Story of raising crossbred cows in ethnic minority areas

Being used to simple traditional livestock farming, many ethnic minority households in districts and towns in general, and Ham Thuan Bac district in particular, are hesitant to raise crossbred cows because they are unfamiliar with it and require a lot of care.

Crossbred cows are kept in a barn of a household in Ku Ke village.

Crossbred cattle

Cows - one of the livestock with high economic value, helping to sustainably reduce poverty in rural areas, especially in ethnic minority areas with forest areas. According to Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, who has many years of experience raising cows in Ku Ke ethnic minority village, Ham Minh commune, Ham Thuan Bac district: Raising cows is easy to sell, more economically beneficial, not to mention it helps plow and pull goods. With other livestock such as pigs, chickens... when they are big enough, they have to be sold, otherwise it will cost money to buy food, the quality of the meat is poor, but with cows, it only costs effort to cut grass to feed or herd them in the field.

With that advantage, cows have become the most practical livestock in the programs and policies to care for and support poor households in ethnic minority areas of the Party and the State, including social organizations and individuals. In recent years, the demand for beef has increased, along with the development of science, many hybrid cow breeds have been born, including Lai Sind cows that have been and are being raised popularly in provinces and cities across the country. Many ethnic minority households in Binh Thuan have borrowed from banks to invest in raising them, with the hope of changing their lives. Ms. Mang Thi Yen in Ku Ke village is a typical example, in 2019, she borrowed from the Social Policy Bank as a poor household, buying Lai Sind cows. Up to now, after 5 years, the cow has given birth to 2 calves, but she is still not satisfied because it is... slow.

Most households raising crossbred cows realize that the characteristics of crossbred cows are different from domestic cows (traditional cows in Binh Thuan). Crossbred cows need to be carefully cared for, are not free to forage, and are susceptible to disease. Meanwhile, domestic cows are easier to raise, adapt well to all weather conditions, can take advantage of available food sources, agricultural by-products, and can withstand hardship when food sources are lacking. “Crossbred cows are industrial cows, and need to be carefully cared for to be economically effective. There are many reasons for slow reproduction of cows, including the fact that the farmer does not monitor the estrus period, allowing this period to slip by; inadequate care of the cows makes the cows not vigorous,” Mr. Phu explained.

Crossbred cows must be carefully cared for, unlike domestic cows.

Afraid to raise crossbred cows

According to Mr. Phu, everything has its price, crossbred cows when sold are sold for more than 10 million VND/head, while domestic cows are only 7-8 million VND/head... However, many households are still afraid to raise them because of their habits of going to the forest, farming, and being used to simple raising methods, just letting them out in the forest or on vacant land in the morning, and herding them back to the barn in the afternoon... "Seeing people raising crossbred cows, I also want to, but I'm afraid that I'm not used to taking care of them, and if the cow dies, I'll be in debt, because investing in buying a cow is not a small amount of money...", Mr. Mang Minh - one of the households in Ku Ke village and many other places who share the same thought shared.

However, in reality, whether crossbred or domestic cows, they are the dream animals of ethnic minorities to improve their lives. The hesitation comes from the difficult economic conditions of their families. If they have the conditions, they also invest in raising and caring for them based on the knowledge of those who have studied technical training courses on raising breeding cows and buffaloes for ethnic households participating in the poverty reduction model in especially difficult communes under Program 135.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan - Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Ham Thuan Bac district said that for a long time, people have been used to raising domestic cows, and when switching to raising crossbred cows, they are somewhat bewildered. However, with the attention of the Party and the State through programs and policies to promote economic development for ethnic minority areas as at present, the thinking and raising methods of households will change. Ham Thuan Bac district is currently focusing on linking agricultural production according to the value chain... to improve the quality of crops. The district is also directing the communes to review which poor households need support for plants and breeds to make a list of support.

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