July 7, 2010

 

Vietnam restores pig herds

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is implementing a World Bank-funded project which aims to raise the competitiveness of the pig breeding sector and improve food safety and hygiene.

 

The project will target small breeding households as a priority. Increasing productivity at pig farms to raise product competitiveness and support small-scale breeding households to improve the current breeding conditions are key strategies.

 

Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy director of the Department of Livestock Production spoke with Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic Times) about pig farming after the outbreak of blue-ear pig disease.

 

Before the blue-ear outbreak occurred in April this year, there were 27.3 million pigs across the country. The country produced and consumed about 300,000 tonnes of pork a month since the beginning of this year. About 150,000 pigs have been infected by the disease over the past two months, forcing the culling of 65,900 infected pigs and leaving hundreds of thousands of local pigs unsold.

 

Although pig epidemics will be controlled shortly, it will be difficult to restore pig herds. The low price of pork means local breeders are unwilling to invest in breeding, with a severe shortage of sows and piglets contributing to the trend.

 

Before the outbreak of the disease, sow herds totalled 4.18 million. Compared with other regional countries, the sow fertility in Vietnam remains low, with the number of piglets weaned by a sow hovering at 18-19 per year. The figure is between 22 and 24 piglets per sow per year in other countries.

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has decided not to use boars which were infected by blue-ear pig disease to reproduce piglets, while it is still possible with sows that have recovered from the disease.

 

Piglet price has also declined. Many pig farms are no longer interested in raising sows and piglets, causing a threat to herds in the near future.

 

Many cities and provinces have provided local breeders with inoculations for their pigs against the epidemic, provided semen free of charge to artificially inseminate pig herds, delayed debt payments for the locals and lent them more money to invest in breeding pigs.

 

Yet these localities should be careful before re-investing in pig raising. They are advised to revert to traditional breeding methods only after the epidemic finishes. Careful decontamination and keeping pigsties hygienic are some key measures in restoring pig herds.

 

To cope with the complicated nature of the epidemic, it is necessary to renovate the development strategy of the breeding sector, especially in pig raising.