It is difficult to provide livestock to the people.

Việt Nam•28/09/2023

According to the Livestock Law, the use of livestock breeds produced and supplied by individuals for programs and projects is not in compliance with regulations, causing difficulties for cattle breeders and suppliers.

Previously, the buffaloes, cows, and goats supplied under programs and projects were mainly purchased and collected directly from local areas within the province by businesses and enterprises . They then underwent full vaccination and rearing procedures before being handed over to the people . However, Articles 18, 22, and 24 of the 2018 Livestock Law stipulate: “Organizations and individuals producing livestock breeding stock must apply appropriate quality management systems and publish the applicable standards; organizations and individuals buying and selling livestock breeding stock must have a published declaration of the applicable standards of the livestock breeding stock production facility.” Accordingly, organizations and individuals producing livestock breeding stock are required to meet conditions such as: Facilities for maintaining original breeding stock, facilities for creating breeding lines, and facilities for breeding livestock must have technical staff with a university degree or higher in one of the following specialties: animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, or biology; facilities for raising parent breeding stock for pigs and poultry, and facilities for breeding and producing livestock breeding stock must have technical staff trained in one of the following specialties: animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, or biology… Along with this, regulations from the Ministry of Science and Technology regarding the publication of basic standards make it difficult for small-scale livestock producers to meet the conditions for publishing basic standards. This means that the use of livestock breeding stock produced and supplied by individuals for programs and projects does not comply with regulations.

Nam Po, like many other localities, is facing difficulties and obstacles in implementing production support projects in the agricultural sector for local people. Therefore, the district has requested specialized agencies to consider and provide specific guidance on the content of livestock breeding support so that localities can apply and implement it. Mr. Lo Van Thanh, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Nam Po district, said: The District People's Committee has sent a document requesting the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide specific guidance and regulations on the organization of bidding and tendering for the purchase and sale of livestock breeding stock for production development support programs under the National Target Program for organizations and individuals supplying breeding stock. On August 15th, the Department of Animal Husbandry (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) issued a document responding and agreeing in principle on the use of livestock breeding stock in the locality. However, the supply and use of livestock in the locality must ensure compliance with current regulations on livestock breed management as stipulated in the Livestock Law. Therefore, to implement this, the District People's Committee only requires relevant units, agencies, and communes to comply with the Livestock Law and related legal documents… without providing specific solutions to resolve the obstacles.

In Muong Cha district, to ensure that support for the people is implemented in accordance with the Livestock Law and related documents, the district's specialized agencies are aiming to resolve the issue by providing deer breeding stock instead of buffaloes and cows, so that people can raise them in groups. Mr. Bui Tuan Thanh, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Muong Cha district, said: "Supporting people with buffaloes and cows is also very good for developing livestock farming, but most organizations and individuals buying and selling breeding stock of buffaloes and cows in the province do not meet the conditions and requirements of the Livestock Law and related documents, causing difficulties in implementation. Therefore, the unit has advised the District People's Committee to shift the focus to supporting people with deer breeding stock to develop livestock farming… To learn how to do it and gain more experience in implementing the popular deer farming model and guiding the people, Muong Cha district plans to organize a working group to visit Ha Tinh province to learn about the knowledge and technical process of deer farming."

Currently, livestock farming in the province is mainly developed on a small scale, with household farms accounting for over 95%; while farm-scale operations are still limited. According to statistics from the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in the districts, the province currently has over 300 farms (large, medium, and small scale). For buffalo, cattle, and goat farms, 100% are small and medium-sized, privately owned by households, concentrated mainly in the districts of Dien Bien, Nam Po, Muong Nha, Muong Cha, and Dien Bien Dong. The province also has one breeding facility; five businesses supplying various types of breeding stock to support livestock development programs and projects; and two cooperatives providing breeding stock services to farmers inside and outside the province. Regarding the provision of breeding stock to farmers, the Department of Animal Husbandry agrees with the view that local animal breeds should be used to ensure that the animals adapt to the climate and soil conditions, and grow and develop well; however, the supply of breeding stock must comply with current regulations on animal breed management as stipulated in the 2018 Animal Husbandry Law and other related guiding documents, and most organizations and individuals in the province do not meet the requirements.

Mr. Do Thai My, Head of the Livestock, Veterinary and Fisheries Sub-Department (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of the province), shared: Based on the response from the Department of Livestock and current regulations; and to ensure uniformity in the implementation of livestock breeding programs and projects in the province, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Document No. 1957/SNN-CNTYTS dated August 23, 2023, responding to requests and difficulties in supplying livestock breeding stock under these programs and projects, addressed to the People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities. To ensure the management of production and trading conditions for livestock breeding stock in accordance with legal regulations, contributing to improving the quality of livestock breeding stock to serve the needs of livestock production in the province, on September 19, the Department issued Guidance No. 2196/HD-SNN guiding some contents related to the conditions for production and trading of livestock breeding stock. This includes guidance on the procedures for publishing basic standards for livestock breeding, in compliance with the regulations of the Livestock Law; it also includes several sample basic standards for organizations and individuals producing livestock breeding stock to refer to.

In light of this situation, specialized agencies and localities are also seeking solutions to overcome difficulties. Based on the guidance document from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, some livestock farms are researching and developing procedures and processes to implement the declaration of quality standards for livestock breeds according to regulations. This is a necessary step because, in the long run, establishments, units, organizations, or individuals wishing to supply livestock breeds will also need to develop and declare their own quality standards for livestock breeds. Only then will they meet the regulations of the Livestock Law and ensure the conditions for supplying livestock breeds to people participating in programs and projects in the future.

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