Livestock farmers in Nghe An are actively caring for their herds and preparing for the Tet market.
(Baonghean.vn) - With the Lunar New Year 2024 fast approaching, livestock farmers in Nghe An are actively caring for their herds, strictly adhering to disease prevention and control measures, and preparing supplies for the market. Increased output of live meat for slaughter is predicted, leading to a slight increase in livestock and poultry prices during the Tet holiday.
Increase the output of livestock and poultry meat for slaughter.
One of the key economic development areas for the people of Nam Can commune (Ky Son district) is raising buffaloes, cows, and goats. To serve the Lunar New Year market, the people here have planned to increase their livestock herds since the beginning of the year. Mr. Moong Van Chum in Khanh Thanh village, Nam Can commune, is no exception; in his farm, Mr. Chum usually maintains a herd of 30 buffaloes and cows and a herd of 80-150 goats, depending on the time of year.
Mr. Chum said that since September 2023, he has stopped selling buffaloes and cows retail to focus on caring for them and preparing a supply for sale during the upcoming Tet holiday. Mr. Ho Ba Po, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Can commune, said that, like Mr. Chum's family, livestock and poultry farmers in the commune are also focusing on caring for their animals to serve the Tet market. The entire Nam Can commune has a total herd of over 3,000 buffaloes and cows, with Khanh Thanh village alone having more than 800 buffaloes and cows, about 200 more than the average for the year.
Across the province, as of November 2023, the total number of buffalo and cattle was estimated at 800,460, an increase of 3.12% compared to the same period last year. The total number of pigs was estimated at 988,625, an increase of 3.35% compared to the same period last year. The total number of poultry was estimated at 32,618, an increase of 7.82% compared to the same period last year.
According to the Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, livestock farmers are currently actively caring for their animals. It is projected that by the end of the year, the total number of buffalo and cattle will reach 805,000, pigs 1.05 million, and poultry approximately 34 million. The total output of live meat for slaughter in the first 10 months of 2023 is estimated at 238,000 tons, an increase of 3.36% compared to the same period last year, and milk production at 240,000 tons. With increased supply, the projected output of live meat for the whole year is 285,000 tons – achieving 100% of the plan – and fresh milk production is 280,000 tons compared to the planned 265,000 tons.
Currently, prices for livestock products are unstable in the market. Live pig prices fluctuate between 50,000 and 52,000 VND/kg, farm-gate chicken prices range from 52,000 to 55,000 VND/kg, chicken eggs are priced at 2,000 to 2,400 VND/egg, live cattle (Laisin cattle) are 67,000 to 70,000 VND/kg, and 3B cattle are 80,000 to 82,000 VND/kg.
Currently, there are 970 livestock farms in the province (according to the scale stipulated in the Livestock Law). Specifically, there are 438 pig farms, including 24 large-scale farms, 75 medium-scale farms, and 339 small-scale farms; 50 cattle farms, including 4 large-scale farms, 14 medium-scale farms, and 32 small-scale farms; and 482 poultry farms, including 332 chicken farms (73 medium-scale farms and 259 small-scale farms) and 150 duck farms (45 medium-scale farms and 105 small-scale farms).
According to the Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, based on the total herd size and projected output of live pigs for slaughter in 2023, the livestock industry has proactively guided localities to increase and replenish herds to ensure sufficient food supply for consumption in the last months of 2023, especially during the Lunar New Year 2024.
It is projected that livestock production in the last two months of the year and January 2024 will reach approximately 57,000 tons, milk production 70,000 tons, and egg production 180 million eggs. It is also predicted that prices of livestock products during the Lunar New Year 2024 will only increase slightly by 10-15% due to moderate demand and no shortage of livestock products.
Strengthen disease prevention measures.
Besides preparing to supply livestock products, farmers are also actively and strictly complying with regulations on disease prevention and control in livestock and poultry. The immediate priority is to limit the spread of disease and prevent infection in uninfected livestock.
In Do Luong district, as of mid-November 2023, there were 17 active outbreaks of African swine fever that had not yet passed the 21-day quarantine period. The local authorities are actively working to prevent the spread and contain the outbreaks. According to the head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Do Luong district, from the moment the first outbreak appeared, the district established a steering committee for disease prevention and control, regularly inspecting measures to protect livestock and poultry from cold weather and disease to prevent further spread. The total output of live pigs for slaughter in the first 10 months of 2023 is estimated at 24,000 tons, an increase of 1.10% compared to 2022. In the first six months of 2023 alone, output reached 11,810 tons, an increase of 2.46% compared to the same period last year.
According to the Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, the disease situation among livestock and poultry has been complex since the beginning of 2023, especially African swine fever, avian influenza, and rabies in dogs; white spot disease, acute hepatopancreatic necrosis, and microsporidiosis in farmed shrimp at livestock and aquaculture farms. Specifically, currently, there are 93 outbreaks of African swine fever in small-scale farms in 15 districts and towns that have not yet passed 21 days. The total number of pigs that died or had to be culled is 3,524, equivalent to a total weight of 201,425 kg, including 749 sows, 2,016 market pigs, and 752 piglets. The total number of pigs culled in 2023 is approximately 0.7% of the total herd.
However, the disease situation among livestock and poultry is gradually being brought under control. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of outbreaks decreased by 19.4%, and the number of pigs culled in outbreak areas decreased by 11.1%. Many localities have done well in disease prevention and control, with high vaccination rates for livestock ranging from 60-80%, such as Do Luong, Nam Dan, Nghia Dan, Hung Nguyen, and Cua Lo town.
According to the leaders of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in the first nearly 11 months of 2023, the Department proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue 16 timely and effective directives in accordance with the law and local conditions, to guide livestock development and disease prevention and control in Nghe An province. Based on the total herd and projected output of live pigs for slaughter in 2023, the livestock sector proactively guided localities to increase and replenish herds to ensure sufficient food supply for consumption in the last months of 2023, especially during the Lunar New Year 2024.
In addition, measures to prevent and control disease outbreaks have been tightened, and violations have been strictly dealt with. By November 2023, the Inspectorate of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development had fined 5 cases for violations of regulations on livestock and veterinary medicine, totaling 56 million VND. The department's leadership also requested localities to closely monitor the situation and promptly report any unusual developments in livestock and poultry diseases for timely handling. Attention should be paid to detecting and strictly handling cases of discarding infected animal carcasses into the environment.
