Livestock farms to be upgraded on industrial scale

Livestock breeding will increasingly take place on larger farms in an aim to increase value and sustainability, under a restructuring plan proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Under the plan, livestock farming would gradually shift from high-population density areas in deltas to low-population density areas in midland and mountainous areas.

The livestock sector will also set up disease-free livestock breeding areas far away from cities and residential areas.

The aim is to increase the number of pigs raised on farms from 30 percent to 52 percent, chicken from 30 percent to 60 percent and ducks from 20 percent to 60 percent.

All milch cows would be raised on farms under an industrialised breeding method.

By 2020, there would be 300,000 milch cows with an annual milk output of 0.9 million tonnes.

Photo for illustration. Danviet.vn

The Hong (Red) River Delta and Southeast region will see a reduction in the number of breeding pigs while Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), north-central region and the north's midland and mountainous areas would see an increase.

The number of pigs in the Red River Delta, for instance, will fall from 25.7 percent of the country's total pigs in 2013 to 15 percent by 2020.

The plan targets a higher rate of poultry, cow and buffalo meat as part of the livestock sector relative to the amount of pork.

Pork meat will fall from 74.2 percent of the livestock sector in 2013 to 62 percent by 2020.

The plan expects exports of about 1 million tonnes of pork, 70,000-100,000 tonnes of duck meat, and 1-2 billion salted duck eggs a year by 2020.

The number of ducks raised would rise from 84 million in 2013 to 100 million by 2020.

From 2014 to 2015, disease-free livestock breeding models for pigs, chicken or ducks will operate in several provinces, including in Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen, Binh Dinh and Tien Giang, Dong Thap and Tay Ninh.

Livestock breeders, including farmers and farm owners, will take training courses on breeding disease-free livestock.

The ministry's Animal Husbandry Department in cooperation with agencies and provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development have been assigned to implement the restructuring plan.