A livestock breeding project to economically empower ethnic minority women in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has proved effective, helping hundreds of households in the locality escape from poverty.

Funded by Oxfam – a non-governmental organisation from the United Kingdom - the breeding project developed a stock of 150 breeding pigs into 430 pigs with healthy weights and good resistance to diseases.

Carried out in Muong Khuong district from October 2012, the project attracted the participation of 366 ethnic minority women in 14 groups. It delivered 150 female and male pigs to the groups to assist poor households in developing their families’ economy.

When a sow has new-born pigs, the households will give back a healthy piglet to their group to give to other people in the group.

Apart from being provided with pigs, group members also took part in training courses to study methods of effective cattle-breeding as well as ways to use veterinary medicine and manage home economics.

According to Ninh Quy Tao, Deputy Director of the provincial agriculture encouragement centre, by 2015, the project is expected to help more than 1,000 women, mostly from the H’Mong, Dao, Nung and Day groups in Bat Xat and Muong Khuong districts improve household incomes.

Through capacity building for ethnic minority women in market-oriented production and market negotiation skills, the project is also expected to create resources that will strongly support ethnic women to claim an equal status with the men in their community.-VNA