SNV receives certificates of merit for sustained efforts in aquaculture development in Ca Mau, Vietnam

After 6 years of work in the Ca Mau province, SNV has been recognised for the hard work and the long year's commitment in promoting sustainable aquaculture development with the MAM project.

The “Mangroves and Markets: Scaling up Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in the Mekong Delta (MAM-II)" project supports mangrove restoration and protection in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam while strengthening the livelihoods and resilience of smallholder shrimp farmers and their families. The MAM-II project started in 2016 and will continue until 2020 as a follow-up to the “Promoting Ecosystem-Based Adaptation through Reforestation and Sustainable Use of Mangroves (MAM-I)" pilot project that ran between 2012 and 2016. Both phases of the MAM project are funded by German Ministry for the Environment.

In late February 2018, SNV officially received a certificate of merit from representatives of the Ca Mau People’s Committee (PPC) for its achievements as an international development organisation supporting sustainable aquaculture development in the Ca Mau province. In addition, the Committee gave individual certificates to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy (MAM Project Manager, SNV in Vietnam), and Mr. Le Dinh Huynh (Shrimp Specialist, MAM project, SNV in Vietnam) for their work and dedication in the project implementation.

“On behalf of the Ca Mau province, I highly value SNV’s efforts under the MAM project that provides effective support to Ca Mau in sustainable aquaculture development”, said Mr. Le Van Su, Vice Chairman of Ca Mau PPC. “Especially, the value chain linkages between farmers, processors, scientists, managers and clients that opened a new approach to sustainable development. Through the project, there is a significant breakthrough in farmers' understanding, especially when dealing with the environment and the protecting of the mangroves.”

In the second phase of the project, around 2.000 smallholder shrimp farmers in the Ca Mau province received training and technical assistance to enhance the sustainability of their production practices to meet Naturland organic certification standards, which require a 50% mangrove cover on each farm. The project saw the collaboration of processing companies and government authorities to develop stable market linkages and create an enabling policy environment. “I learned from the project experts how to improve my pond preparation practices, dredging, environment monitoring and stocking”, says Mr. Huynh Hung Duyet, a local farmer in Nhung Mien, Ca Mau. “Now I don't have to stock too much as before, I can save my costs and have higher returns.”

The MAM project aims to replicate and scale up the sustainable integrated mangrove-shrimp farming model along the coasts of Ca Mau, Ben Tre, and Tra Vinh provinces, which together contain half of the mangroves in the Mekong Delta.