Forte Biotech: Helping farmers with early detection of prawn diseases in Vietnam

In December, Forte Biotech, a producer of on-site RAPID diagnostic tests for early detection of prawn diseases, won the Food Systems & Sustainable Agriculture track at the inaugural Net Zero Challenge 2023, a climate innovations competition in Vietnam conducted by Touchstone Partners and Temasek Foundation.

Its patented RAPID system, which was developed in partnership with the National University of Singapore, utilises the LAMP PCR technology, allowing farmers to diagnose diseases without needing any expert help quickly.

e27 recently caught up with its founder, Kit Yong, to learn more about the technology and the opportunities in Vietnam.

Edited excerpts:

Can you elaborate on the specific prawn diseases your RAPID tests can detect? Are there plans to expand the range of detectable diseases in the future?

Currently, our RAPID tests are capable of detecting three of the most common and devastating diseases affecting prawn farms: White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Enterocytozoon hepatorenal (EHP), and Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND), also known as Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS).

These diseases pose significant threats to prawn health and can lead to substantial economic losses for farmers if not detected and addressed promptly. Some of these diseases cause a complete wipeout of the crop, while others lead to slow growth and reduced efficiencies.

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While our current focus is on these three diseases, we are actively researching and developing new testing capabilities to address a broader spectrum of diseases that may impact prawn farming in the future.

What is the level of accuracy and sensitivity of your RAPID tests? How does this compare to traditional diagnostic methods?

Currently, we have close to a 93 per cent concurrence rate with PCR. This is an excellent number, considering that farmers do not require expensive equipment such as PCR machines and centrifuges to conduct their tests; instead, they rely only on handheld equipment. The main advantage of our testing system is the speed with which farmers can get results on their farms in an economical manner.

Considering the potential user base of prawn farmers, how user-friendly are your RAPID tests designed to be? What level of training is required for farmers to conduct the tests effectively?

Our RAPID tests are user-friendly, ensuring that even farmers without extensive technical background can conduct the tests effectively. Typically, only minimal training is required, often provided during a demonstration by our salesperson.

Additionally, we offer instructional videos and manuals for farmers to refer to at their convenience. Farmers can quickly learn how to use the RAPID tests and incorporate them seamlessly into their farming routine with these resources.

How can widespread adoption of your RAPID tests benefit the Vietnamese prawn farming industry economically? (e.g., reduced crop losses, improved farm management)

By enabling faster detection of diseases such as WSSV, EHP, and AHPND, farmers can take proactive measures to mitigate disease outbreaks and minimise crop losses. Harvesting prawns earlier, facilitated by early disease detection, can significantly reduce crop losses and maintain optimal growth rates. As a result, the overall feed conversion ratio improves, leading to more efficient use of feed resources and ultimately increasing overall farm profitability.

Additionally, the timely identification of disease outbreaks allows for targeted treatment strategies, reducing the need for costly interventions (e.g. antibiotics).

This way, farmers can improve their farm management practices, further optimising production efficiency and ensuring the long-term sustainability of their operations.

What strategies are in place to encourage them to integrate them into their practices?

Our strategy revolves around direct sales and marketing efforts, primarily targeting prawn farmers in Vietnam. We employ a hands-on approach, utilising our sales team to conduct in-person demonstrations of our RAPID Test kit directly at partner farms. This strategy allows us to showcase the effectiveness and benefits of our product firsthand, capturing the interest of potential customers.

To further expand our market reach, we engage key opinion leaders (KOLs) within the province to test and endorse our product. Leveraging their influence, we aim to validate our technology and build credibility within the farming community. We also show them our case studies with Anh Phuoc, a partner farmer in Vietnam, and how Forte Biotech has enabled him to save 10% of his costs and double his revenue. Through word-of-mouth referrals facilitated by satisfied customers and KOL endorsements, we seek to organically spread awareness and drive adoption among other prawn farmers in the region.

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Additionally, we plan to establish dealership and distribution networks in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. Partnering with local distributors and dealerships allows us to penetrate new markets efficiently, leveraging their cultural understanding and market expertise. By offering the benefits of RAPID prawn testing to these partner distributors and intermediaries, such as increased yields and reduced disease losses, we aim to establish mutually beneficial relationships and expand our market presence beyond Vietnam.

How do you ensure the cost and availability of your RAPID tests make them accessible to a wide range of prawn farmers in Vietnam?

We have analysed the lifetime cost of using our test kits for the farmers; the cost of using them is less than 0.2 per cent of their production costs.

We also offer schemes like free machine trials to ensure farmers are not constrained by cash flow factors when adopting our machine. Our machines start from 10 million VND (US$403), which is around 15 times cheaper than the nearest competitor’s.

Beyond disease detection, are there plans to develop additional products or services to support prawn farmers? (e.g., data analysis tools, disease prevention strategies)

In addition to disease detection, Forte Biotech has recently launched an app – Aotomatic – designed to support prawn farmers in various aspects of their operations. This app allows farmers to track essential data such as water quality, nutrition, medicine, shrimp sizes, and RAPID test results. Furthermore, it enables farmers to project their revenue from prawn harvests, providing valuable insights for decision-making and farm management.

The collection of data is crucial to enable us to produce risk models, which will allow us to help farmers predict the severity of disease outbreaks and take action to reduce their losses.

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