Applying digital technology in animal disease prevention: Healthy pig, clean farms thanks to digital technology

Introduction: In recent decades, the Vietnamese livestock industry has continuously faced many dangerous epidemics such as African swine fever (ASF), foot-and-mouth disease, and avian influenza, causing losses of thousands of billions of VND each year. The epidemics not only devastate the economy of farming households but also pose a risk of spreading disease to humans, affecting food safety and public health. In this context, the application of digital technology is considered the key to helping the livestock industry gradually shift toward a modern model, proactively prevent diseases, improve efficiency and develop sustainably.

Proactive disease prevention is a new strategy

In many key “livestock capitals” such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Tay Ninh, the digital transformation process in livestock farming is no longer a trend but a core strategy. The case of Dang Thi Thoa is a prime example. She is a farmer in Phu Giao district (Binh Duong province) who boldly pioneers digital transformation.

After suffering heavy losses due to ASF in 2019, she invested more than VND 16 billion to build a cold barn system on an area of ​​7 ha, integrating sensor technology, management software and an automatic waste treatment chain.

“Previously, I had to mobilize 4 - 5 workers to take care of a herd of 2,000 pigs. Now, just 2 people are enough since everything is automatic from feeding and measuring temperature to cleaning. In particular, the system will immediately give out warnings if a pig shows signs of poor appetite or abnormal temperature,” she said.

Her family currently owns more than 3,500 sows and pigs, earning an average monthly income of over VND 150 million. Not only does this model save operating costs, it also helps the pigs grow healthily, with no recurrence of disease over the years. More importantly, digital technology also helps Thoa monitor growth charts, vaccination schedules, feed inventories, and plan production accurately according to the output supply chain.

While working on a smaller scale. Nguyen The Tuan (Phuoc Sang commune, Phu Giao district) is also a testament to how technology and support from local veterinary agencies have changed the way people approach livestock farming. With more than 40 pigs, including 10 meat pigs and 30 sows, he has maintained the model for 4 years without major epidemics, earning nearly VND 100 million per year.

According to Nguyen Ba Trung, Deputy Head of Phu Giao District Animal Husbandry and Animal Health Station, the locality has developed a plan for the first vaccination session in 2025, controlling all cattle and poultry herds. Veterinary staff will regularly visit each household to disseminate information and conduct periodic inspections, particularly during the changing season, which is a sensitive time when disease outbreaks are likely to occur.

Shaping a new path for animal husbandry

In addition to economic efficiency, digital technology plays a key role in protecting public health and the ecological environment. A recent report from the Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), farms applying automatic control technology have a 60% lower disease incidence rate in comparison to traditional models, while also significantly reducing water pollution, emissions and the risk of spreading pathogens to the community.

The most important aspect, as many farmers agree, is the massive change in production perspective: from passive to proactive, from manual to automatic, from reactive to predictive. This is the foundation for Vietnam to move towards a smart livestock industry associated with international integration, ensuring food safety and sustainable development.

However, in order to truly popularize digital transformation, the initiative of livestock farmers is not enough. There needs to be strong support from management agencies and technology enterprises.

Currently, many cooperation programs between the agricultural sector and agricultural technology startups are being implemented, aiming to provide epidemic monitoring solutions, farm management software and smart livestock consulting via digital platforms.

It is also deemed essential that local authorities issue policies to support access to preferential loans, provide training in the use of technological equipment, and encourage linkage models where large enterprises play a leading role and share experiences, and connect output markets.