Feed focus at Vietnam roundtable
SOME 200 people attended the Roundtable Aquaculture Series (TARS) held in Hanoi, Vietnam, and discussed new approaches to improving feeds and feeding.
TARS organises the sessions for stakeholders from industry, academia, government and NGOs to share ideas and identify strategies to ensure the sustainable development of Asia’s aquaculture industry.
This year, participants had fruitful discussions in breakout sessions covering four themes: Feeding Today’s Shrimp; Freshwater Fish Feeds; Marine Fish Feeds; and Aqua Feed Industry.
The event, sponsored by feed additives specialist Nutriad, was held from August 19-20.
Dr Peter Coutteau, Global Aquaculture BU manager, presented a talk titled ‘Towards a paradigm shift in feed specifications’, comparing feed regulations for aquafeed of different Asian countries and those in force in EU.
Feed standards based on simple analytical features are not effective and limit innovation which is badly needed to face current industry challenges, he said.
Up-to-date aquafeed includes nutrient quality and functional properties to improve feed utilisation and animal health but also requires adequate information (labelling) and continued education/ support of the farmer.
The aquaculture industry would benefit from regulations targeting feed and food safety rather than feed specifications, and would further benefit from uniformity on regulations across the ASEAN region.
Dr Coutteau received a lot of feedback from the feed mill industry, which has been limited by national regulations for many years. THE European Union has set aside $4.5 million to finance aquaculture projects in eight districts of Zimbabwe, with the objective of improving food security for 9,000 vulnerable households.
Deputy agriculture minister Paddy Zhanda said aquaculture was an untapped opportunity in the country and urged the beneficiaries to work hard.
An official from World Vision International Zimbabwe, one of the partners in the projects, said fish ponds will be constructed in all the eight districts and the idea was to promote integrated aquaculture.