Commercial and technical colleagues recently visited the nursery phase of our Biosipec model. Here’s what they saw — and what you can learn — to help grow this business and contribute to sustainable shrimp farming.
Understanding Biosipec and Its Importance
Nourishing shrimp in the early stages of life is absolutely necessary to the success of the whole crop. The immune system of shrimp in this period hasn’t been perfect yet and digestive system is very sensitive to pathogens, typically Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS). Therefore, an increasing number of people are focusing the nursery period instead of stocking PLs (baby shrimps) directly in the grow-out pond.
Biosipec was first developed in Vietnam five years ago, with the difference of intensive shrimp farming and high technology application, especially focusing on reducing risks in the first month. Until now, this model has grown more diverse to suit the financial conditions and technical qualifications of farmers, including Biosipec Standard and Biosipec Advanced. Both models focus on solving waste with a minimum of water usage including recirculating pond (Biosipec Standard) and biofilter tank (Biosipec Advanced). In addition, nursery phase requires specialized feed, good water quality management and strict biosecurity application.
ADM provides a complete feeding program for nursery in the first month, including MeM (Bernaqua – a specialized feed brand for larval & nursery) and Vana Nano (Ocialis – a complete aqua feed brand). All of these products are internationally certified for quality with BAP and Global GAP to meet traceability requirement.
- MeM: use in first 2 weeks, high protein (60%) and fat (15%), cold extrusion technology and spheronizing technique (marumerization) for nutrient preservation and size homogeneity.
- Vana Nano: use in next 2 weeks, high protein (45%) and fat (8-13%), specialized additives including Xtract Nature (Pancosma) and B-Safe (Wisium) that stimulate the immune system, enhance stress resistance and reduce harmful bacteria (Vibrio) in the gut line.
Internal Training with Precautions
On 12 and 13 March, nearly 50 commercial and technical shrimp staff from all over Vietnam participated in internal training at the Research and Development (R&D) Center in Nha Be. Given the times, the group was in full compliance with current regulations — getting a temperature check, disinfecting hands, wearing masks before entering inside and using an open-air meeting room.
Attending the training session were: Mr. Marc Campet, Asia Aquaculture Commercial Developer; Dr. Pham Minh Anh, director of Research & Development of APAC; Mr. Nguyen Vu Thanh Nguyen, Aqua commercial development director; Mr. Tran Viet Ha, Marketing & Communications director for Vietnam & Cambodia; and host Mr. Tran Huynh Cuong, Aqua technical manager in Asia.
During the training course, the staff had a chance to visit two models at Nha Be R&D Center. The Vietnam technical team also shared their experience after a full month training on Biosipec platform and the results of deploying this model in customer’s farms. The discussion was lively, and questions from employees across the country were answered by experts and practical sharing from Mr. Chau Thanh Phong, shrimp research manager. From these practical results, everyone can learn and draw experience in the process of deploying and replicating the Biosipec model in different regions in Vietnam. And, hopefully this year, Biosipec models will be warmly welcome and have positive feedback from farmers, contributing to sustainability of shrimp farming, bringing productivity and high economic efficiency.
