The project "Probiotics - biological products for shrimp farming" by a group of students from the Microbiological Science Faculty, VN - UK Institute for Research and Executive Education- the University of Da Nang opens up hope to help shrimp farmers limit diseases in shrimp and have safe and effective shrimp farming solutions.

The project "Probiotics - biological products for shrimp farming" by a group of students from the Microbiological Science

The project excellently won the third prize at the 4^th National Student Startup Festival (SV.Startup 2023) organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

According to member Dinh Thi Ngoc Anh, when they started researching the topic for the student start-up competition in early 2023, the group realized that shrimp intestinal disease was one of the causes of significant economic losses for farmers. Therefore, the group discussed ideas and conducted practical research to help shrimp farmers find an optimal solution.

"We had read a lot of documents and studied the use of probiotics to prevent and treat shrimp diseases. The more we researched, the more we believed that the use of probiotics is one of the effective solutions to help reduce economic losses and increase production efficiency in aquaculture. Therefore, the team aims to develop probiotic products for white-leg shrimp in Viet Nam, as white-leg shrimp accounts for a large amount of aquaculture production and has many potential markets for strong development," Ngoc Anh shared

Due to the limited time available, the team had to make a concerted effort and clearly divide responsibilities. Tran Nhan Kiet was in charge of market information, marketing, and researching legal information, while Lan Anh, Ngoc Anh, and Ngo Huynh Thien Y were responsible for bacterial isolation.

The team isolated Bacillus pumilus from the soil and then mixed it with two other strains to create the basis for a probiotic product for shrimp farming. Testing on shrimp to obtain results was carried out through comparative experiments in the laboratory and yielded promising results. Also, they have been conducting field trials on shrimp farms in Hoa Vang District.

The project "Probiotics - biological products for shrimp farming" was evaluated as highly innovative and practical at the SV. Startup 2023 national startup competition. The project aims to reduce the number of harmful bacteria in shrimp farming while effectively cleaning ponds at a low cost, promising to be a valuable asset for shrimp farmers in Viet Nam. The students hope that the development of this product will partially solve the issue of shrimp disease and provide a safe, efficient, and sustainable solution for the shrimp farming industry in Vietnam.

When receiving news that the team had won the third prize in a large-scale startup competition like SV. Startup 2023, team leader Nguyen Tran Lan Anh shared that they were absolutely overjoyed. This was an opportunity for each member of the team to learn, and gain more motivation, and inspiration from the innovative and creative movement of young students from universities nationwide.

Currently, they have been continuing to research and perfect the project in the most optimal way. At the same time, they plan to collaborate with businesses and organizations in the aquaculture industry in Viet Nam to seek opportunities for cooperation and product development on a larger scale, aiming to achieve maximum efficiency and contribute positively to the aquaculture industry in Viet Nam.

SV. Startup 2023 is a competition that brings together many outstanding startup projects and ideas selected from high school and university students from all over Viet Nam in five fields, including industrial and product manufacturing; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; education, tourism, services, finance; healthcare, beauty care technology; and socially impactful businesses.

This year, SV. Startup 2023 was hosted by Hue University, and the "Probiotics - biological products for shrimp farming" project was one of the 50 student projects selected by the Ministry of Education and Training to participate in the final round.

Reporting by THIEN LAM - Translating by T.VY