Ba village in Huu Kiem commune is located along National Highway 7A, on the banks of the Nam Mo River. In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, the flow of people and vehicles to and from families in Ba village is busier than usual.
At Ms. Tran Thi Lien's house, while quickly rearranging the firewood that she and her children had gathered from the mountain on the weekend, Ms. Lien lit the stove to cook food to protect her pigs from the cold, as they were almost ready for market.
"Usually, I maintain a herd of about 20 pigs, sometimes increasing it to 30 in the last half-month of the year. The breed of pigs my family raises, like other households in the village, is mainly the local black pig, bred by the households themselves," said Ms. Tran Thi Lien.
Ms. Lien's family's livestock area is separate from the residential area, and the pens are cleaned daily, so it doesn't affect the living environment. Ms. Lien said that households in the village mainly use banana trees and other plant-based feed for livestock, combined with regular cleaning of the pens, so the environment is always maintained. She recently sold 7 pigs, each weighing an average of 50-70kg.
She said that during the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), the price of live pigs increases compared to normal days, and the number of customer orders is 2-3 times higher. Therefore, by the end of December, if you don't order in advance, there won't be much left to sell freely.
Across from Ms. Lien's house, Ms. Loc Thi Kham's family has also been raising indigenous black pigs for nearly 20 years. Ms. Kham said that although the indigenous black pig breed doesn't grow to a large weight, it's easy to raise and the meat is flavorful. Moreover, the people of Ba village mainly feed their pigs with vegetables and grass they grow themselves, so they save a lot on feed costs.
Households simply need to buy additional spent beer residue and cassava pulp, mix them with chopped banana tree trunks, or grind them using a livestock feed grinder. Ms. Kham's herd of nearly 30 pigs is also raised in batches of 10-15 pigs. Her daily work involves chopping banana tree trunks and mincing them for the pigs to eat. For newly raised pigs weighing less than 20kg, she supplements their diet with rice bran or corn bran mixed with finely ground banana tree trunks to help them grow faster.
Besides generating income from raising black pigs, households in Ba village also engage in the traditional craft of brewing rượu (rice wine) to supply the local community and utilize the leftover mash as nutritious feed for the pigs.
As Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, Ba village sees customers coming to buy or place orders for pigs every day. On normal days, the price of live pigs is around 60,000 - 80,000 VND/kg for pigs weighing over 20kg, while smaller pigs under 20kg cost 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg.
Besides raising pigs for meat, some households raise breeding pigs to maintain their livestock and supply piglets in the area.
Ms. Mua Y Xai, Chairwoman of the Women's Association of Huu Kiem commune, said that for many years, Ba village has been developing a model of raising local pig breeds. Starting with 5 households receiving 20 million VND in support from the District Women's Association to buy 21 black pigs in 2021, the women gradually expanded their herds and spread the movement of raising indigenous black pigs throughout the village. Currently, out of 140 households in the village, all are involved in pig farming, with about 50 households regularly maintaining herds of 30-40 pigs, such as the households of Ms. Vi Thi Ngoc, Ms. Loc Thi Ly, Ms. Loc Thi Lien, Ms. Loc Thi Kham, etc.
Thanks to the model of raising indigenous black pigs, many families in Ba village have escaped poverty and risen to prosperity.
"We will continue to support and encourage women to maintain the 'black pig farming village' model in a green, clean, and high-quality direction by utilizing green feed from agricultural products that the women themselves grow and produce," said Ms. Mua Y Xai.
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