A 69-year-old farmer in Can Tho is underscoring a wider shift in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: land once considered too salty and acidic for productive rice farming is being turned into higher-value shrimp operations that can generate billions of dong in annual profit.
Mekong Delta Farmer Shifts Rice Land to Shrimp
Mr. Tang Van Xua’s farm, which spans about 13 hectares in Khanh Hoa ward, now runs 13 white-leg shrimp ponds alongside settling and water-treatment systems, a far cry from the low-yield rice fields his family once worked on degraded land that could support only one crop a year. After trying a rice-shrimp rotation model around 2000 and later moving into tiger shrimp, he began investing in lined ponds, aeration and other high-tech equipment from 2016, allowing him to manage water quality more tightly and harvest more consistently.
The economics explain why the switch matters. Shrimp farming on saline land can produce far higher returns than traditional rice in areas facing salt intrusion, acid sulphate soil and climate stress. Xua said he now earns about 1.5 billion to 3 billion dong, or roughly $59,000 to $118,000, in annual profit after costs, helped by two to three production cycles a year and a practice of partial harvesting to keep stocking density under control. For farmers in the Mekong Delta, where climate volatility is squeezing rice yields, the model offers a more resilient income stream if the technical risks can be managed.
The farm’s operating model also shows why high-tech aquaculture is replacing older, lower-input methods. Water is recirculated through treatment ponds rather than pumped directly into production ponds, while lined basins, siphoning systems, probiotics, paddle wheels and oxygenation equipment are used to limit waste, control gas buildup and stabilize pH. Xua also adjusts stocking density to salinity conditions and weather, cutting density when salinity falls and being especially cautious in the rainy season, when disease risk rises.
That matters to investors and agribusiness stakeholders because Vietnam’s shrimp industry depends not just on export demand, but on whether producers can scale with better biosecurity and lower mortality. High-tech farms generally require more capital and technical know-how, but they can also deliver more predictable output and better margins than traditional pond systems. The story echoes a broader regional effort to build a stronger shrimp brand, including a shrimp festival planned in Ca Mau next month aimed at marketing the sector and attracting business links.
The bull case for the model is straightforward: saline and acid-affected land that struggled to support rice can be monetized through aquaculture, creating higher rural incomes and supporting local service businesses, feed suppliers and processors. The bear case is just as clear: the sector remains exposed to disease outbreaks, weather swings, feed costs and price volatility, which can quickly erode profits if water management slips or market conditions turn.
Xua’s selection as one of Vietnam’s outstanding farmers for 2026 is a reminder that the Mekong Delta’s economic future may hinge less on trying to preserve every rice hectare than on reallocating marginal land to crops and species that fit changing soil and water conditions. For investors watching Vietnam’s seafood supply chain, the main takeaway is that the winners will be farms and processors able to combine scale with technical discipline, while the losers are likely to be producers still locked into low-margin, climate-exposed rice systems.
| Entity | Gains | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| High-tech shrimp farmers | ▲Higher margins | ▼Lower disease risk only with discipline |
| Mekong Delta rural households | ▲Better incomes | ▼Dependence on volatile markets |
| Shrimp processors/exporters | ▲More reliable supply | ▼Traditional rice growers |
| Low-yield rice cultivation on saline land | ▲— | ▼Productivity and profitability |
