Livestock strongly recovers thanks to timely control of epidemics

According to Tuyen Quang province’s sub-Department of Livestock, Animal Health and Fisheries (DLAHF), in 2021 and the first three months of this year, the total herd of livestock and poultry in the province has grown over the same period of the previous year. Specifically, the number of cows has reached more than 38,700, up 6% while the pig herd is more than 549,600 heads, up 3.9% and the poultry herd has increased to 6.98 million heads, up 3.9%.

One of the reasons for an increase in the total herd of livestock and poultry in Tuyen Quang province in recent months is that transportation between provinces has been restored resulting in more convenience for consumption of cattle, poultry and other products. A focus on developing livestock in the direction of biosecurity and expanded linkage chains has helped reduce risks and market disruptions.

Mr. Dao Duy Quy, Director of the DLAHF in Tuyen Quang, said a number of infectious diseases such as avian flu, African swine fever, and dermatitis have arisen, causing harm to livestock and poultry in the province in 2021.

Disease control and prevention activities have been undertaken synchronously from the provincial to grassroots levels with biosecurity measures having been thoroughly applied in animal husbandry. The province has organized vaccination against infectious diseases and disinfection in barns and breeding environments. The quarantine and slaughter control have been maintained. In epidemic-affected localities, the epidemic declarations have been actively carried out according to regulations. Therefore, up to now, many epidemics have been basically wiped out.

In 2021, African swine fever attacked 1,502 households of 394 villages and 86 communes in 7/7 districts and cities. About 11,000 infected pigs were destroyed, equivalent to 530,957kg of live pigs. Up to now, only Thien Ke commune, Son Duong district still have infected pigs while the remaining communes have announced to completely control the epidemic.

From April to October 2021, dermatitis had arisen and spread among buffaloes and cows inTuyen Quang. The disease occurred in 900 households/347 villages/92 communes of 7/7 districts and cities. A total of 1,513 buffaloes and cows had been infected, of which 1,311 have recovered but the number of dead cows that had been destroyed is 202, equivalent to 32,666kg. However, by early November 2021, the People's Committees of districts and cities announced the end of the epidemic. Up to now, there have not been any outbreaks of dermatitis on cattle in the area.

The formation and effective maintenance of a linkage chain between cooperatives and livestock households have helped maintain and grow large cattle herds in the area, improving value and economic efficiency.

In 2021, some 34 organizations and individuals in Tuyen Quang have joint the linkage chain in buffalo breeding. Nearly 1,300 commercial buffaloes, have been consumed contributing to creating jobs and income increase for breeders. Four products of three cooperatives have been certified with OCOP stars.

Currently, Tuyen Quang has 89 livestock farms, including one that meets international standards of GlobalGAP and is recognized as a hi-tech enterprise and four VietGAHP pig farms. The province has also 19 livestock establishments having been granted disease-free certificates and four livestock units qualified for large-scale livestock production.

To boost the development of the livestock industry, Tuyen Quang province will continue to effectively implement a project on developing the linkage chain in buffalo breeding, which has been approved for the period 2019-2025. Localities have focussed on promoting the development of livestock raising farm in the direction of linking, mobilizing, and instructing farmers to apply biosafety breeding measures and good husbandry practices (VietGAHP).