Tra Vinh Province in the Mekong Delta has decided to offer financial assistance of more than VND27.4 billion (US$1.3 million) to shrimp farmers to cover for heavy losses caused by spread of disease.
Of the above amount, VND19.2 billion ($923,000) will come from the state budget and VND8.2 billion ($394,000) from the provincial budget, to support shrimp farmers in Cau Ngang and Duyen Hai Districts.
Shrimp farmers in coastal districts of provinces in the Mekong Delta are suffering unprecedented losses due to spread of a disease that destroyed around one billion farm bred tiger shrimps across 5,754 hectares.
In Cau Ngang District, about 5,724 households suffered losses on more than 3.6 hectares. These households were given assistance of VND17.3 billion ($831,730) and 2,432 households in Duyen Hai District, who faced losses across 2,11 hectares, received VND10.1 billion ($485,576).
This financial assistance is expected to help tide over the bad financial losses suffered from the recent shrimp crop.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, more than 28,076 shrimp farmers in the coastal districts of Cau Ngang, Duyen Hai, Chau Thanh and Tra Cu have bred 2.27 billion tiger shrimps over 28,825 hectares, but 1.23 billion over 11,627 hectares died of disease, causing farmers a loss of almost VND2 trillion.
