Shrimp Forever: RYNAN Technologies is trailblazing the future of Vietnam’s shrimp industry with big data, AI, and the Internet of things.
Article written by Jillian Wong - RYNAN Technologies
Most shrimp farms in Vietnam are small family-run farms and farmers lack the infrastructure and technology know-how to move towards a transparent and sustainable method of production. With increasing pressure from consumers demanding ethically farmed shrimp and more assurance about their seafood, RYNAN Technologies sets out to digitally transform shrimp farms for sustainable farming and in so, provide greater traceability in the value chain. Find out more from Dr. My Thanh Nguyen, Founder and Chairman of RYNAN Technologies Vietnam about what the company is trying to achieve in Vietnam’s shrimp industry and also its latest shrimp farming management system, TOMGOXY.
Jillian Wong: What role does RYNAN Technologies play in Vietnam’s shrimp industry?
Dr. My T: We strive to be a farm-to-table solution provider for the Vietnamese shrimp industry and the entire value chain.
In Vietnam, most of the country’s total shrimp production comes from small intensive farms. These farmers use huge amounts of water, land, and energy for shrimp production. The Mekong River is also heavily polluted. Current methods of aquaculture practices are simply not sustainable.
If we continue with current shrimp farming practices, there will be irreparable damage to the Mekong and the environment. We cannot risk that. What we need is a digital transformation in shrimp production. This is why we developed a complete digital shrimp farming management system called TOMGOXY to help farmers raise healthy shrimp and increase their productivity in a more sustainable manner.
Starting from farm layout and design, we integrate IoT monitoring devices into all of the shrimp operation activities on the farm. We then feed these data through the cloud services and utilize AI algorithms to predict the best course of action for shrimp farmers. Our goal is to digitally transform the next generation of shrimp aquaculture farms in Vietnam so that everything is fully automated and traceable. Through digital transformation, we hope to revolutionalize the shrimp industry in Vietnam and provide greater transparency in traceability for a sustainable value chain.
Jillian Wong: In your opinion, what do you think are the major problems of shrimp farming in Vietnam?
Dr. My T: Disease outbreak is probably the number one problem for shrimp farming, not just in Vietnam, but globally in shrimp aquaculture. In many of these cases, farmers resort to using antibiotics and chemicals to treat and prevent diseases, and this often leads to even more problems such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and even more rapid spread of diseases.
Shrimps are actually more vulnerable to disease infections under stressful conditions. Fluctuating thermal conditions, high and low salinity, inappropriate PH levels, DO concentrations and nitrogenous compounds in the aquatic environment can trigger stress in shrimp. The goal should be to farm shrimps with as little stress to them as possible by addressing the root causes of diseases, rather than relying on antibiotics and chemicals which can lead to further problems. A good farm design and a smart shrimp farming management system can greatly help reduce stress in shrimps and prevent disease outbreaks from happening in the first place.
Water pollution is also another huge problem. When farmers fail to treat waste from shrimp farms and release them into surrounding waters, the receiving waters get polluted with waste, chemicals/ antibiotics. This increases the risk of resistant antimicrobial pathogens in our community.
Jillian Wong: Which of these problems is RYNAN Technologies trying to solve in Vietnam’s shrimp industry? How does TOMGOXY offer a solution?
Dr. My T: Vietnamese shrimp farmers are at the mercy of disease outbreaks that can destroy entire farms. Some of them have gone bankrupt and are in debt. Many others lack proper knowledge on how to respond to diseases and rely on trial-and-error treatment with antibiotics to save their shrimps. Their ignorance of proper water treatment has also resulted in polluting the river which is our livelihood. As a result, our own people are eating bad, contaminated shrimp while the good quality ones are exported for overseas sales.
We want to change that. TOMGOXY is developed to help farmers farm ethical shrimps productively and sustainably. “Tom” is shrimp in Vietnamese, “G” is “giàu” which means rich, and “oxy” is oxygen. This holistic farming solution starts with a good farm layout and design to make the best use of land, water, and energy resources and replace the use of fossil fuel energy with renewable energy while reducing production costs and pollution.
For example, in terms of farm design and layout, we plant mangroves to remove excess nitrates and sequester carbon dioxide from the environment. We also replaced the use of paddle wheels which are inefficient in delivering DO into the water. Paddle wheels break up waste into smaller particles, making water treatment even more difficult. Instead, we install oxygenation units that reduce the need for continuous operation, helping farmers save water treatment costs and electricity consumption by more than 50%.
Other intensive farms use 80% of their farmland for water treatment and only 20% for grow-out ponds. On TOMGOXY farms, we only use 50% of the land for water treatment and the other 50% for grow-out ponds, so shrimp yield is increased by more than 20x. Unlike other farm systems that require an exchange of 50% of the water daily, we only exchange 3-5% of pond water.
We also developed IoT monitoring devices that feed real-time shrimp data through cloud services and use AI algorithms to predict the best course of action so that farmers can react faster to disease outbreaks, poor water quality, pest infestations, etc. The entire system can be monitored through an app, making it extremely easy for farmers to use.
Jillian Wong: What is RYNAN Technologies' competitive advantage over competitors who are trying to solve the same problem/s?
Dr. My T: At RYNAN Technologies, we’ve always been focused on research and development. We not only produce and manufacture our own hardware, but we also develop our software technologies to ensure that we offer a holistic approach for our customers and communities.
In Vietnam, there is a lack of technology options - we have not fully harnessed the power of technology to solve many of our problems in this country. RYNAN’s competitive advantage lies in our ability to develop end-to-end solutions for the entire supply chain. We develop cost-effective innovations in both hardware and software. We also ensure that modern technology is easily accessible to businesses and communities. In shrimp aquaculture, we improve farm management practices through farm design, IoT devices, cloud services, and predictive AI analytics. At the same time, our packaging solutions and vending machines help bring ethical, safe-to-eat shrimp from farm to table. Our other business in coding and marking provides full traceability in the shrimp supply chain.
Jillian Wong: Can TOMGOXY be a sustainable solution for shrimp farmers outside of Vietnam in the near future?
Dr. My T: Let me share some of our results with you on our TOMGOXY demo farm in Salicornia JSC, which has been our pilot project for the past few years. This vannamei shrimp farm is built on a land area of 6 hectares. It comes with a water treatment area that is engineered for the ultra-fine filtration of sedimentation and a microwave system to kill cyanobacteria without chemical use; a seaweed growing pond as an additional source of DO; and a commercial shrimp farming area which includes ponds lined with HDPE tarpaulin and designed with inverted conical bottoms and central siphons for the efficient collection of insoluble organic matter.
Instead of paddle wheels, a large power station houses our central oxygenation system to supply highly-concentrated pure oxygen molecules in the shrimp ponds. We also dedicated 2 ha of land for mangrove trees with fish farming to help decompose waste discharged from shrimp ponds. These planted mangroves can sequester 246 tons of CO2 per year. Water from the mangroves is treated and reused for shrimp farming.
All our shrimp ponds are equipped with LED lights to help them grow more quickly. The roofs of the ponds are fitted with a solar battery system that can reduce CO2 emissions by 335 tons per year. As the ponds have automatic feeding units and smart sensors manufactured by RYNAN Technologies, we can easily monitor the levels of DO, pH, salinity, water temperature, and other parameters in real-time.
To produce one ton of vannamei shrimp commercially, we will need to use around 45,500 m3 of water, 24,859 kWh of energy, and emit 13 tons of CO2. Compare that to a TOMGOXY farm where we reuse 3000 m3 of water from planted mangroves, 2400 kWh of electricity, and reduce 335 tons of CO2 emissions per year with the use of solar battery-fitted roofs. And we are able to produce between 240-300 tons of shrimp/per year at Salicornia JSC and harvest about 40-50 tons of fish from the mangrove reserve.
Through mangrove conservation, increasing energy efficiency with our oxygenation system, combining algae and fish farming, and utilizing solar energy, we can increase our yield and reduce our CO2 emissions. The demo farm has proven that TOMGOXY can help in sustainable shrimp farming and I am excited for the world to find out more about the potential of TOMGOXY in aquaculture.
Jillian Wong: What will you say is the ONE biggest challenge facing Vietnam’s shrimp industry today, and how do you envision RYNAN Technologies helping in the next 5 years?
Dr. My T: I think disease management will be the biggest challenge for Vietnam’s shrimp farmers. A lot of such diseases can be easily managed and brought under control if farmers have a good understanding of what is causing these disease outbreaks. Farmers also have no easy access to technology and this is what is holding the industry back. Antibiotics and chemicals should not be the first line of defense. We need to make technology accessible to farmers and educate them on how to farm shrimp sustainably and responsibly for the betterment of their livelihoods. With our expertise in R&D and dedication to developing end-to-end solutions for the entire supply chain, we will endeavor to make ethically-farmed shrimps available to everyone. With technology, we can reimagine aquaculture for a greener future.
Jillian Wong: What is your biggest wish for the future of shrimp farming in Vietnam?
Dr. My T: My wish is simple. I would like to improve the lives of the farmers here in Vietnam. I'd like the community here to have a better life, a better place to live, with better and safer food to eat.
One of RYNAN Technologies' aquaculture products from its holistic shrimp farming management system, TOMGOXY, have won recognition in the Make in Vietnam awards organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). The Make In Vietnam Awards honors excellent digital technological products that are designed, created, and produced in Vietnam and possess great practical value in the country’s digital economy.
RYNAN AQ-Spectro - an aquaculture solution for water quality analysis, won the coveted Gold Award for Potential Digital Solution in the Make In Vietnam 2022 Awards.
Reimagine the world of aquaculture with technology. Using IoT Solutions for shrimp farming, RYNAN Aquaculture brings to life a complete technological ecosystem for commercial shrimp aquaculture. By challenging traditional farming practices and harnessing the power of innovative technology, we empower farmers with digital know-how for a sustainable and productive aquaculture business.