Only take care of organic pigs

With determination, enthusiasm for work and dynamism in contributing youth to local movements, the young man from the Ta Oi ethnic group was recently honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for his outstanding achievements in building, developing the socio -economy and security - defense of ethnic minority areas in Thua Thien Hue province in the period of 2019 - 2024.

Our appointment was postponed until noon, until Ho Viet Ai Duy finished his class on Party awareness. Duy's face and eyes radiated the enthusiasm of a young man with many dreams. Duy said that after graduating from Hue Industrial College, he chose to go to the South to start a career. Finding a stable job in big cities is the dream of many young people after graduating, but the Ta Oi man always missed the mountains, the forests, the villages and the familiar stilt houses. "After thinking a lot, I finally understood that whether it is in the city or the countryside, as long as you have passion, ambition, diligence, hard work, and diligence in cultivating, you will surely have sweet fruits to harvest. So I went back to my hometown" - Duy confided.

Choosing an organic farming model is not an easy path, but after 4 years of hard work, the initial results have helped Duy to be more determined on the path he has chosen. In the nearly 300m2 barn, a herd of 60 pigs has just been fed and is dozing. Duy said that at its largest, the herd can reach 100 pigs. To be proactive in developing the herd, he always maintains 8 sows; pigs must reach 80kg or more before being sold, each batch sells about 5-7 pigs, sometimes 10 pigs. The annual revenue from the organic pig farm is about 500 - 800 million VND.

“At first, I planned to build a local pig farm, but when A Luoi district signed a cooperation agreement to link the organic agricultural production chain with Que Lam Group, I signed up to participate,” Duy said.

Pigs raised in an organic manner are purchased by Que Lam Group at a stable price of 65,000 VND/kg. Because organic farming requires a lot of strictness, the barn must be spacious and airy enough, the water source used must be natural and clean, the food is vegetables, tubers, fruits, and starch must also be produced organically. Unlike the conventional way of raising pigs which only takes about 4 months to sell, raising organic pigs takes a long time, has low weight gain, consumes a lot of food and care, and the investment cost is also high, a batch of pigs usually lasts up to 8 months to sell.

To take good care of the pigs, in addition to attending technical training courses on organic farming, Duy also studies on his own, gaining experience while doing it. Organic farming should minimize the use of antibiotics, Duy often applies folk methods such as using leaves to prevent diseases, helping pigs grow well.

With the advantage of large land, Duy takes advantage of organic fertilizer from livestock farming to grow bananas, jackfruit, star apples, sweet potato leaves, and taro. Banana stems after harvest are also a source of green food for pigs in the barn. When the sweet potato and taro fields at home cannot meet the pigs' appetite, Duy will go up the mountain to carry more food for them.

Not only is Duy good at economics, he is also active in local Youth Union movements. He is the Secretary of the Youth Union of Ar Keu Nham village, Quang Nham commune, and the head of residential cluster group 3. With these roles and positions, Duy has coordinated with the locality and Nham Border Guard Station to organize many summer activities, warm border New Year, and Mid-Autumn Festival for children...

Duy said: "It is a joy and happiness that I am about to join the Party's ranks." He vows to fulfill his role as a young person better, joining hands to build his homeland's border land to become more prosperous and beautiful.

Article and photos: Ha Le - Quynh Anh