Efficiency from the project of breeding cattle

(Baonghean) - With the form of "lending" mother cows for breeding to poor households sponsored by the OXPAM Project, poor households in some communes of Tuong Duong district have had the conditions to develop the economy, rise up to eliminate hunger, reduce poverty, and at the same time be responsible for the project's assets.

Mr. Lo Hoai Thom - Chairman of Yen Na Commune People's Committee (Tuong Duong) excitedly said: The project of breeding cows for reproduction by the OXPAM Project through the Women's Union of the district and commune has been implemented since 2006 in 4 villages including: Na Khom, Huoi Cut, Huoi Xen, Xop Pu. Thanks to this cow breeding project, many poor households in Yen Na have changed their lives. The initial support project was 26 cows divided equally among the above 4 villages in the form that after the mother cows gave birth, they were transferred to other poor households.

Herd of cows supported by the OXPAM Project in Yen Na - Tuong Duong.

Mr. Oc Van Nghe, 60 years old, in Huoi Xen, just came back from cutting grass and said: In 2006, the family owned a breeding cow. After giving birth, the mother cow from the project had to be handed over to another poor household. The family was able to "deposit" another mother cow. Up to now, my family has 5 cows, and just sold 2 of them for over 30 million VND. Thanks to raising cows, we have money to repair the house, buy a motorbike... Mr. Nghe added: The project has sent agricultural extension technicians and Women's Union officers to guide and train on technical processes for raising cows and using appropriate feed, so raising cattle is effective.

Mr. Lo Kham Nguyen - Secretary of Huoi Xen village said: Huoi Xen has 18 households that have been provided with breeding cows, most of which have shown good results. My family currently has 7 cows, 2 of which have been sold for 27 million VND, especially the family has also "deposited" an additional mother cow that has given birth to a litter. The good thing about this project is that it changes people's awareness of livestock farming.

Previously, people mainly raised cattle freely, suffered from diseases and died of cold in the forest. Now, with the guidance of cadres, Huoi Xen village has planned a cattle raising area with 18 concentrated barns in Lung Lach stream, and planted over 6 hectares of elephant grass. Thanks to raising cattle according to the correct technical process, the cattle herd has grown and developed very well. Of the 18 households that were given breeding cows, the total herd has grown to over 70 cows so far (not counting the over 20 cows that have been sold). In Yen Na, there are many households that are not under the project support, but have self-developed effectively, such as Mr. Oc Dinh Thang's household raising 9 cows, and Mr. Lo Duc's household with 6 cows.

It is known that Yen Na has a total herd of 1,837 cows, most households take advantage of cow manure to care for nearly 40 hectares of rice, thanks to which Yen Na's rice yield reaches an average of over 200 kg/sao/crop. Mr. Lo Hoai Thom added: Yen Na has 1,012 households, of which poor households account for 81%, although it is over 40 km from the district center, the roads have now been paved for convenient travel, while the commune has great potential to develop cattle breeding. The commune is looking forward to continuing to receive support and investment from the State and project programs to raise cattle and build barns.

Entering the remote commune of Yen Hoa - Ms. Luong Thi Dau - Head of the Women's Union of Yen Hoa commune said: In 2006, the OXPAM project supported the breeding of 18 cows for Xop Kin village. Initially, the Women's Union cooperated with the District Agricultural Extension Station to actively promote and mobilize people to participate in the project. Many people wanted to participate in breeding cows but wanted to follow the habit of letting them roam freely in the forest. Through a period of promotion and staff "rolling up their sleeves to show them the job", they were able to mobilize people to build barns in the forest or near their own homes for convenience in care and vaccination. For example, Mr. Lim Van Viet's family has a cow that has given birth for more than 7 months. After being trained, during the recent cold spell, he knew how to care for and warm the calves.

Currently, the total herd of cows in the breeding cow project in Yen Hoa is over 60. Many households have escaped poverty such as Mr. Xeo Van Quynh, Lu Van Doan... Promoting the effectiveness of the breeding cow project, in 2009, the Project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development continued to invest in Xop Kha village with 10 breeding cows, up to this point, the total herd has increased to nearly 20 cows. It is known that the breeding movement in Yen Hoa has also developed quite strongly, the whole commune currently has over 3,400 buffaloes and cows, of which nearly 2,500 are buffaloes. Households outside the project have developed well, such as Mr. Mong Van Sinh in Xieng Lip who has over 15 cows, Luong Van Quang in Canh Khin who has 12 cows... Currently, Yen Hoa has planted over 20 hectares of elephant grass in Canh Khin village, Hao village, Coc village... However, the rate of free-range grazing in Yen Hoa is quite high, in 2010 alone in Yen Hoa there were over 100 buffaloes and cows that died in the forest due to cold and disease.

The breeding cow project funded by the OXPAM project includes the communes of Yen Tinh, Yen Na, Yen Hoa, Nga My, Xieng My with about 150 mother cows, of which the communes receiving the most support are Nga My with 47 cows, Xieng My with 45 cows, Yen Na with 26 cows... The project is implemented through the district and commune Women's Unions to develop in poor households. With the supervision and monitoring of related sectors such as the Women's Union, officials of the Department of Agriculture, District Agricultural Extension..., the breeding cow households are all effective. Especially thanks to the implementation of concentrated confinement, vaccination has basically been done to prevent diseases.

Up to now, Tuong Duong has over 32,000 cows, the district has built nearly 70 farms combining cattle breeding, however, according to the assessment, the number of cows in Tuong Duong has increased but the quality has not increased. The district is implementing the project "Livestock Development in the period of 2011-2015". The goal is to convert the form from extensive farming to intensive farming, improve the quality of cow breeds, convert ineffective agricultural land to grass for livestock farming. Mobilize people to build barns, strictly comply with veterinary laws... Therefore, Tuong Duong is in great need of support from the State and project programs to invest in loans to develop livestock farming, contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction.

Van Truong