Pay attention to science and technology for livestock development
(VAN) Considering science, technology, and digital transformation as essential factors in 2022, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien believes that the livestock sector will successfully get the set goals.
On March 18, at the opening ceremony of the Online Conference “Delivering solutions to promote pig farming development and strengthen the production activities management of animal feed,” Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien emphasized the importance of pig farming in the livestock development strategy, and the orientation of the agricultural industry.
“In the structure of meat types by 2025, pork will account for about 63-65%. We need to integrate many solutions if we keep the pig herd stable about 30 million heads while increasing livestock and poultry.” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said.
The issue that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s leaders pay special attention to is science and technology. Deputy Minister Tien asked to promote the application of both breeds, farming processes, and nutritional feeds.
Based on research by institutes and universities, combined with importing new breeds from abroad, Deputy Minister Tien believes that the livestock sector, especially pig farming, can approach the regional and world level.
Technology is also a solution proposed by Deputy Minister Tien to stabilize and lower the cost of animal feed. The price of input animal feed ingredients increased by 18-22% over the previous year. He said that the Institute of Livestock Production has researched and produced many recipes and diets for livestock based on available materials.
Mr. Pham Cong Thieu, Director of the Institute of Livestock Production, added that these feed diets ensure nutrition and lower the cost of finished products. Specifically, when using rice, husked rice instead of corn in the diet, mixed feed prices for porkers decreased by VND 650 – 750 per kilogram and for sows fell by VND 600-1,000. This reduction in pig farming cost is equivalent to about VND 170,000 – 200,000 per head during the pig raising process.
In particular, in the model of mixing feed for indigenous black pigs in Bac Ha district, Lao Cai, the Institute of Livestock Production has reduced feed cost by VND 5,000 per kilogram of weight gain.
According to Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien, the livestock industry is shifting from small-scale household farming to professional breeding and large-scale farms.
In 2011, the whole country had about 4.13 million pig breeding facilities. In 2016, this number dropped to 3.4 million; After the 2017 crisis in pork prices, establishments remained about 2.5 million. By 2020, the country only had about 2 million pig breeding facilities. On average, each year, the rate of farming households decreases by 5-7% per year. Notably, in 2019 – 2021, the small-scale livestock production of households fell by 15-20%.
According to the General Statistics Office, the whole country has 20,843 pig breeding facilities with 10 or more pigs with 11.7 million heads in 2021, accounting for 41.6% of the total pig herd in the country. In which, facilities mainly have at the scale of 100 heads. The number of establishments with 1,500 heads or more is 1,627, accounting for 24.2% of the country’s total pig herd. There are 16 enterprises with a scale of 5.8 million heads, accounting for 20.7% of the country’s whole herd.
“Currently, pig farming in small-scale households has decreased to 35-40%. It is the basis for us to form disease-free breeding areas, to trade promotion in foreign markets, and in developing countries, such as promoting digital transformation”, Deputy Minister Tien emphasized.
According to the Department of Livestock Production, the pig herd has fluctuated dramatically in the total herd and production output in the past 5 years. After peaking in 2016 (29.1 million heads), the whole pig herd decreased in 2017 (27.4 million heads), increased again in 2018 (28.1 million heads), and then fell sharply in 2016—2019 due to African swine fever (19.6 million heads).
The total pig herd recovered slightly in 2020 (22 million heads) and increased again in 2021 (28 million heads). The herd of breeding pigs and the total herd of sows have fluctuated over the years and are currently stable at around 3.2 million heads.
The output of live hogs also decreased sharply in 2019 and 2020 to 3.4-3.5 million tonnes. In 2021, the output of live pig meat increased again, reaching 4.18 million tonnes.
Due to unbalanced output, pork prices have fluctuated sharply in the past two or three years. From January to August 2021, live pig prices decreased by 30-35%, maintaining a low level of VND 43,000-49,000 per kilogram. In December 2021, the price increased to VND 54,000 – 57,000 per kilogram and kept this level until mid-February 2022, before falling to VND 50,000-53,000 in March 2022.
Piglet prices are also affected. From January to June 2021, breeding pig prices were consistently above VND 2.4 million per head. After live pig prices fell, piglet prices dropped to VND 1.4-1.6 million per head in August-September 2021, currently at VND 1.1-1.3 million per head.
The continuous challenges of disease (blue ear, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever) or fluctuations in the world market affect the lives of pig farmers and the impact on the consumer price index (CPI).
To solve the problem, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien called on the locality to closely coordinate with units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to set aside their land, especially for livestock, especially when building large-scale facilities, or form disease-free breeding areas.
In addition, the leader of the agricultural sector suggested that banks, financial institutions, and credit funds consider supporting businesses, cooperatives, and livestock farmers. Because the production cycle of each animal is different, the Deputy Minister suggested that the credit sides consider carefully to create resilience for the livestock sector.
Expressing his confidence in the strong connection between management agencies, business sector, cooperatives, and people, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien affirmed: ‘Stand by each difficulty and challenge, the animal husbandry ecosystem fosters cohesion, create overall strength. If we continue to coordinate synchronously and effectively as in the past, we will successfully realize the goals set out in 2022.”