February 8, 2006

Vietnam to invest in poultry reform
 

Vietnam plans to spend US$42.1 million to improving its fowl-breeding industry in the next 5 years, local newspaper Pioneer on Tuesday quoted a state agriculture agency as saying.

The figure was based on a blueprint on zoning poultry breeding drawn up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with an with estimated cost of VND670 billion (US$42.1 million). The plan will focus on setting up more large-scale farms and slaughterhouses to expand Vietnam's poultry industry.

The scheme will also minimize small animal husbandry farms and the old practice of free-range fowl raising while promoting the application of selective breeding, advanced feeds and veterinary medicine.

If the scheme is successfully implemented, Vietnam's fowl raising sector can post production value of around VND20 trillion (over US$1.2 billion) in 2010, the Animal Husbandry Department said in a news release.

Vietnam's poultry population had been growing an average of 6.5 percent for the past 4 years despite bird flu outbreaks leading to the culling of millions of fowls.