The factors affecting the decision to adopt safe standard-oriented shrimp farming in the Mekong Delta

Abstract

Safe standard-oriented shrimp farming is inevitable as the export market accounts for a large proportion and Vietnam has been participating in many international free trade agreements. The study conducted face-to-face interviews with 521 conventional shrimp farmers and 104 safe standard-oriented shrimp farmers in the Mekong Delta. The results from the financial performance comparison suggest that safe standard-oriented shrimp model had higher profit than the traditional shrimp farming. Most of the farmers shifted to safe, standard-oriented shrimp farming due to the expectation of higher profits, few negative effects on the environment, and high-quality harvest. The factors affecting the decision to change the farming practices are: having a flocculation pond, participattion in training, credit access, concern about market risks, usefulness, and ease of use. The research proposed a number of handles to promote the transformation of farming practices.