Policies issued to develop goat farming in Ha Tinh

Huong Son District in Ha Tinh Province is known as the land of Sika deer. The locality is also famous for signature goat dishes like roast goat, fried goat or grilled goat. Goat meat is a great source of nutrients, including protein, iron, vitamin B12, zinc, and potassium. It’s also low in total fat and saturated fat compared with other forms of red meat.

However, the supply for goat meat in the district is limited so most restaurants in Huong Son District have to purchase the ingredient from the vicinity.

According to Phan Xuan Duc, Deputy Head of Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Huong Son District, the purchase of goat meat from other provinces leads to increasing costs and uncertainty of quality.

The district was estimated to have around 7,000 goats by the end of 2019 that was mainly fed with grass and therefore had low weight and limited economic efficiency. The favorable natural conditions in the district to raise goats, including vast mountainous areas and grassland, have not been fully exploited.

"Realizing that goat farming in the area is not commensurate with its potential, the district’s authority has issued a number of incentives from 2020 that support farmers to buy more male goats and improve their herds,” Duc said.

The release of such incentives has been based on the effectiveness of the goat herd improvement project coordinated by the National Agricultural Extension Center in 2019 and 2020.

At that time, the National Agricultural Extension Center supported four households in Son Ham and Quang Diem Communes to buy 1 male and 10 female/each. As a result, the goat herds grew well, obtaining the expected weight and quality.

To increase and improve goat herds, the authority of Huong Son District has decided to financially support each household with at least 10 female goats or three to four households with at least 20 female ones to buy one male goat, the price of which is less than VND6 million (US$262).

At the same time, herds of over 50 goats will be supported with VND100 million ($4,300) and those of over 100 goats VND200 million ($8,600).

“The farmers in the district have received the financial support of over VND120 million ($5,200) in 2020 and this figure increased to more than VND530 million ($23,000) in 2021. Thanks to stimulus policies, Huong Son District now has up to nearly 15,000 goats.

“We are striving to increase the number of goats from 5,000 to 7,000 annually. As long as there is a stable number of goats, the district will develop the Huong Son goat brand so that it is not only confined to the province but also expanded to the whole country", Duc added.

After receiving financial support from local authority in October 2021, farmer Bui Xuan Truong from Huong Thuy Village, Kim Hoa Commune invested over VND1 billion ($44,000) in constructing a barn to raise 97 bucks and four nannies.

His goat herd has developed well and now has over 10 nannies reaching puberty. It is expected that the remaining 80 nannies will reproduce 100 baby goats, increasing the number of goats in the herd to over 200.

Truong revealed that a part of his goat herd would be sold for breeding and the rest would be fattened for commercial purposes.

“Our hill land is covered with forests and extended thousands of hectares, providing an abundant of natural food source for the goats. I herd them up to hill to look for food every morning and herd them back in the evening and continue to feed them with grass and other leave varieties found in nature.

“Goats are also less susceptible to diseases. Herders mainly have to closely observe them to know when they suffer from a stomach ache or pneumonia to have timely treatment,” Truong said.

Currently, the goat herds in Huong Son District are spread evenly, focusing mainly in Son Tien, Son Ha, Son Le, Quang Diem, Son Ham, An Hoa Thinh Communes, each of which is raising an average of 500-600 goats.