Biosafety breeding helps to prevent diseases

Even boars can get pregnant

For over 10 years, since taking on the task of an officer under the Agricultural Service Center of Son Duong district, Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy regularly travels more than 80km daily to live in Van Phu commune, Son Duong district.

Van Phu is a commune with challenging economic conditions with a high percentage of ethnic minority households. When Ms. Thuy was assigned to be in charge of Van Phu commune, every time she had to check the pigs herd to be vaccinated, every household claimed that their pigs were pregnant so that they wouldn't have to be vaccinated, even the boars. In many households, in the past, pigs died due to diseases and farmers often dumped them in wastelands or into rivers and streams.

In order for people to understand the importance of vaccination, each vaccination season, Ms. Thuy often invites agricultural extension officers, commune veterinarians and village officials to propagate and explain to the farmers. Vaccination as well as biosafety breeding is mainly to protect the hoseholds' assets themselves.

When dealing with a dead pig, households need to carry out concentrated burial and strictly implement disinfection and sterilization so that the damage to the livestock as well as the community is minimized. As a result, households have gradually become more aware of disease prevention in livestock. By now, the annual livestock vaccination of Van Phu commune has reached over 80%.

In 2018 and 2019, the African Swine Fever has reduced the total pig herd of Van Phu from more than 5,000 heads to just over 3,500 pigs. By now, the number of pigs in Van Phu commune is gradually increasing. The commune still maintains 6 large-scale pig farms, small households with 5 to 7 pigs have disappeared.

Thanks to grassroots officials like Ms. Thuy, knowledge of biosafety breeding as well as the farming mindset of farmers in rural areas of Son Duong district has changed drastically. Currently, the total pig herd of Son Duong district is 157,000 heads, the district has about 80 organizations and individuals raising pigs on a farming scale. Son Duong is also the leading locality in Tuyen Quang province in terms of total pig herd as well as farm-oriented breeding models.

Expanding biosafety breeding

Biosafety breeding is a development trend that aims to increase economic value for farmers. To improve the capacity and efficiency of veterinary staff at the grassroots level, the National Center for Agricultural Extension opened training courses on biosafety breeding knowledge for trainees who are staff under the District Agricultural Service Center and large-scale livestock raising households in Tuyen Quang province. Participating in the training course, trainees will be equipped with biosafety knowledge and methods to ensure the effective prevention of African swine fever.

Mr. Dang Huu Hien, officer of the Agricultural Service Center of Yen Son district, said he was assigned to be in charge of Nhu Han and Nhu Khe communes. Animal husbandry in these areas has developed quite strongly, especially pig farming. However, African swine fever has also had a significant impact on the farmers.

Through the training course by the National Center for Agricultural Extension, Mr. Hien has gained a lot of knowledge on biosafety livestock production. This will be an important piece of knowledge to help him support livestock farmers in the assigned area.

By now, many households in Nhu Han and Nhu Khe communes, where Mr. Hien is in charge, have focused on biosafety breeding and rapid, successful re-herding after the impact of African Swine Fever. Drawing experience from previous seasons, livestock households strictly follow epidemic prevention regulations and veterinary ordinances.

Livestock households focus on controlling access to the livestock area, separating the livestock from the living area and wearing protective suits for the livestock barn; Implement the control of breeding stock, food sources, water sources brought into the breeding area...

During the mid-2018 outbreak of African swine fever, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's family, Go Che village, Nhu Han commune, Yen Son district lost 400 pork pigs and 50 sows. While many people struggled to sell off, even though at a heavy loss he still left 27 sows and 300 pigs. It was this confidence and determination that helped him regain his capital. Because a few months after the epidemic had passed, the money he earned from selling pigs for meat and breeding pigs was over 2 billion VND.

Mr. Hai said that his greatest luck is that the sow herd remains, so re-herd is also faster. He is working hard to get the pig herd to reach 800 pigs in the livestock farm.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Sang, Dong Thinh village, Dong Tho commune is the owner of the largest pig farm in Son Duong district. Mr. Sang's annual revenue reaches 20 billion VND, minus 8 billion VND in interest, creating stable jobs for 12 local workers with an income of over 7 million VND/person/month. 

Mr. Sang said that in 2014, after learning and mastering the process, techniques of building a super-lean pig farm in the direction of industry, he invested in building a barn system according to the plan comprising of barns, warehouses and a waste treatment system to ensure that according to the technical process, it does not cause environmental pollution.

Although impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic made the consumption market difficult, his farm maintained stable operation. Pork products have labels and traceability, so on average, the farm sells nearly 2,000 pigs each month.

Currently, the livestock sector of Tuyen Quang province is gradually recovering. The province has nearly 530,000 pigs of which there are over 10 breeding facilities recognized for biosafety, meeting VietGHAP standards. By now, the African swine fever has also been successfully controlled by localities. Currently, only Thien Ke commune, Son Duong district still has pigs with African swine fever under 21 days of infection.

In order to promote the livestock sector to develop in the direction of safety and large scale concentration, by now, Tuyen Quang province has 8 policies to support agriculture and rural areas with policies to support pig production, such as: Loans with maximum interest rate support of 5 billion VND/cooperative, 500 million VND/farm, support of 1 billion VND/pig breeding project, support of 5 million VND/boar for farming households...