Nghe An proposes to build district-level disease-free zones

A matter of great urgency

On October 29, Nguyen Van Long, Director of the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) directly inspected the work of disease prevention and control and the construction of disease-free zones/facilities in Nghe An, a province with the biggest size of livestock and poultry herds in Vietnam.

Information from Nghe An Sub-Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health shows that despite facing many difficulties and challenges in recent years, the local livestock industry has maintained a fairly comprehensive growth rate. The growth rate of production value in 2023 is estimated at 5.7%, exceeding the planned target. The proportion of livestock in pure agriculture experiences a decent increase, estimated at 48%. The total output of fresh meat for slaughter reaches 279,322 tons.

As of October 2024, Nghe An has a total herd of over 800,000 buffaloes and cows, over 1 million pigs, and over 37 million poultry. However, the larger the number of livestock, the higher the risk of disease outbreaks, especially in the context of household-scale farming still accounting for a large proportion of the local industry.

Since the beginning of 2024, the whole province has recorded a number of epidemics in livestock, including African swine fever, lumpy skin disease, foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza, rabies, etc. Thanks to proactive consultation and disease prevention work, epidemics have been handled in a timely manner.

The current situation is under control, but Nghe An’s livestock industry cannot put aside its worries, which is completely reasonable considering the overall factors. Household and small-scale livestock farming methods plus unusual weather developments are major barriers during the disease prevention process.

It is forecasted that dangerous epidemics will continue to occur in livestock, poultry, and aquatic products in Nghe An. The unpredictable development of diseases has caused concern for the majority. In order to minimize risks, many large-scale livestock farms have proactively reduced their herd size, one of which is the household of Nguyen Canh Hoang, residing in Hamlet 1, Trang Son Commune, Do Luong District.

“At its peak, my family owned a total herd of 400 - 500 pigs per year. Since the widespread outbreak of African swine fever, there have been many disruptions in the production chain. My farm has always been proactive in vaccinating and combining other response measures, so the situation is basically well controlled. However, it is difficult to predict all external risks. After thinking about it, reducing the herd is the most optimal solution, so I currently maintain only nearly 200 pigs,” said Nguyen Canh Hoang.

Must put the interests of people and businesses first

Discussing the solution, Dang Van Minh, Head of the Nghe An Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, said, “Nghe An is a province with a large size of livestock herds. If only consumed domestically, supply will exceed demand”.

In accordance with the direction of the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on exporting animal products specifically the Chinese market, Nghe An province has immediately registered and built a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) safe zone in Nghia Dan district and Thai Hoa town.

The resources required to complete this goal are not small, thus demanding the State, businesses and people to work together. The province also encourages businesses operating in the livestock industry to invest in modern equipment and apply high-tech production procedures to increase economic value and prevent diseases effectively.

The North Central region currently has 278 disease-free facilities and 2 commune-level disease-free zones in Quang Binh for rabies and classical swine fever, but there are no district-level disease-free zones. Nghe An's success in building them would be considered a major breakthrough for this province.