, 2014
3.5 million tonnes of fish planned for Mekong Delta
Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has approved development planning of Mekong Delta'sagricultural sector and the vision towards 2030 in the context of climate change.
The planning's objective is to set up the agricultural sector in Mekong Delta with comprehensive and sustainable development and high adaptability to climate change. Other targets are high production with good quality and competitiveness in all agricultural branches; suitable structure of production chains; increasingly modernised socio-economic infrastructure; farmers' higher income and better living conditions; effective use of natural resources, improvement in environment protection.
Mekong Delta strives to reach 3.5 million tonnes of fish output by 2020 with the average income of VND250 million (US$12,000) per hectare. By 2030, the figure will be 4.2-4.3 million tonnes with the average income of VND400 million (US$19,000) per hectare.
Due to rising sea level, 30,000 hectares of cultivable area in the Delta are estimated to be lost by 2030. Thus, land for rice production will decrease by 15,000 hectares and the area for aquaculture increases to 558,000 hectares.