Ninh Thuan digitizes quarantine of 40 - 50 billion shrimp seeds yearly

Ninh Thuan is the largest shrimp seed production center in Vietnam, a supplier of high-quality, disease-free shrimp seeds trusted by shrimp farmers nationwide. Every year, Ninh Thuan provides 40 - 50 billion shrimp seeds to the market, accounting for 1/3 of the country's shrimp seed demand, of which 80% of them are to meet the needs of the markets from Mekong Delta provinces.

According to Phan Dinh Thinh, Head of Ninh Thuan Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health, in recent years, the Sub-Department has strictly controlled the quality and quarantine of shrimp seeds. All shrimp seed batches exported from the province are controlled against dangerous diseases such as White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) and Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV).

Having such a large source of shrimp seeds, the number of daily quarantine records generated Ninh Thuan Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health is overwhelming. For shrimp seeds alone, there are up to 250 - 300 records/day. Along with that is a huge amount of work, from receiving quarantine declaration records, collecting test samples, capturing production logs, monitoring clinical signs to checking veterinary hygiene conditions, disease prevention work of the facility, and disinfection status of means of transport. Each batch must be carefully monitored before the Sub-Department can issue a quarantine certificate.

The work of shrimp seed quality and quarantine control used to be carried out in a "shuttle" manner for each file. Enterprises came to declare directly at the Sub-Department using a sample form. Quarantine officers received the files, arranged the time to collect samples, supervised the actual situation at the facility and checked the clinical manifestations.

If the shrimp seed batch meets the requirements, the business will have to go to the Sub-Department again to receive the quarantine certificate. These steps are very time-consuming and laborious for all parties involved.

Aiming to solve the problem, Ninh Thuan Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health has deployed an online quarantine software utilizing QR codes. Accordingly, the steps of declaring quarantine, performing procedures, paying fees and receiving results are completely online.

Each registered enterprise and production and business household is given an account on the system, and the electronic declaration is accepted by the system. Quarantine officers can have an easier time grasping the situation of each case and monitoring the shrimp seed batch at the facilities. This upgraded system has been implemented since March 15, 2025.

“It’s the same amount of work, Ninh Thuan Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health has twelve civil servants, and only four of them have expertise in performing aquatic species quarantine work, but there is no problem in the workflow,” said Phan Dinh Thinh.

Thinh demonstrates the advantages when the functional sector applies technology to the work of quality control and quarantine of shrimp seeds: The online aquatic quarantine software is associated with QR codes, so the system creates a quarantine dossier with digital information declared by people and enterprises through their accounts. Quarantine officers are arranged in advance at the facilities to perform sample collection, clinical examination, veterinary hygiene inspection, etc.

Information and data gained from the monitoring session are delivered to the one-stop administrative department via an online route. If the shrimp seed batch meets the requirements, people and businesses can pay the fee using the online transfer method, and the quarantine result file will be returned via the electronic environment, including the quarantine certificate from the province, test results, and clinical examination along with the attached QR code.

“Digital transformation not only helps increase productivity and reduce costs but also opens up new development space, creating new values ​​beyond existing traditional values. By promoting the application of information technology associated with administrative reform by applying digital technology, state agencies operate more effectively,” said Phan Dinh Thinh.