Viet Nam holds national conference on livestock, veterinary science and technology

Speaking at the National Conference on Livestock and Veterinary Science and Technology on the morning of March 28, Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said that livestock production is currently one of the pillars of Viet Nam’s agriculture sector, with a scale of about $33 billion, accounting for 26-27% of the sector’s GDP.

The sector not only provides livelihoods for millions of households but also plays a key role in ensuring food security, stabilizing the macroeconomy, and protecting public health.

Over the past decade, the sector has maintained an annual growth rate of 4.5-6%, placing Viet Nam among the countries with the world’s largest livestock industries, with the pig population ranking fifth and poultry ninth globally. In 2025, total output reached 8.68 million tons of meat, 21.4 billion eggs, and 1.3 million tons of fresh milk.

Export turnover of livestock products exceeded $2.2 billion, while veterinary drugs and vaccines were exported to nearly 50 countries.

“These figures would have been unimaginable just over a decade ago,” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien emphasized.

However, according to the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the sector still has significant room for growth but also faces numerous challenges. Geopolitical fluctuations, climate change and increasingly complex disease outbreaks, along with the dominance of small-scale production, are putting pressure on the sector to shift toward a more sustainable development model that ensures biosecurity and environmental friendliness.

In the current context, breakthroughs in science and technology in livestock and veterinary fields have become increasingly urgent, even decisive. Natural disasters and climate change are causing rising losses. In 2025 alone, damage caused by storms and floods reached VND 100 trillion, leaving more than 500 people dead or missing.

In practice, advances in breeding, animal nutrition, smart farming models, slaughtering and processing technologies, as well as vaccine production and disease management, have helped improve productivity and quality while reducing risks across the entire sector.

Notably, the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, big data, biotechnology, and environmental technology is opening up new possibilities to improve management efficiency, traceability, and value chain optimization in the livestock sector. These are considered key factors enabling the livestock and veterinary sectors to enhance competitiveness in the context of deep international integration.

“Viet Nam’s pig and waterfowl populations rank among the largest in the world,” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien said, adding that the livestock and veterinary sector is supported by a well-established legal framework, including five major programs focusing on sector restructuring, livestock breed development, vaccine and veterinary drug production, disease control, and the development of biosecure livestock farming.

Regarding the legal framework, the Livestock Law 2018 and the Veterinary Law 2015, along with important decrees such as Decree No. 13/2020/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the Livestock Law and Decree No. 35/2016/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the Veterinary Law, have created a solid institutional foundation for the entire production chain from farming and slaughtering to processing and distribution.

In the current context, Resolution 57 of the Politburo and the Livestock Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045, both emphasize the role of science, technology, and innovation as the primary drivers of in-depth growth. These mechanisms are expected to create a favorable legal corridor to promote research and the application of high technologies across the sector.

“Nearly VND 100 trillion will be invested in science and technology development and innovation in the coming period. This is a very large figure compared to the past,” Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien noted, describing this as both an opportunity and a challenge for scientists, research institutes, universities, and research centers to “rise up” and meet practical demands through technologies such as genetic technology (selection and gene editing), cell and embryo technology (breeding and embryo transfer), and microbiological technology (vaccine and biological product production).

This conference, therefore, is organized as a forum for academic and policy exchange, bringing together policymakers, scientists, businesses, and international organizations. Discussions focus on assessing the current situation, identifying major scientific and technological challenges, improving policy mechanisms, strengthening linkages among stakeholders in the value chain, and expanding international cooperation.

Six specialized subcommittees, covering the sector’s core areas, are being held on March 28. Specifically, Subcommittee 1 focuses on pig farming science and technology; Subcommittee 2 on poultry; and Subcommittee 3 on ruminants and other livestock. These three subcommittees mainly discuss issues related to breeds, nutrition, farming techniques, and productivity improvement.

In the veterinary field, Subcommittee 4 focuses on animal health and disease prevention and control; Subcommittee 5 on veterinary drugs and vaccines; and Subcommittee 6 on antimicrobial resistance, food safety, and other veterinary issues.

Deputy Minister Phung Duc Tien expressed his expectation that the discussions at the conference would provide a scientific basis for authorities to further refine institutions and policies, creating a favorable environment for research and technology transfer, while supporting businesses and farmers in transitioning to modern and sustainable production models.

"The outcomes of the conference will help shape long-term solutions and promote more efficient development of the livestock and veterinary sectors in the coming period," he said, calling for the active and dedicated participation of scientists, experts, and businesses at the conference.

*$ 1 = VND 26,338 - Source: Vietcombank.