Herding buffaloes in the scorching sun and mud…

The buffalo was hungry and ate some dry straw that had fallen on the hull.

Buffalo price down, slow consumption market

For decades, taking advantage of the vast floodplain with lush green grass and foxtail seaweed under Dau Tieng Lake, local people have made a living by raising buffaloes for meat, providing traction and plowing power. However, in the past 5 years, buffalo farming in Dau Tieng Lake has faced many difficulties and challenges due to slow consumption and rising prices of buffalo feed.

Mr. Do Hieu Nghia, residing in Phuoc Binh 2 Hamlet, Suoi Da Commune, Duong Minh Chau District, said that before 2018, he borrowed money from the bank to buy buffaloes to raise on land flooded by Dau Tieng Lake. Seeing that buffaloes had high prices, he decided to increase his herd. Before he could be happy, the Covid-19 pandemic suddenly broke out, and since then, the consumption market has been slowing down. On the other hand, agricultural production is now mechanized, and the use of buffaloes to pull plows and carts has gradually decreased.

“Previously, traders bought live buffalo for 190-200 thousand VND/kg (buffalo still alive, not yet butchered). Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the price has dropped to only 140 thousand VND/kg. In addition, traders only buy young buffalo and calves, not mature buffalo and old buffalo,” said Mr. Nghia.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Dum, residing in Phuoc Binh 2 Hamlet, Suoi Da Commune, is also "sad and depressed" about his buffalo herd. His family has made a living by raising buffaloes in Dau Tieng Lake for three generations. Mr. Dum recalls: "Decades ago, my grandfather started the buffalo farming business, then my father. For the past 18 years, I have been following in his footsteps." Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Dum also borrowed money from the bank to increase his buffalo herd to more than 20.

In recent years, buffalo prices have dropped and it is difficult to find a market. “Previously, each calf of about 20 months old could be sold for about 15 million VND, but now it is only 7-8 million VND/head. The deadline to pay the bank is coming up, but I don’t know how to manage it,” Mr. Dum said sadly.

Dau Tieng Lake is storing water, so Mr. Hieu, a resident of Suoi Da commune, has to keep his buffalo on a small island.

Food resources are increasingly limited.

Buffalo prices have dropped and sales have been slow. In addition, in recent months, people who make a living raising buffalo in Dau Tieng Lake have faced a shortage of food. Mr. Nghia said that for more than 2 months now, when the lake has been filled with water, he and his colleagues here have had to buy straw to stock up. This old farmer said: "Currently, the price of straw is 32,000 VND/roll. From now until the end of the dry season, the price may increase even more. Last year, at its peak, the price of straw increased to 42,000 VND/roll." Because the price of food is quite high, Mr. Nghia only feeds straw sparingly.

In addition to straw, the owners of the buffalo herds here also buy cassava peels and pieces to feed their buffaloes at a price of 300,000 VND/ton. “The buffaloes are not very interested in this dry, low-nutrition food, but because they are so hungry, they have to eat it,” Mr. Nghia explained.

Some people drove their buffaloes to the dike to find food.

In a few months, the rainy season will come, when the lake water level drops, and young grass will sprout on the semi-flooded land, providing nutrition for the buffalo herd. However, in reality, in recent years, the mimosa tree – an invasive alien species – has been encroaching. Many farmers cut it down and burn it, but the following year, new trees will grow.

Mr. Nguyen Van Sang, residing in Duong Minh Chau town, said that with such a difficult situation, he plans to sell all his buffaloes and return home to find another job to make a living.

Ocean - Quoc Son

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