Agriculture minister Veng Sakhon at the opening ceremony of the Mekong Aquatic Research and Production Centre in Stung Treng. AGRICULTURE MINISTRY
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with support from the World Bank, has officially opened the Upper Mekong River Aquatic Research and Production Centre in Stung Treng province to improve the efficiency of fisheries and aquaculture management in the upper Mekong region.
Agriculture minister Veng Sakhon said at the August 10 ceremony that the centre is needed to develop aquaculture in the northeast – including Stung Treng, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Ratanakkiri and Preah Vihear provinces – to respond to the National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Development 2016-2030 and the Agricultural Development Plan 2022-2030.
Sakhon said that in a situation where the world is facing a food crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the centre in Sam Khuoy commune’s Ba Deum village of Sesan district will play an important role in ensuring food security through fish farming and aquaculture to supply local and export markets.
He added that it will also play a role in the production and dissemination of aquatic species and as a training institution for breeding techniques and the conservation of aquatic species, to respond to the need for better management of the upper Mekong River.
It will serve as the Fisheries Administration’s (FiA) regional centre for aquaculture in the northeast. Sakhon expected that in the near future, the aquaculture sub-sector in the area would be more developed, improving the lives of the local people, especially ethnic minorities.
It will also strengthen the protection and reproduction of rare and endangered fish species throughout the region.
“I request that the World Bank, provincial and district authorities and relevant institutions continue to provide full cooperation to ensure that the centre fulfils its functions as planned,” he said.
FiA director-general Poum Sotha said that in 2016, the government accepted a World Bank loan to support the implementation of the project on phase 3 of the “Management of Mekong River water resources”. The FiA had implemented the first component, focused on the management of fishery and aquatic resources in the northeast.
Sotha noted that construction of the centre began in October 2020 and was completed in September last year. The centre covers 10.4ha and cost $1.7 million.
The centre has 24 ponds, including one large water storage pond, 12 young fry ponds, four ponds for fattening fish, six for breeding, and one for wastewater treatment. It has its own generators, drainage system and freshwater well, along with accommodation and research facilities.
“The centre has three main offices: an administration office, an aquaculture technical office and a research and laboratory office,” he added.
