High vaccination rate, low loss of livestock herds

After a difficult period due to disease epidemics, the An Giang animal husbandry is recovering well. The total herd of cattle and poultry has increased significantly. In addition, An Giang is supporting the implementation of many projects to encourage large livestock farming, high-tech applications, and the development of linkage, joint venture, and farm forms.

According to statistics from the An Giang Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sub-Department, it is estimated that the pig herd in the whole province has nearly 99,000 heads, the buffalo herd has about 70,000 heads, and the poultry herd is estimated at around 7.2 million heads.

Currently, An Giang has 142 pig farms, with 28,000 heads; 626 cow farms, with 11,000 heads; 14 chicken farms, with 271,000 heads; and 173 duck farms, with 623,000 heads.

The proactive disease prevention through vaccination for livestock and poultry herds in the first nine months of 2023 is as follows: On the pig herd, 117,000 heads have been vaccinated against cholera and Pasteurellosis, 95,000 heads against foot-and-mouth disease, and nearly 85,000 heads against blue ear disease.

In buffaloes and cows, 3,500 heads have been vaccinated against Pasteurellosis and 54,000 heads against foot-and-mouth disease. Accumulated to date, 51,000 vaccinated heads still have protection, reaching a rate of 87% compared to the total herd of 58,208 heads. 20,000 heads have been vaccinated against lumpy skin disease, and the accumulated protection to date is for 50,000 heads, reaching 85% of the total herd.

Besides, more than 6 million poultry have been vaccinated against influenza H5N1, of which the current quantity that is still protected is 3.4 million ducks, reaching a rate of 127% compared to the total flock of 2.7 million heads, and 435,000 chickens, reaching a rate of 86% compared to the total herd of over 503,000 heads.

Mr. Tran Tien Hiep, Director of the An Giang Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sub-Department, said that thanks to proactively carrying out full vaccination throughout the year, livestock herds in the province have always been able to prevent and control diseases quite well in recent times.

In addition, the loss rate on the livestock herd also decreased to a low level compared to the same period last year. Especially, full vaccination has helped the livestock herd grow better while ensuring meat output to serve the market at the end of the year.

According to statistics, in the first nine months of the year, An Giang province's animal husbandry reached over VND 130 billion. Specifically, Viet Thang Pig Farm increased the pig herd size by 7,000 hogs and 2,000 sows, expected to provide about 18,000 pig breeds for livestock farms by the end of November 2023.

In addition, hogs raised by the people increased by about 10,000 heads, contributing to a growth of about VND 90 billion. For the flock of ducks raised for meat in Luong Phi commune, Tri Ton district, 75,000 ducks were sold, an increase of about VND 6.1 billion compared to last year.

High-Tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. in Chau Phu district sold 100,000 broilers, a growth of about VND 5.5 billion. Egg-laying chickens at An Tam hen farm in Chau Phu district have a scale of 5,000 heads, with an output by the end of the third quarter estimated at about 750,000 eggs, an increase of about VND 2.55 billion.

Beef cattle farms and households increased the herd by about 200 heads, bringing a growth value of about VND 7 billion. As for swallow's nest products, the output increased by about 900kg, bringing in additional revenue of about VND 11.7 billion.

Along with restructuring the horticulture, An Giang also focuses on transforming small-scale cow, pig, duck, chicken, goat, etc. farming to concentrated livestock farming associated with building biogas digesters and biological bedding.

Mr. Nguyen Si Lam, Director of the An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in the past years, An Giang has promoted calling and encouraging businesses to invest in developing large-scale livestock farming. As of now, there have been 9 enterprises investing in developing livestock farms in the province, including: 4 pig farms with 17,000 heads; 3 chicken farms with a scale of 65,000 heads; and 2 cow farms with 1,000 heads.

Currently, TH Group has deployed the TH True Milk High-Tech Dairy Cattle Farm in Vinh Gia commune (Tri Ton district), which will develop a concentrated dairy cattle herd of 20,000 heads and expand to surrounding areas.

“It can be affirmed that profits from models of biosafety and concentrated livestock farms will be 7-8% higher than smallholding farming models. An important thing is that transformation models apply waste treatment technology to livestock farming without causing environmental pollution. At the same time, take advantage of abundant organic fertilizer sources, helping to reduce production and pest management costs and increase income," said Mr. Nguyen Si Lam, Director of the An Giang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.