Chanthaburi province, Thailand - More members of Kung Kraben Fisheries Cooperative in Chanthaburi province are enlarging their shrimp farms to boost output and income, confident that Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF)'s "3 Clean" shrimp farming principles will help them clear debts accumulated in the past 5 years when their farms encountered Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS).

The number of members participating the Pracha Rath initiative has increased from 3 to 11 and more than 90% have witnessed satisfactory results from the "3 Clean" principles and consequently expanded their farming areas. Earlier, farmers were reluctant to adjust their farming areas as advised.

CPF invented the "3 Clean" techniques to enhance farming productivity and management as well as tackle EMS which cost damage to half of Thailand's shrimps during 2012-2016. The techniques' focal points are clean floors, clean water and contamination-free baby shrimps. The techniques derive from years of experience at CPF, transferred to small farmers. They can apply the techniques without high investment cost and consequently enhance productivity, reduce cost and prevent the disease.

DVM Sujint Thammasart, Cheif Operating Officer - Aquaculture Business of CPF, said that EMS is no longer an issue as CPF's "3 Clean" techniques and proper management can reduce the risk. CPF has the policy to continuously share this knowledge with interested farmers in all areas. Particular focus is placed on building model shrimp farmers and have them transfer the techniques and build up confidence among other farmers.

"The "3 Clean" techniques start with clear (sediment-free) water. If farmers truly understand and actively follow through the instructions, they will be definitely able to fight diseases widespread today and diseases to emerge in the future. Shrimp farmers will experience success and this will lead Thailand's shrimp industry to sustainability and raise confidence among foreign trade partners. It will help us reclaim the world's No.1 shrimp exporting country title," DVM Sujint stressed.

Water is the focal point of the techniques. The appropriate ratio of water storage and culture areas is 70:30. The pond size is cut so that more land is allocated for water storage, to ensure sufficient water stock throughout the farming period. Farmers are required to regularly check farm conditions and water quality.

DVM Sujint added that following the techniques, farmers can raise yield per rai from 1,000-3,000kg per rai to 3,000-5,000kg. This results in lower cost per kg and reduces risks and disease-related damage.

He estimated Thailand's shrimp output this year at about 320,000 tonnes. CPF itself maintains the output at 30,000-35,000 tonnes per annum, mainly to support the company's food operations. It also sets the goal to develop production technology to further reduce production cost and enhance productivity, for solid competitiveness in the global stage.

Mr. Singha Sawasdiphoom, a member of the cooperative, adopted CPF's "3 Clean" techniques late 2016 following losses from EMS. Accumulating debt worth about Bt700,000, he stopped the operation for about a year. He said that he had no confidence in the techniques during first meetings under the Pracha Rath initiative. He gained confidence when receiving further details and knowledge sharing from CPF's experts as well as learning about success of participating cooperative members. He applied the techniques in changing his farm and the last 3 harvests generated profits thanks to higher yields and absence of any diseases.

"After applying the 3 Clean principle, I ably cleared my debt with profits from the first harvest. I am planning to apply the techniques with more ponds," Singha said.

He noted that though additional investment is required for farm structure modification to accommodate the techniques, the return is worthwhile. The yield rose from 1-3 tons per rai to 4-5 tons per rai because of higher efficiency and better shrimp health. Importantly, the operation management gets easier. He recently experienced white face syndrome but thanks to CPF's advice, the problem was sorted out and he did not suffer from any loss.