October 7, 2008
Vietnam's farmers taking up dairy farming and rearing of unconventional livestock
Farmers in outlying districts of the nation's commerical hub Ho Chi Minh City are shifting to unusual but higher paying vocations, according to Vietnam News.
Unlike the typical peasant who leaves the countryside to seek a better life working in factories in urban areas, some farmers in the outlying districts of the city are creating a niche for themselves breeding traditional and other non-traditional livestock.
For example, the booming dairy industry has not only drawn rice farmers to switch to dairy farming, but also spawned supporting industries such as grass cultivation and harvesting, the paper reported.
Some districts are entirely devoted to dairy farming.
Grass cultivation is particularly attractive to farmers as turnover from growing grass is now four or five times higher than growing rice.
Farmers in other districts are also breeding unusual livestock from crocodiles to weasels, porcupines, wild boars, mountainous lizards and geckos. In fact, frog and earthworm farming have made millionaires of former rice farmers, local media reported.
