Black pork is a specialty of Tan Pheo.

Tan Pheo commune, with its steep hilly terrain and abundant natural forests, provides ideal conditions for developing a semi-wild, indigenous pig farming model. This is not only a traditional occupation but has also become a new direction, bringing high efficiency and creating sustainable jobs for farmers in the highlands.

The model of raising native black pigs in a free-range system, requiring minimal care, has proven highly effective for households in Tan Pheo commune.

Building a value chain from livestock farming to consumption has helped farmers maximize local advantages, increase income, and improve their lives. Mr. Ha Van Vinh's farm in Tram hamlet is a typical model of semi-intensive farming of native pigs. With 3 hectares of independent hillside land, Mr. Vinh has invested in building a natural farming area with pens for pigs to graze and give birth, while most of the remaining land is left free to graze on the hills.

Mr. Vung said: "Previously, it took 2-3 people to take care of 70 pigs, but now I can manage them all by myself. Every day, I just cook feed and put it in the pen. The pigs come back to eat on their own and then go back up the hill. In the evening, the pigs don't return to the pen either. Many sows don't return to the pen to give birth but give birth right in the forest. We only find out when the mother pig brings her piglets back. This method of raising pigs makes the herd healthier and less prone to disease because they get exercise and live in a natural environment. These are native pigs, so they adapt well to natural conditions, and their food sources are simple and easy to find. They mainly eat agricultural by-products such as sweet potato leaves, water spinach, banana plants, combined with grasses, trees, and bamboo shoots that they find themselves."

In addition, Mr. Vung also cooks rice bran and corn, locally available food, which helps reduce input costs and generate higher profits. This model brings his family an average of over 100 million VND per year. He plans to increase his herd to approximately 300 pigs in the near future.

Leveraging local advantages, the Tam Cuong Tan Minh multi-sector cooperative has transformed the indigenous pig from a small-scale family livestock into a high - value commodity. This is a significant turning point, serving as a bridge, guiding and developing the indigenous black pig farming chain in Tan Pheo and neighboring communes. The cooperative's primary goal is to maintain and develop the indigenous pig gene pool, supply the market, and ensure food quality and safety. The cooperative has selected purebred indigenous pigs from traditional farming households, then bred and supplied them to its members and affiliated households. To date, the cooperative has approximately 2,000 indigenous black pigs with 53 participating households. The cooperative encourages farmers to maintain traditional farming methods, producing flavorful, firm meat.

Ms. Ha Thi Tam, Chairwoman and Director of the Tam Cuong Tan Minh Multi-Industry Cooperative, said: "Before the establishment of the cooperative, my family had already supplied local pork products from Tan Pheo to many markets, and they were popular with consumers. The farming method is mainly free-range, creating delicious and flavorful meat. After the establishment, the cooperative aims to develop local pig farming along a supply chain from farm to table. Thanks to the establishment of the cooperative, Tan Minh black pork products have been brought to many large markets such as Hanoi , Hai Phong, Hung Yen... The price of live pigs is always higher than the market price, over 100,000 VND/kg, bringing stable income to farmers."

Over the past period, the model of raising indigenous black pigs in Tan Pheo commune has not only brought economic benefits to individual households but also created jobs, helping many people in the highlands to have sustainable livelihoods right on their own land. With the close link between the people and the cooperative, the indigenous black pig chain in Tan Pheo is growing stronger and stronger, opening up a new and promising direction for highland farmers.

Viet Lam

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dac-san-lon-den-nbsp-o-nbsp-tan-pheo-239002.htm