In some localities of My Tu district, Nga Nam town (Soc Trang province) there is low-lying terrain. After harvesting the Summer-Autumn rice, water from upstream flows to flood the fields, so people often abandon the fields and do not grow rice (from August to November).
In recent years, people have invested in buying nets to surround their fields to raise fish in cages (nets are placed around rice fields to store natural fish). This method helps them earn income while waiting for the water to recede to produce winter-spring rice.
Mr. Tran Tan Dat in My Tu commune (My Tu district, Soc Trang province) said that in the last two crops, he was successful with the cage fish farming model. With 5 hectares, after 4 months of farming, he harvested nearly 5 tons of fish, helping his family earn tens of millions of dong.
“Instead of leaving the land empty for months, I find raising fish in rice fields very effective. This crop I have been raising fish for 3 months, in about 1.5 months I will harvest the fish and then plant the winter-spring rice crop,” Mr. Dat added.
This method also helped Mr. Pham Van Doi in My Tu commune (My Tu district, Soc Trang province) earn a profit of over 30 million VND thanks to 10 hectares of fish farming in rice fields. From the initial success, this year's flood season he continued to expand the area to 20 hectares. Mr. Doi said that the abundant natural food source helps the fish grow quickly, the expected income is even higher than the previous season.
Mr. Le Quoc Khoi - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of My Tu commune (My Tu district, Soc Trang province) - said that the model of raising fish in cages has low investment capital, is easy to implement, mainly takes advantage of natural food, so the profit is many times higher than growing rice, and also creates jobs for farmers during the off-season months and limits pathogens for the next rice crop.
Mr. Khoi said that the Commune People's Committee has also proposed to the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to support with breeds, nets; techniques for managing fish in the fields for new households; and training for people to grasp the most effective farming techniques.
According to records, currently, in addition to using nets to raise fish, many households in low-lying areas of Soc Trang province also cast nets, set hooks, push cones, and set traps to catch fish and snails... to increase their income to cover the next crop.
