July 14, 2010

 

Vietnamese farmers get wary of pig raising

 
Vietnamese breeders in the Hai Duong province were now reluctant to raise pigs after the two-month blue-ear outbreak, said the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's deputy director, Nguyen Van Tinh.

 

About 600,000 pigs survived the epidemic, of which more than 100,000 are breeding sows, according to department statistics. The remaining 500,000 porkers were sold to avoid the disease, leaving many pig pens in the province currently empty.

 

A farmer in Van To Commune in Tu Ky District said his farm had 50 breeding sows and 450 porkers, but he had to cull most of them to avoid them being affected by the recent epidemic.

 

"Now I want to raise pigs again, but I not only lack capital, I'm also worried the disease is not under controll, so I must wait for a few more months to resume business," said Bui Van Nhien.

 

Nguyen Van Thuan, a farmer in Lac Long Commune in Kinh Mon District, used to raise nearly 100 pigs at a time. When the epidemic broke out, he sold his herd and left the pens empty. He said that pig-feed costs were high - VND8,500 (US$0.44) per kilogramme - whereas pork prices had dropped to only VND22,000 (US$1.15) per kilogramme "so I cannot be venturesome." He also said he would continue breeding in a few months' time.

 
On July 1, the provincial Veterinary Department checked sanitation in Thai Hoa and Nhan Quyen communes, which were at the centre of the epidemic, to be sure conditions are healthy for raising pigs again. The inspection showed that local residents had cleaned up pig-raising areas well..

 

Dam Dinh Hue, a pig breeder in Binh Minh Commune in Binh Giang District, said he received 150 pigs from a reliable farm in Binh Xuyen Commune. "I will get 50 more to quickly continue breeding," he said.

 

Another farmer, Bui Huy Hanh who lives in Tai Son Commune in Tu Ky District, said his disease-control methods were thorough, so the epidemic did not strike his farm. "I was ready to continue raising pigs more than a month ago," he said.

 

"The worrying factor is that breeding quality has dropped because many farmers let pigs breed indiscriminately with each other. Farmers should receive healthy, vaccinated breeders with clear origin and quarantine certificates," Tinh said.

 

Hai Duong was the first province to be hit by and to control the blue-ear disease. Nine districts with a total of 65 communes in the province were hit by the disease. More than 9,800 pigs were identified with blue ear, of which 2,265 were cured and 7,391 culled.

 

According to provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development statistics, the epidemic caused a loss of more than VND20 billion (US$1.04 million) for the province.