A dairy cattle farm (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Dozens of communes across Hanoi designated to develop livestock farming over the last five years have proved to be a stepping stone to the growth of the capital city’s animal husbandry.
The designation is under a programme on expanding large-scale livestock farming since 2011.
Hanoi is now home to 19 communes specialising in raising beef cattle with nearly 27,000 head, accounting for 21 percent of the total beef cattle in the city. More than 2,000 of the cattle are kept at 105 large-scale farms.
Local farmers’ income has increased by over 60 billion VND (2.69 million USD) a year thanks to the sale of beef and breeding cattle.
About 12,500 head of dairy cattle, or 82 percent of the total, are being raised in 15 designated communes. They produce about 98 tonnes of milk each day, accounting for 88 percent of the milk output in Hanoi.
The number of dairy cows has risen by some 4,000 and their milk productivity was up 29 tonnes per day from 2011. Farmers have benefited from an additional 150 billion VND each year as a result of dairy cattle farming.
Large pig farms have also developed in a more environmentally friendly manner. About 890 such farms are raising 1.4 million pigs.
Meanwhile, the encouraged use of organic feed has been welcomed by the market. One kilogramme of organic pork costs 3,000 – 5,000 VND higher than that of ordinary pork. Hence, the income from each pig is augmented by 300,000 – 500,000 VND (13.4 – 22.4 USD).
Regarding poultry, more than 21 million animals are being farmed city-wide, including over 7 million chickens raised in 29 designated communes. Hanoi is accommodating 2,380 large-sized fowl farms, 1,410 of them specialise in raising chickens.
The expansion of poultry farming has also helped revive local specialised species known for their meat quality, such as the chicken species in Soc Son and Ba Vi districts or the duck species in Van Dinh township.-VNA
