Open directions from livestock farming

(Baonghean) - The people of Tuong Duong district mainly raise livestock on a small scale, with low efficiency. However, with the policy of developing livestock farming, many agricultural economic models in Tuong Duong district have developed in terms of quantity, scale, and efficiency, contributing to job creation and improving people's lives.

Like many households in Tam Bong village, Tam Quang commune, Mr. Lo Van Tien's family previously raised pigs mainly using a free-range method, resulting in low economic efficiency, frequent disease outbreaks, and environmental pollution. After traveling to many places to learn from others' experiences, Mr. Tien realized that this fragmented approach only provided enough to live on, let alone become wealthy. In 2009, Mr. Tien decided to borrow capital from the bank to invest in building industrial pig farms. Thanks to applying the knowledge from training courses organized by the Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Extension Station of Tuong Duong district, his family's pig farming model has become increasingly economically efficient, yielding a net profit of over 300 million VND per year after deducting expenses. Mr. Tien's pig farming model has opened up a new way of doing business for people in the commune. To date, over 40 households in Tam Quang commune have adopted the semi-industrial pig farming model. Besides providing expertise and supplying breeding stock, Mr. Tien also acts as a buyer of the farmers' produce.

Livestock farming is easy at the home of Mr. Vi Duc Tuan in Mon village, Thach Giam commune.

The trend of promoting the value of native livestock breeds with high economic value and easy marketability is being emphasized by the government and people of Tuong Duong. Raising native pigs (black pigs) and goats is the direction in economic development for Mr. Vi Duc Tuan, in Mon village, Thach Giam commune. This is the second year his family has switched to raising black pigs commercially. On average, his family raises two batches of pigs per year, each batch consisting of over 20 fattening pigs and 3 breeding sows. The pigs are supplied to the markets of Vinh City and Tuong Duong, and also provide breeding pigs to communes in the district. Along with pig farming, he raises over 30 goats, 100 pigeons, and cultivates 5 hectares of timber trees. Mr. Tuan said that the biggest advantage is that the livestock farming utilizes readily available feed sources from corn, potatoes, and cassava; the native breeds are easy to raise and have high economic value. Mr. Tuan's family's economic model generates over 100 million VND per year.

Based on his model, the commune and district organized many training sessions for people in the villages to replicate it. Mon village, Thach Giam commune, has 120 households; previously, over 60% were poor. Thanks to economic development in the direction of livestock farming combined with forest planting, the number of poor households has decreased to 23. Currently, many households in Thach Giam have also developed livestock farming of local breeds. Mr. Lo Xuan Quyet, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thach Giam commune, said: “There are many successful livestock farms in the area, such as raising goats, cattle in confinement, wild pigs, etc. One of the new directions of the Party Committee is to focus on leading the construction of model economic projects, then replicating them throughout the commune. In addition, Tuong Duong district has collaborated with the Western Nghe An Development Project VIE/028 to build a model of "raising Quy ducks". After nearly a year of implementation, the model has yielded very positive results, and farmers have returned to being involved with this duck breed. The project is being implemented in 5 communes: Nga My, Yen Hoa, Tam Hop, Luu Kien, and Luong Minh, with a survival rate of over 90%.”

With the active involvement of the Party Committee and the government at all levels, especially after the issuance of Directive No. 19-CT/HU/2012 by the Standing Committee of the Tuong Duong District Party Committee on "Strengthening the leadership of Party committees in building and replicating economic models," Tuong Duong district has developed many highly effective models such as: raising wild pigs, porcupines, goats, forest planting combined with livestock farming, chicken farming, and agroforestry (VACR). Mr. Lo Thanh Hai, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district, said: "Developing livestock farming is a suitable policy to escape poverty and enrich the remote and disadvantaged communes of the district."

Thanh Le