Bac Giang focuses on developing livestock breeding after Tet

Updated: 10:46, 24/02/2021

(BGO) - After Lunar New Year, farmers often focus on raising new herds and developing livestock breeding. This is time for season changing when diseases in livestock and poultry are unpredictable. Therefore, the Bac Giang farmers carefully choose the disease-free breeds and avoid massively raising new herds that leads to oversupply.

From 2018 backwards, each year the household of Ha Van Hai in Binh Duong village, Ngoc Son commune (Hiep Hoa district) produced about 500 porkers. In 2019, his family had to cull hundreds of pigs due to the African swine fever. In spite of receiving support from the State, his family's economy still suffered heavy losses.

In the third quarter of last year, he raised a new herd of 50 pigs and sold them ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2021. Currently, there is only one sow and 30 breeding pigs in the barn. Three hundred-square-meter stables in his family are still empty. “It is a waste to leave the barns vacant, but my family does not dare to raise pigs on a large scale as before, because of high breed prices and unpredictable diseases. 30 breeding pigs cost us nearly 100 million VND (4,350 USD); if African swine fever breaks out, we will run out of capital”, Hai said.

Ha Van Hai (left) in Ngoc Son commune (Hiep Hoa district) takes care of the pigs.

At this time, the prices of breeding pigs, commercial pigs and pork have been decreasing due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Many big markets such as Hai Phong, Hai Duong, and Quang Ninh have restricted trade activities, so agricultural products, especially pigs and poultry of Bac Giang, are more difficult to be sold. In addition, restaurants, catering services, weddings, gatherings and spring festivals ... are also restricted or banned, therefore the food demand has plunged. However, according to estimates of the provincial Department of Animal Production and Health, during and after the Lunar New Year 2021, the whole province sold about 250,000 pigs and more than 2.7 million fowls. Now, in Yen The district there are still about 2 million chickens of all kinds, so the rate of new herds raised is not high. The other localities are still actively raising new herds of commercial pigs, gooses and ducks to supply to the market in the upcoming summer.

In 2021, Bac Giang strives to increase the total herd of pigs to 1.2 million and maintain the poultry herd at 18.4 million, including 16 million chickens.

To ensure having good sources of breeds for effective new herd raising after the Lunar New Year, right from November and December 2020, the Department of Animal Production and Health has sent staff to inspect the breed production and supply facilities in the province. They were urged to apply disease-free production processes and eliminate low quality parent breeds.

At the same time, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued documents directing localities to drastically and synchronously implement measures to prevent and control the avian flu and avian influenza viruses that can be transmitted to humans. In addition, many key livestock districts of the province such as Tan Yen have also instructed the People's Committees of communes and relevant agencies to strengthen control of transportation of pigs and pig products in the district to prevent pathogens from spreading.

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