Farmers in Nghe An border commune raise black pigs with only wild vegetables

Together with the cadres of Nam Giai commune, after 30 minutes of walking, crossing streams, creeks and hills, we arrived at Huoi Khang valley, located in the deep forest - a place chosen by many households of Puc village as a concentrated livestock farming area.

Meet Ms. Ngan Thi Tam taking care of dozens of childrenblack pig, it is known that the couple lives in Puc village, but came here to raise pigs since 2018. At that time, the couple built a small temporary house on stilts and raised 2 breeding sows. With hard work, the couple diligently raised and produced pigs. From the breeding herd, Tam's family sold piglets and continued to rotate private investment in the sow herd. In recent years, in addition to selling pigs for meat, the barn always maintains a herd of about 20 pigs, customers who need pigs for meat or breeding pigs are provided promptly. In 2023 alone, Tam and her husband sold a few pigs, earning 17 million VND; it is expected that at the end of the year, the demand for pork for Tet is high, so they will continue to sell, earning tens of millions of VND more.

“The source of food for the pigs does not have to be purchased, all is collected from taro, banana trees... in the forest and cooked with corn. Every day, I carry 2 loads of food from home here, each load weighs up to 50 kg, enough to feed the pigs. In addition to raising pigs, the family also raises breeding buffalo and cows. From only having 1 female calf, up to now, the family's herd of cows has multiplied to 7 and recently invested in raising 1 more buffalo,” Ms. Ngan Thi Tam shared.

Thanks to their will to succeed in life, Tam and her husband escaped.poor householdmany years ago, had the conditions to raise 2 children to study.

Observing in this valley, there are also many small stilt houses, below and around the houses are places to keep and release pigs, buffaloes, cows... That is also the place to live and raise livestock of households in Puc village such as households: Ha Van Son, Ha Thi Thuong, Ha Van Que, Ngan Van Nam... Coming here with the same goal of developing livestock, so everyone is aware of the responsibility to protect and support each other when necessary.

Ms. Lu Thi Tien - Vice Chairman of Nam Giai Commune People's Committee said that for many years, dozens of households in the commune have invested in raising local black pigs and buffaloes and cows in 2 concentrated breeding areas in Puc village. Each area has 8 households, each household has dozens of pigs and many buffaloes and cows. Because the concentrated breeding areas are far from residential areas, there are few diseases; along with that, people use available food sources around the valley, so although the pigs grow slowly, the quality is guaranteed and the cost is low.

“People who invest in raising black pigs do not use industrial feed but use natural vegetables and grass, ensuring meat quality. Normally, people sell pigs under 15 kg/head for 120,000 VND/kg; pigs weighing 30 kg/head sell for 100,000 VND/kg; pigs weighing over 30 kg/head sell for 80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, but the supply is not enough to meet market demand,” said Ms. Lu Thi Tien.

According to the assessment of the District Farmers' AssociationQue Phong, households in Puc village, Nam Giai commune investing in raising black pigs in concentrated areas is a good way. Of the 16 households raising pigs, most have escaped poverty, these are effective models of household economic development that need to be replicated.