Speakers at the forums (Photo: VNA)With its natural advantages, the Mekong Delta has seen the strong development of aquaculture with annual growth of 11% each year.
According to Vu Thanh Liem, Vice Director of theInternational Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (MARD) pointed to a number of challenges facing the region,including climate change impacts, saltwater intrusion and extreme weatherconditions.
He said that the forum is expected to foster cooperation between Vietnam and theNetherlands in seeking sustainable measures to enhance the competitiveness ofthe Vietnamese aquaculture industry in the global market and protect thenatural environment of the Mekong Delta region.
The EU is one of Vietnam’s five largest seafood exportmarkets, and Vietnam is the second largest seafood supplier to the EU among allAsian countries and regions. In recent years, the Netherlands has becomeVietnam’s largest seafood export market in the EU, according to the VietnamAssociation of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).
Meanwhile, Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam Daniël Stork held that Vietnam has great potential to become a sustainable seafood supplier ofthe world amid current food security challenges in the context of risingpopulation.
The Netherlands is willing to cooperate with Vietnam inpromoting sustainable aquaculture development through sustainable innovation,research and application of technologies and a comprehensive approach, he said.
The Dutch private agricultural sector is working withVietnam in addressing challenges related to water quality and efficiency, reducingdisease costs in fish farming, minimising antibiotic use, and technologicalinnovation, planting mangrove forest, and making stratification process foragriculture.
Gerardo van Halsema from Wageningen University and Research proposed that Vietnamdevelop a new water supply system for aquaculture sector to ensure waterquality for farming activities.
Participants at the event shared experience, knowledge and technologies forsustainable aquaculture development in Vietnam, while discussing the prospectsand challenges for the Mekong Delta region, and seeking collaborationopportunities in the field./.
VNA
