Livestock farming is linked to disease prevention.

People in Muong Nha commune, Muong Nha district, have switched from free-range livestock farming to confined farming to proactively prevent and control disease outbreaks.

Previously, livestock farming in the province was mainly on a household scale; the application of biosecurity, high technology, and integrated processing and consumption of livestock products was limited. In addition, the practice of free-range farming by the people made it difficult to control outbreaks of disease; the organization of disease surveillance on livestock and poultry in some localities was sometimes negligent and untimely. There was still a situation where some livestock farmers concealed outbreaks and did not proactively report diseases as required. Therefore, some dangerous diseases in livestock still occurred in some areas and had a high risk of spreading. For example, according to statistics from the Provincial Department of Livestock, Veterinary and Fisheries, from the beginning of the year to the end of September 2023, African swine fever occurred in 32 pig farming households in 19 villages and hamlets in 6 districts and cities. The total weight of pigs that had to be culled was 20,873 kg.

To develop livestock farming towards commodity production while simultaneously focusing on disease prevention and control, the provincial Department of Agriculture directs, advises, and guides localities and livestock farmers to prioritize disease safety alongside herd expansion. Before restocking or increasing the scale of livestock farming, farmers should research market forecasts and trends, supply and demand, and product consumption markets to make appropriate investments; avoid mass restocking, especially in farms and areas where disease outbreaks have occurred previously. Simultaneously, focus on raising awareness and encouraging people to abandon free-range farming and adopt enclosed, biosecure farming practices to limit disease spread; use high-yielding, high-quality breeds, and proactively prevent and control diseases.

To date, the province has over 300 mixed livestock farms raising buffalo, cattle, pigs, and goats; of which nearly 290 are small-scale farms and 18 are medium-scale farms. Many biosafety livestock farming models have been implemented. For example, in 2022, the Tuan Giao District Agricultural Service Center implemented the J-DABACO chicken farming model on biological bedding. Initially, the model was implemented in 15 households in Quai Nua and Quai Cang communes (an average of 100 chickens per household). To date, the model has been replicated by people in many communes throughout the district, yielding significantly higher economic returns compared to traditional farming. The J-DABACO chicken farming model on biological bedding also contributes to changing people's perceptions from free-range farming to semi-free-range and confined farming, reducing environmental pollution and disease outbreaks.

Thanks to measures to increase herd size, repopulate herds, rationally restructure livestock farming, and proactively prevent and control diseases, the livestock and poultry farming situation in the province has developed relatively stably. The total livestock population (buffaloes, cattle, and pigs) in the province in the first nine months of the year is estimated at 551,657 head (an increase of 2.48% compared to the same period last year). Of this, the buffalo herd is estimated at 137,470 head (an increase of 1.47%), the cattle herd at 99,509 head (an increase of 4.02%), the pig herd at 314,678 head (an increase of 2.44%); the poultry flock is estimated at 4.771 million head (an increase of 2.52%); the aquaculture area reached 2,739 hectares (an increase of 0.32%) with a total estimated production of 3,110.26 tons (an increase of 3.44%).

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