Experience in raising deer in Huong Son (Ha Tinh)

(Baonghean) -In recent years, Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) and communes in the district have had specific policies to support and encourage livestock development, including deer farming, a traditional occupation and a strength of the locality.

According to Mr. Phan Xuan Duc, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Huong Son district, in 2012 alone, the district has developed 8 models with a scale of raising over 50 deer and 64 models with over 10 deer; contributing to bringing the total deer herd of the district in 2012 to 28,947, an increase of 13.3% compared to 2011. And with this growth rate, in just a few years the deer herd of the district will reach about 40 - 50 thousand deer... And deer are truly the main livestock of this mountainous district. Now, not only Huong Son, but also other districts in the province such as Can Loc, Vu Quang, Huong Khe... have also begun to have policies to encourage people to develop deer herds...

In 2012, the deer antler output in the district reached 7,300 kg, an increase of 12.31% compared to 2011, earning over 80 billion VND. It is expected that in 2013, the deer antler output will reach over 8,500 kg. Many families in Huong Son consider deer antler to be their main source of income for the year. For example, in Son Lam commune, the total income of the whole commune in 2012 reached about 34 billion VND, of which, the income from deer antler accounted for 1/4, equivalent to the income from the forest.

However, the consumption of deer antler products is still completely dependent on traders and there is no thorough solution, although it has been taken into account. The recent fluctuation in the price of deer antler has also made farmers worried: is there manipulation by traders? If the scale of farming is increasingly increased, will deer antler products in the next few years inevitably be in an unstable situation like other agricultural products?!

Currently, businesses and people are joining together to focus on solving the problem of deer antler consumption. In particular, in early 2013, the Center for Biomedical Technology presented the Project on economic development from the Huong Son deer breeding industry by applying enzyme biochemical science and technology to produce pharmaceutical products and functional foods from deer antlers for domestic use and export. In addition to building deer antlers into an exclusive brand, it also invested in a pharmaceutical factory and processed functional foods from deer antlers; At the same time, this district coordinated with Ha Tinh province to build the Huong Son Sika Deer Conservation Center and provide breeding services for the locality and provinces nationwide.

Thanh Chau