The mountainous region of Nghe An province is proactively protecting livestock from hunger and cold.

Provide shelter and warmth for buffaloes and cows.

With many years of experience raising buffalo and cattle, Mr. Tho Cha Nhia's family in Na Nieng village, Tri Le commune (Que Phong district) has proactively applied measures to protect their buffalo herd from hunger and cold. Mr. Nhia said: "My family is raising 4 buffaloes, and now is the time to fatten them up in preparation for sale at the end of the year and during Tet (Lunar New Year). We plant over 1 hectare of elephant grass and stockpile straw to ensure a food source for the livestock; we proactively cover the barns, lay straw on the barn floor, light fires for warmth, and supplement with salt water and minerals to increase the buffalo's resistance during days of severe cold."

Tri Le commune, located in the mountainous region of Que Phong district, has over 5,000 buffaloes and cows. Mr. Lu Van Cuong, Chairman of the Tri Le Commune People's Committee, stated: To ensure the development of the livestock population, the commune has encouraged people to raise buffaloes and cows in enclosed pens, gradually eliminating the practice of grazing; and implemented a model of growing elephant grass as animal feed. To date, the entire commune has over 100 hectares of elephant grass, ensuring a reliable food source for livestock, especially during the winter. Simultaneously, the commune has been promoting and guiding households in implementing measures to prevent hunger, cold, and disease among their livestock.

According to Mr. Bui Van Hien, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Que Phong district, right from the beginning of the cold season, along with reviewing and checking the disease situation, the district's agricultural sector has also intensified propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage people to focus on caring for their livestock, avoiding the risk of starvation and death from the cold due to inadequate shelters.

In the mountainous commune of Muong Long (Ky Son district), winter temperatures are 3-5 degrees Celsius lower than in lower-lying communes, often leading to cattle and buffalo dying from the cold. Therefore, the Mong people here have experience in protecting their livestock from hunger and cold. Mr. Vu Giong Va's family in Muong Long 2 village raises six commercial cattle and buffalo. Mr. Va shared: "During winter, the weather here is always very cold, so the barns are always covered with tarpaulins and firewood is burned for warmth day and night. For feed, in addition to stockpiling straw, the family also utilizes garden and hillside land to grow elephant grass, ensuring the cattle are well-fed."

Mr. Lau Ba Cho, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Muong Long commune, said that livestock farming is one of the main sources of income for the people here. Currently, the entire commune maintains and develops a livestock herd of over 4,000 animals. The commune actively encourages people to raise livestock in confinement, incorporating the raising of livestock and poultry into the village's regulations and customs so that people commit to implementing it. The commune has directed the farmers' association and veterinary officers to guide people in preventing hunger, cold, and disease outbreaks in livestock; organize the full vaccination of livestock against winter diseases; and closely inspect and monitor livestock to prevent disease outbreaks.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Truong, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Ky Son district, most livestock farmers are now consciously investing in building sturdy shelters for their buffaloes and cows during the cold season. This is considered an effective solution to help the locality maintain the number of livestock annually and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks. Besides ensuring sufficient warmth, local authorities also encourage people to prepare food and water for their livestock.

Currently, Tuong Duong district has nearly 17,000 buffaloes, over 34,000 cows, 24,444 pigs, and nearly 445,000 poultry. Annually, the district directs localities to expand the area for growing elephant grass to feed buffaloes and cows, covering 414 hectares, with over 70% of households raising livestock in enclosed pens. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Head of the District's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said: "During winter, in high-altitude mountainous communes such as Nhon Mai and Mai Son, severe cold weather often occurs, with temperatures dropping below 3 degrees Celsius and frost appearing. Therefore, from the beginning of winter, the district has focused on directing functional departments to regularly update weather developments and provide timely information through various media so that all people are aware and can proactively prevent and combat severe cold weather." Establish working groups to go down to the localities to guide, inspect, and supervise the work of preventing and combating cold weather damage to people, livestock, and poultry... in order to minimize the extent of losses.

Proactively prevent and protect livestock from hunger and cold.

According to meteorological and hydrological forecasts, from December 2024 to February 2025, cold air masses are likely to be active, causing severe cold spells, frost, and ice. At the end of November, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Official Letter No. 5243/SNN-CNTY on proactively preventing hunger and cold for livestock during the 2024-2025 Winter-Spring crop season.

To proactively implement effective measures to prevent hunger and cold for livestock, especially in mountainous districts, specialized departments and communes are directed to focus on reviewing the total existing livestock population, particularly free-ranging buffalo and cattle in the forests, in order to plan for shelters, stockpile feed, and develop appropriate measures to prevent hunger and cold. In addition, culling and reducing the herd size before the cold season begins, especially for old, weak buffalo and cattle, should be carried out. Depending on the conditions of confinement and the availability of sufficient feed, households should maintain a number of animals appropriate to their farming capacity.

Establish working groups to go to the grassroots level to direct, guide, inspect, and supervise the work of preventing and combating hunger and cold, focusing on mountainous and high-altitude areas, where livestock are at high risk of being affected by hunger and cold. Guide livestock farmers to proactively monitor and report promptly when livestock die due to hunger and cold. Local authorities should proactively allocate contingency budgets to promptly implement measures to prevent and combat hunger and cold for livestock. Integrate programs and projects to support poor livestock farmers and policy beneficiary households with supplies and funding to reinforce and shelter livestock shelters and purchase supplementary feed for livestock.

According to recommendations from the agricultural sector, on days when temperatures drop below 10 degrees Celsius, buffaloes and cattle should absolutely not be allowed to work or graze freely; they should be brought back to enclosures for control, care, and management; a late grazing and early return schedule should be implemented, and sacks or blankets should be used to make cloaks to protect livestock from the cold. In addition, on very cold days, warm water should be boiled for buffaloes and cattle to drink, and salt should be added to improve metabolism and boost immunity.