Cautiously restore pig herds to serve market demand at the end of the year

Currently, African swine fever (ASF) is still complicated in many localities across the country, including Hung Yen province, causing great losses to farmers. With the demand for pork consumption forecast to increase at the end of the year and during the Lunar New Year, many households in the province are making efforts to restore and increase their herds to serve the market. However, experts recommend that farmers need to be cautious and strictly follow technical and biosafety procedures to limit the risk of re-outbreaks.

People of Doan Dao commune take care of their commercial pigs.

Be careful to restore and increase the herd.

In Lac Duc village, Tien Lu commune, Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuc's family raises 180 sows and 500 pigs, of which about 100 will be sold in time for the Lunar New Year. Each month, his family's sow herd produces about 400 breeding pigs, of which he keeps about 100 to raise as commercial pigs and sells 300 to other farms. Mr. Thuc said: "The cleaning and disinfection work is carried out by me and the workers every day both inside and outside the barn. Currently, the ASF has been basically controlled, but I am still careful to ensure the hygiene of the barn and regularly disinfect to protect the livestock."

Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Hong's family in Khoai Chau commune is raising about 300 pigs, hoping to sell them at the end of the year. To prevent diseases for her livestock, Ms. Hong raises them in concentrated areas far from residential areas. According to Ms. Hong: My family's economy depends entirely on livestock farming, so protecting the pigs from unusual weather and disease is always a concern. Currently, I regularly clean the barns, sprinkle lime powder at the entrance/exit of the farm; spray disinfectants and sterilize 3-5 times/week to eliminate the risk of disease in the barns; and supplement vitamins and minerals to increase the resistance of the pigs. Every month, I ask the workers working in the farm to check and vaccinate the animals when they are due to be vaccinated to increase the pigs' immunity to certain diseases.

Due to the epidemic, the low price of live pigs is also a big concern for farmers. Currently, the price of live pigs only fluctuates from 53,000 - 55,000 VND/kg, while the cost of piglets has increased from 2.3 - 2.5 million VND/pig. Ms. Tran Thi Hoai in Long Hung commune shared: My family imported 200 piglets more than a month ago, each pig costs 2.3 million VND. The high price of piglets and the decrease in the price of live pigs makes herd restoration and expansion potentially risky, not to mention the cost of buying disinfectants, disinfectants, and vaccinations has also increased compared to before. Despite the difficulties, I am still determined to maintain the pig herd, hoping for the year-end market demand and the stability of the epidemic.

Farmers are increasingly paying attention to disease prevention and protecting the safety of their livestock. (In photo: Nguyen Quang Thuc's family farm, Tien Lu commune).

Disease control, safe pig farming

According to statistics from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine (Department of Agriculture and Environment), the province currently has about 1.2 million pigs, most of which are from small-scale farms. Thanks to the drastic participation of functional agencies and local authorities, the ASF in the province is now gradually being controlled. Many communes and wards have declared the end of the epidemic, while maintaining disinfection, sterilization and environmental sanitation to minimize the risk of infection.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, said: One of the reasons why ASF spread so quickly was because many households raised livestock on a small scale, with open barns, and disinfection was not given due attention. Many places did not strictly control people and vehicles entering and leaving livestock areas.

Currently, the whole province still has 18 communes with outbreaks that have not passed 21 days, but in general, the situation is "cooling down". The number of sick pigs that have to be destroyed has decreased, the pork consumption market has gradually stabilized, and purchasing power at traditional markets has increased again.

Farmers need to pay attention to biosecurity measures when the epidemic is still complicated.

This is a favorable condition for people to restore production and re-stock in a controlled manner to ensure a stable supply of pork at the end of the year, contributing to stabilizing the Tet market. However, Ms. Hoa also warned that the changing weather, humidity and erratic temperature changes are favorable conditions for pathogens to arise.

According to Ms. Hoa, farmers should absolutely not repopulate their herds en masse. Repopulating and increasing herds must be done in a planned manner, and only repopulate and increase their herds of pigs on farms that meet biosafety farming conditions. Specifically, farmers need to: Build closed barns, far from residential areas and sources of pollution; carry out periodic cleaning and disinfection, strictly control people and vehicles entering and exiting; import breeding animals of clear origin, which have passed veterinary quarantine; fully vaccinate according to instructions; quarantine newly imported pigs for at least 21 days before officially entering the herd.

In addition, local authorities need to strengthen disease surveillance, early detection and timely handling of outbreaks, especially in high-risk areas. Propaganda, technical training, support for disinfection materials and guidance for people on biosafety farming need to be maintained regularly.

Huong Giang

Source: https://baohungyen.vn/than-trong-tai-dan-lon-de-phuc-vu-nhu-cau-thi-truong-dip-cuoi-nam-3187171.html