Safe and sustainable livestock farming

- In recent years, due to the impact of the epidemic, people and cooperatives in the province have been focusing on raising livestock in the direction of biosafety (BS).

Workers of Lung Khoang Cooperative, Van Quan district, clean pig pens.

In Binh Phuc commune, Van Quan district, Lung Khoang Cooperative is one of the typical units in applying the ATSH livestock model. With a scale of about 1,200 sows, 32,000 pigs/year, the cooperative's livestock area is built separately, has a waste treatment system, periodic disinfection, the entire livestock process is carried out in a closed manner.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, a member of Lung Khoang Cooperative (in charge of managing the cooperative's livestock activities), said: With such a large number of pigs, the Cooperative always focuses on applying a closed-loop pig farming process. We are completely proactive from the selection and breeding stages, animal feed production to care, vaccination and waste treatment. In particular, the barn is built separately, strictly controlling people and vehicles entering and exiting, for outsiders coming to the farm, they must comply with regulations, disinfect, quarantine for 2 days before entering the inside area; periodically spray disinfectant and vaccinate pigs according to regulations. Thanks to this closed-loop process, we minimize the source of disease, and the pigs grow healthily. When African swine fever re-emerged in some places, the Cooperative's pig herd remained stable and maintained the supply to the market.

Not only Lung Khoang Cooperative, but also some other cooperatives in the province have also implemented livestock farming in this direction. Like the cooperative, households in the province have proactively applied techniques, invested in barns, and strictly followed disease prevention measures. Mr. Duong The Anh, a farmer in Long Dong commune, Bac Son district, said: About 5 years ago, I discussed with my family to invest in building a closed barn area with full modern machinery and equipment for raising chickens such as automatic feeders, waste treatment systems, etc. At the same time, I focused on ensuring clean food sources, vaccination according to the correct process, and regular disinfection of the farming environment. Therefore, the chicken flock has developed stably and prevented diseases well. On average, my family raises and sells 2.5 batches of chickens a year, each batch has about 18,000 - 19,000 chickens, earning over 200 million VND/year.

In addition to the initiative of cooperatives, people and specialized sectors in the province have actively supported people in applying science and technology to develop the livestock sector. Mr. Vu Ky Nam, Director of the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, said: To support people in developing livestock farming in the direction of ATSH, we have directed specialized departments to coordinate with specialized agencies of districts and cities to organize training courses to guide people in implementing ATSH livestock farming processes; support livestock households that are eligible to participate in programs, projects, and livestock models such as: support for breeding animals, animal feed, materials, training in livestock techniques... In addition, we regularly propagate and mobilize livestock households to pay attention to disinfecting and sterilizing livestock equipment and livestock areas; periodically vaccinate livestock herds...

Accordingly, from 2023 to 2024, the Agricultural Extension Center coordinated with the agricultural service centers of districts and the People's Committees of communes and towns to organize 7 training courses on ATSH livestock farming techniques. From the beginning of 2025 to present, the center has organized 10 training courses on vaccination and 1 training course on ATSH native chicken farming techniques. At the same time, from 2023 to present, the center has implemented 5 ATSH livestock farming models in the districts of Loc Binh, Bac Son, Cao Loc, and Trang Dinh. Thereby, people have more knowledge and experience to apply in practice, developing sustainable livestock farming.

Thanks to the initiative of livestock farmers as well as the support of professional sectors, up to now, in the whole province, there are 7 livestock facilities certified by VietGAP and 14 livestock facilities certified as disease-free, with an average pig farming scale of 300 - 10,000 heads/year, poultry farming of 500 - 15,000 heads/year... In 2025, the Agricultural Extension Center will continue to support the construction of 2 more livestock facilities according to VietGAP standards.

The application of ATSH livestock farming not only reduces risks in production but also contributes to improving product quality, gradually changing the mindset from small-scale livestock farming to safe commodity production, towards sustainable development.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/phat-trien-chan-nuoi-theo-huong-an-toan-sinh-hoc-5050450.html