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Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development Collaboration for Agriculture & Rural Development
Milestone Appraisal Report 027/07VIE

Improving traditional integrated farming systems
(VAC) – a new livelihood option for poor farmers in
the coastal communities Milestone 5: Status report on the establishment of three improved VAC
systems September 2009

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1. System design
In the first year of the project, three (3) households were chosen for demonstration purposes.
These three households were chosen based on various selection criteria which were unique and


2. Establishment and operating costs and aquaculture production status
2.1. Establishment costs (investment)
Initial establishment for the system including tanks for fish, water storage and filtration, is
presented in Table 1. 7
Table 1: Establishment costs of demonstration system at each household (I - III).
No Date Content Cost (VND)
I

Quynh Luu – Nghe an

1 9/9/2008 Cement, steel 5,310,000
2 20/09/08 Palm leaves, bamboo 5,193,000
3 12/10/2008 Brick, stones, concrete columns 8,940,000
4 12/10/2008 Labor and electricity 10,200,000
5 26/08/08 Well and install device for pump 3,100,000

Total 32,743,000
II

Trieu Hoa - Quang tri

1 28/8/08 Brick, sand, stone, wood and bamboo 9,158,000
2 29/8/08 Cement, steel 5,625,000
3 14/10/08 Labor and electricity 9,850,000
4 14/10/08 Cement Piro, nail, top brick 5,433,500
5 12/9/2008 Cost for well 1,500,000

Fingerling 13.140.000
Feed
Probiotics
Labor 3.200.000 2.080.000
Total 8
2.3. Production status
Initially two systems (Trieu Long and Trieu Hoa) were stocked with eels (Anguilla mamorata)
and one (Quynh Luu) with snake head (Channa channa). However, as a result of poor fingerling
quality, all eels in the Trieu Hoa system died one month after stocking the tank. The system was
subsequently restocked with snake head.

The production status of the Quynh Luu and Trieu Hoa systems in 2008 is outlined in Tables 3
and 4.

Table 3: Production status of the Quynh Luu (Mr Tung) system.
QUYNH LUU Amount
Days of culture
80
Total of fish 124
Average weight (g)
232
Total weight (g) 28768
Daily Feeding (kg) 2.5
Total feed used (kg)
200
Amount for feed (VND) 800000
Pumping cost (VND)

nitrogenous waste
The water quality parameters of the Trieu Hoa and Quynh Luu systems are shown in Tables 5
and 6. Tank system included a biofilter and therefore, a lower level of nitrogenous waste was
expected in these systems when compared to the ponds which did not include any filtration
systems.

Table 5: Water quality parameters for the system in Trieu Hoa. (tank water is treated
(biofilter); pond water is untreated)
20/11/08 29/11/08 7/12/2008 25/12/08
Parameter Pond Tank Pond Tank Pond Tank Pond Tank
Water temp. (
o
C) 24.4 23.6 24.2 23.4 23.2 22.1 23 20.1
pH 8.02 7.82 8.05 7.78 7.89 7.87 8.1 7.85
DO (mg/L) 6.45 4.34 7.43 4.75 6.78 4.54 5.67 3.55
AlK 80 80 78 80 80.2 80 79 81
Hd H 6.7 6.5 7 6.6 7 6.5 7.3 6.7
Total Ammonia (mg/L)
1.01 0.15 1.05 0.2 0.95 0.25 1.03 0.3
NO
2
(mg/L) 0.4 0.25 0.35 0.2 0.35 0.2 0.45 0.15
NO
3
(mg/L) 1.25 0.7 1.1 0.55 0.85 0.5 0.95 0.45
PO
4
(mg/L) 0.05 0.05 0.1 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.15 0.45
PO
4

transportation and poor fingerling quality.

4. Lessons learned for adjustment in design and operation of VAC models in Year 2
• If farmers are not financially supported by the project, it is unlikely that they will be
convinced to invest.
• It must be demonstrated to the farmers that although initial investment is high, proper
design and installation of the system will ensure future profits with minimal maintenance.
• A simple system design is recommended.
• Water supply for the system is generally not an issue.
• Intermittent electricity supply must be taken into consideration for system design and
operation. Alternatively, a generator could be included in the system design however, this
would increase the initial investment and running costs.
• Biofiltration is only required at critical times or when water supply is limited. The supply
water for the system established in Trieu Lang-Quang Tri (Mr. Sinh) is of relatively poor
quality and provides a good example of a situation where biofiltration should be used.
• With the increase of cost for inclusion of biofiltration to the system stocking of a high
valued fish species is recommended.
• Inclusion of a biofilter is most suitable for systems nursing fry and fingerlings. A biofilter
improves water quality and therefore reduces the risk of pollution and disease outbreaks
which, at present is the bottle neck for the aquaculture nursery industry.
• For some species, such as snake head, a filtration is enough to maintain high growth rate
of the fish. (Binh, is this supposed to say ‘no’ filtration…?)
• Eels may not a suitable species as;
i. fingerlings are collected from the wild which is no longer sustainable, and
ii. method of collection (electric shock or bait-hook fishing) generally leads to
damaged stock and/or high mortality. 11
5. New VAC Guidelines Manual

• Cement tank/ponds
• Bio-filter is recommended as the production cycle is short (ie 2
– 8 weeks depending on species)
• Feeding with earth worms is recommended

6. Design and operation
The actual design and operation of the three improved VAC systems installed at each of the three
locations are outlined below. Technical notes for the successful culture of earthworms are also
included.
6.1. Aquaculture system

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6.2. Earth worm culture
The initial step to establish an earthworm culture is to add a few egg-capsules or worm “seeds”
to a culture medium of earthworm food in some kind of container or bed (eg a tin can, a small
wooden box, a compost heap, or a specially designed culture bed). The culture must be kept
moist and shaded.
6.2.1. House
• Rearing container area should be 20 – 30 m², depending upon the local situation.
• The rearing container should be located at a distance of 50cm from the house wall.
• House wall should be made of bamboo, or jute materials

unfeasible sedge mat, straw, or leaves can be used to cover the container surface.
However, well ventilated conditions surrounding the culture should be maintained.
• Gas
 CO
2
, H
2
S, SO
3
, NH
3
are particularly toxic. Earthworms are highly sensitive to NH
3
from
urea waste and thus manures should be treated before use.
• Food
 2 kg of worms requires 1 – 2 kg manure (wet weight) daily. Manure can be sourced from
cow, buffalo, goat, pig, duck, chicken, straw or other organic materials. Fresh manure
from cow or/and buffalo is highly recommended. Before using any type of manure as a
food source, ammonia should be at least partly removed.
 A recommended diet/culture medium for earthworms includes 50% straw, sugar waste,
sawdust; 20% plant by-product; 30% manure from either cow or pig.