Dien Bien focuses on developing livestock herds

Thanks to that, after four years of implementing the Project, livestock farming has achieved many positive results, becoming a key economic sector helping ethnic minorities in the highlands eliminate hunger and reduce poverty...

Dien Bien Dong is a key district in developing grass-fed livestock farming according to the Project and orientation of the province by issuing a specialized Resolution on prioritizing the development of livestock herds in the area. Closely following the content of the Resolution, the District People's Committee specifically directed and prioritized capital from national target programs to support breeding buffaloes and cows (females) for poor households; specific responsibilities were assigned to communes as direct investors in providing breeds and supervising the breeding process. Notably, Dien Bien Dong district directed communes to prioritize selecting local breeds that must be suitable for the environment, soil, and climate, contributing to the conservation and development of indigenous livestock breeds. At the same time, the district assigned the District Farmers' Association to coordinate with the District Social Policy Bank Transaction Office to support people in borrowing capital to develop production with a loan amount of 50-100 million VND/household.

To help people gain more knowledge about care, disease prevention, treatment and feeding techniques for buffaloes and cows, the People's Committee of Dien Bien Dong district has assigned the District Agricultural Service Center to organize technical training courses, transfer advanced livestock technology, use silage, and process agricultural by-products as animal feed for thousands of households. With specific solutions and consistent guidance, after only four years of implementation, Dien Bien Dong district has deployed 110 production development models, supported more than 3,000 cattle, and newly planted nearly 1,000 hectares of elephant grass. The district's cattle herd has always maintained a number of nearly 40,000 heads; the number of buffaloes and cows sold as commodities is nearly 50,000 heads. On average, each year, Dien Bien Dong people have an additional income of more than 200 billion VND from selling livestock; the lives of livestock breeders have been significantly improved.

Also a pilot district in implementing the Livestock Development Project, in recent times, Muong Nhe border district has always paid attention to propagating and guiding ethnic minorities to gradually abandon the habit of natural grazing, switching to a form of livestock farming in the direction of semi-grazing combined with concentrated confinement for convenient care, monitoring, and disease prevention for livestock. Along with the policy of prioritizing loan support and breeding support, Muong Nhe district has proposed specific policies to support families raising large herds of elephant grass seedlings, supporting grass cutters to make silage for buffaloes and cows, etc.

Up to now, the whole district has developed nearly 500 hectares of elephant grass, more than 6,600 households have borrowed capital from the Social Policy Bank to develop their cattle herds. As one of thousands of people who have borrowed capital from the bank to develop their buffalo herds, Ms. Hang Thi Pua, Suoi Voi village, Leng Su Sin commune, Muong Nhe district has successfully implemented a model of raising cattle in a concentrated form, bringing high economic efficiency. Ms. Hang Thi Pua said: "Previously, I only raised a few buffaloes in a free-range style, so the buffaloes often got sick and grew slowly.

Since 2022, with technical guidance from the district agricultural staff and support from the district for elephant grass seedlings, my family has invested in building solid barns, switching to semi-grazing, better controlling livestock diseases, so my family's income from selling buffaloes is always stable...". Exchanging information about the total livestock herd of Muong Nhe district, Mr. Lo Van Tam, Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Environment, said: Muong Nhe currently has a total herd of more than 18,000 buffaloes and cows; compared to the time before implementing the Project (2022), the total herd has increased by more than 2,000 heads.

The valuable thing is that through the implementation of the Project, the number of households participating in livestock farming in the district has increased by nearly 700 households compared to the beginning of the term. The goals such as building 1-3 "core" projects invested by enterprises in raising buffaloes and cows in the direction of concentrated confinement associated with product linkage chains; developing 400 more households and farms raising buffaloes and cows to participate in chains and cooperatives set by the district have been basically completed; the proportion of buffaloes and cows raising currently accounts for more than 40% of the production value of the livestock industry in the whole industry.

According to the plan, there are still 5 months left to complete the implementation phase of the Project "Sustainable development of grass-fed livestock farming", but at this time, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dien Bien province has the basis to evaluate that the Project has achieved many positive results, contributing to making livestock farming a key economic sector, especially in highland areas and ethnic minority areas. According to statistics, by the end of April, the total livestock herd in the province reached nearly 577,000 heads; the output of fresh buffalo meat for sale in 2023 and 2024 reached 5,800 tons (the target for the period 2021-2025 is 4,102 tons); the output of fresh beef for sale in two years reached nearly 4,800 tons (the target for the whole period is more than 3,300 tons).

Mr. Le Xuan Canh, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dien Bien province, said: Through the implementation of the Project, many livestock models have been replicated, such as fattening buffalo and cows with product consumption, helping to stabilize output and increase income for people.

Dien Bien's livestock meat products have been initially consumed at wholesale markets in Hanoi and some neighboring provinces. Continuing to promote the results of the Project, in the coming time, Dien Bien province will focus on prioritizing resources for livestock development; at the same time, encourage the expansion of linkage models between livestock farmers, businesses and management agencies to form sustainable value chains, ensure that Dien Bien's livestock and livestock products are traceable and enhance competitiveness in the market.

Article and photos: LE LAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dien-bien-chu-trong-phat-trien-dan-gia-suc-post885124.html