Cargill announced the opening of a shrimp-focused Technology Application Center (TAC) in Bac Lieu province, a shrimp farming hub in Vietnam. The center is designed to help aquaculture farmers access the latest innovations and apply the best possible solutions to grow healthy seafood and increase their profits. Covering 1.2 hectares, the center will have 15 ponds, a training facility and a research station.
This is Cargill’s third such center in South Asia and its second in Vietnam. The company opened a fish Technology Application Center in Tien Giang, Vietnam in early 2017 and another fish and shrimp Technical Application Center in Andhra Pradesh, India in February 2018. By mid-2018, Cargill is looking at opening Technology Application Centers in Thailand and Indonesia as well.
“Our Technology Application Center will apply shrimp farming knowledge and technology from around the world within the local framework,” said Jesper Clausen, technology application lead, Cargill’s aquaculture nutrition business in Asia. “In Vietnam, this means helping farmers address challenges such as disease in shrimp farming and complement current farming practices with new techniques and improved feed for a more efficient shrimp farming industry.”
By leveraging global R&D Innovation Centers and the learnings from the TACs across Asia South, the center will support Cargill’s 10 aquaculture feed lines it has in Vietnam and strengthen the company’s position in the animal nutrition industry.
“Vietnam is an important and growing market for animal nutrition,” said Chad Gauger, managing director, Cargill Aquaculture Nutrition, Asia South. “Today, after 23 years of operating in Vietnam, Cargill has 11 manufacturing facilities across the country, employing 1800 people, 99 percent of whom are Vietnamese. The opening of a second Technology Application Center reinforces the importance of this market we are proud to continue to contribute to the development of the Vietnamese aquaculture industry.”
In this TAC, Cargill is co-operating with Research Institute of Aquaculture No. 2 in Bac Lieu. Cargill will be able to enhance aquaculture farming capabilities for local communities by running various trials and full cycle trials to find the best ingredient combination, improve the existing feed diets for best performances for farmers with less impact on the environment. The center will also help speed up the pace of product development with increased focus on solutions for shrimp.
