Fabian Reusch
CEO & Founder
HydroNeo
Thailand
Fabian is the CEO and Founder of HydroNeo, a pioneering tech startup that is revolutionizing aquaculture through Smart Farming Technology. His journey in aquaculture began in 2005 when, during a high school exchange year in Australia, he developed a passion for the field by raising crayfish. After serving as an Officer of the Reserves in the military, Fabian completed his education at renowned international business schools in Germany and the US, with additional experiences in Canada, Brazil, and China.
Fabian’s early career in international management consulting deepened his interest in sustainable shrimp farming, initially sparking the idea of establishing a shrimp farm in Germany. However, as he explored the broader challenges shrimp farmers face, he recognized the potential of modern technology to address these issues.
Driven by a vision for innovation and impact, Fabian founded HydroNeo to create IoT-based Smart Farm Management solutions tailored to the needs of aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming. Today, HydroNeo is the market leader in smart farm solutions in Thailand, providing shrimp farmers with advanced tools to monitor water quality, optimize farm operations through digital management tools, and drive sustainable practices at the farm level.
| Session | Technology and Innovations: Revolutionizing Shrimp Farming |
| Presentation | Data & Insights to Drive Profit, Productivity, and Sustainability |
Abstract
The global shrimp aquaculture industry continues to face significant challenges, particularly inconsistent farming performance, and limited access to reliable information — all of which directly impact productivity and profitability. Precision farming, already well established in poultry and terrestrial agriculture, offers a data-driven approach to improve efficiency, optimize decision-making, and increase overall farm performance.
Shrimp farming, however, has been slower to adopt such innovations, mainly due to the dominance of small-scale operators, limited formal knowledge transfer, strong reliance on traditional methods, and a general perception that digital technologies are complex or difficult to implement. A study by Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives found that farms using Smart Farm Management Systems saw a 13% increase in productivity and a 95% rise in profitability — clear evidence of the benefits precision farming can bring to aquaculture. Core practices such as digital record-keeping, real-time water quality monitoring, and automation of operations are already gaining traction.
However, this presentation will focus on more advanced tools, many powered by AI that are beginning to support not only day-to-day farm operations but also strategic decision-making. These include market price forecasting, profit optimization models based on cost and price data, and digital platforms that facilitate knowledge sharing between small-scale farmers and larger players in the supply chain. Such tools enable a shift from reactive farming to proactive, business-driven management — improving survival rates, boosting yields, and increasing financial stability, all while advancing sustainability.