The deputy PM came up with above suggestion when concluding a working session on June 29 with Bac Ninh provincial authorities on solutions to develop livestock in the northern locality.
According to the Bac Ninh provincial People's Committee, the livestock sector in the province has developed fairly in terms of productivity and product quality, with new scientific and technical advances applied in production as well as production shifted positively from small-scale household farming to concentrated industrial farm models and commodity production.
In 2016, the total number of cows and buffaloes in the province was 37,000, as well as 420,000 pigs and 4.7 million poultry. The total production of live-weight meat was 93,000 tonnes. Livestock production value reached over VND3.4 trillion (US$149.6 million). Compared to the entire agricultural sector, the livestock sector accounts for 42%.
Up until now, there have been about 300 farms and 13 livestock enterprises. The share of production value from husbandry farms accounts for 38.8% of the province’s total production value, up 14% over the 2006-2010 period.
At present, there are 42 concentrated breeding farms applying high technology in production, of which six enterprises have been certified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) as hi-tech businesses.
To develop local the livestock sector in a sustainable way, Bac Ninh has mapped out a policy to build a large-scale slaughterhouse with modern technologies eligible for export.
At the meeting, DABACO Vietnam JSC, a local business, introduced its plan of building an industrial pig abattoir. The plant has an investment of about VND700 billion, with a capacity to process 250 pigs per hour, a cooling system with a capacity of 2,200 pigs, and a frozen storage system reaching 5,000 tonnes.
Speaking at the meeting, MARD Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong highly appreciated solutions proposed by Bac Ninh to promote the development of local animal husbandry. According to the minister, Bac Ninh has great advantages in terms of raw materials, animal husbandry level and consuming markets.
To promote its advantages, Minister Cuong suggested the province synchronously invest in plants and equipment associated with processing, from which diversifying livestock products. More importantly, Bac Ninh needs production adjustment solutions for stable material areas serving industrial-scale slaughter plants. The minister also affirmed that the MARD will fiercely join Bac Ninh in science and technology application and market promotion.
Deputy PM Dung acknowledged the efforts made by local leaders and the participation of the people of Bac Ninh in socio-economic development in general and agricultural production in particular, including proposed solutions to remove difficulties for farmers.
According to him, difficulties facing the livestock sector over the past time are mainly due to supply exceeding demand, but more specifically due to low product quality and such products have not reached markets of high demand, along with high costs, especially feed cost. Ensuring hygiene and safety and limitations in preservation and processing also negatively affect the livestock sector.
Against these restrictions, there is no other way but to reduce costs and increase the value of livestock products. "Livestock-related planning should be reviewed, including a network of feed processing facilities, livestock breeding facilities, abattoirs, and in-depth processing plants; while linking planning with the market’s needs, with production capacity, and products’ competitiveness, as well as putting an end to spontaneous production, " Deputy PM Dung affirmed.
He also stressed the important role of enterprises and cooperatives in production organisation and processing to develop the livestock sector towards a commodity scale. Farmers will contribute capital and labour and in turn benefit from their contribution, he added.
Along with that, it is necessary to quickly invest in concentrated and modern processing establishments; expand the market to find the output for Vietnamese livestock products; and continue to improve the legal system to encourage businesses to invest in the livestock sector, especially in processing facilities.
The government official also assigned the MARD to soon complete planning for concentrated and industrial-scale slaughtering and processing facilities. The agriculture ministry was also urged to closely coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to manage food hygiene and safety in animal husbandry, processing and export.
Regarding DABACO’s plan, the deputy PM encouraged enterprises to continue studying the market to create diversified products and improve competitiveness. They also need to study and expand investment to create a complete value chain from feed, breeding, slaughtering, processing to preservation.
