Farm shrimps in the desert areas and innovation success

Dr Hamada Elkady, with good academic training and rich experience in aquaculture, has shown us how it is possible to farm shrimp in a desert area such as Egypt. Under his lead, Wadi El Natrun farm transformed from traditional tilapia farming to the more profitable vannamei shrimp farming in an innovative manner. This allowed it to survive the high feed costs. Now the farm has 14 ponds fed by groundwater on 70 acres of land, with wastewater used in a hydroponics component to produce salt-tolerant crops. He gives out some key takeaways for anyone who might want to try and achieve success:

• A place with a water source that has the right suitable salinity for aquaculture. The 20-30 ppt (parts per trillion) level is good for high feed conversion rates and low disease incidence. In the case of Wadi El Natrun farm, it uses groundwater by pumping from wells and wastewater in a hydroponic component.
• Sandy loam soil which may retain water. In desert areas, it will lower the costs of lining the ponds.
• Electricity supply for aerators and pumps from the well (if needed). Solar energy would be a good choice.
• Trained workers and experience. Desert areas are more difficult to farm. Hamada has good knowledge of aquaculture and worked for quite a long time in the industry.
• Promising production systems. Intensive and semi-intensive systems such as biofloc and recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) may work well.

For the full interview of Dr Hamada Elkady’s story, please refer to the article on the Fish Site.