Young man with belief in clean livestock farming

(Baonghean) -35-year-old Pham Viet Duc in hamlet 12, Thanh Huong commune, Thanh Chuong district is a pioneer in investing in clean livestock farming.

Mr. Pham Viet Duc (Hamlet 12, Thanh Huong Commune, Thanh Chuong District) (left) discusses biological pig farming techniques. Photo: Nguyen Son

After a period of working away from home, with the accumulated knowledge and experience, Mr. Pham Viet Duc decided to return to invest in his home garden in Hamlet 12, Thanh Huong Commune. The garden is more than 4 hectares wide enough for Mr. Duc to build a comprehensive farm model, in which raising pigs and chickens for sale is the key point. It is even more convenient when the Ho Chi Minh road runs through the commune, only about 600 meters from his family farm.

With 2 closed barn systems from breeding sows to raising pigs for meat, Mr. Duc received technical support from the JICA project to ferment biological animal feed using agricultural products available in the area such as cassava, corn, rice, potatoes, etc. Therefore, the quality of pigs sold with firm, fragrant meat is purchased by many establishments. In particular, Maximark supermarket in Vinh City signed a contract to consume products every day. That is why, during the period when pork prices dropped like the past few months, pork from Mr. Duc's farm was still purchased at a high price.

According to the clean farming process, after 2 months of accelerating the breeding stage with industrial feed, the following months, the feed is mixed by fermenting cassava, corn, potatoes with milled rice. This method not only creates clean products but also saves on expenses.

According to Mr. Duc, in the later stages of pig farming, if using industrial feed, it will cost from 9-10 million VND/ton of feed, but using mixed feed according to JICA's instructions, it will only cost from 5-6 million VND/ton (from corn, cassava, rice), saving about 4 million VND per ton of feed. More importantly, raising with mixed biological feed brings delicious meat quality.

Developing clean animal husbandry in a biological direction, each year Mr. Duc's farm purchases more than 116 tons of cassava; 400 tons of corn and rice from farmers in the district. These products are always available and cheap, contributing to reducing input pressure for the farm.

To ensure clean and safe animal growth, Mr. Duc's family's barn system is built separately, each time food or outsiders are brought in, they must go through a disinfection process. Inside each row of barns, a temperature control system and an industrial exhaust fan system are installed, combined with a cooling pad, also known as a heat exchanger, to create a cooler for the entire row of barns. On sunny days, operating this system helps reduce the temperature by 8 - 10°C. This is an energy-saving cooling system and helps control the temperature in the barn from 25 - 280C.

Currently, Mr. Duc's family farm has expanded to 150 sows and over 700 pigs. In addition to raising organic pigs, Mr. Duc's farm also invests in raising thousands of native chickens, participating in the development chain of Thanh Chuong hill chicken brand.

Anh Duc (second from right) discusses how to compost organic food. Photo: Nguyen Son

From clean livestock farming and signing many meat supply orders, Mr. Duc decided to invest in building a slaughterhouse to create a complete chain, strictly controlling product quality to consumers. Currently, Mr. Duc's farm is certified according to the standards of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and is certified by the Nghe An Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine to meet food safety and hygiene conditions from livestock farming, slaughtering, preserving, and trading of livestock and poultry meat products. This is the first farm in Thanh Chuong to follow this model.

Mr. Pham Viet Duc shared: “Clean biological farming is inevitable for the world, the region and our country. With the help of the JICA project and the accumulated experience, my family is pursuing the construction of a long-term effective farm. Investing billions of dong in the farm is not a bet but the belief and determination of my family when opening a business direction. We are currently completing the slaughterhouse to close the livestock and slaughtering chain. From there, in addition to the supermarkets and restaurants that have placed orders, we expect the farm's products to be sold to schools and factories with kitchens.collective meals in the province ordered…”.

Developing clean agriculture is a sustainable direction that Thanh Chuong district encourages households to apply. Through promoting the application of science and technology, the district is actively attracting businesses and private individuals to support farmers, from providing good seeds, guiding technical processes, purchasing products and processing, creating a value chain of agricultural goods.

Nguyen Nguyen