Dairy farming has been considered a strength of Soc Trang province for many years. The model has contributed significantly to the lives of many households, especially poor households and Khmer ethnic minorities, to increase their income and improve their economic life. This is also considered an effective "fishing rod" to help Soc Trang people stay in their hometown, limiting migration to big cities to make a living.

Mr. Son Hang in Tra Bet hamlet, Tham Don commune, My Xuyen district said that he started raising dairy cows in 2009 with only 1 cow at first. In 2015, he joined the provincial dairy farming project. Thanks to technical guidance, support for breeding animals, grass seeds, corn seeds, and capital for building barns, his family quickly developed the cow farming profession.

Thanks to dairy farming, many families in Soc Trang have improved their lives

Up to now, his family has a total of 18 dairy cows, of which 6 are milking, with an average of 100kg of milk per day. Mr. Hang calculated that after deducting expenses, he currently earns a profit of over 6 million VND per week. This is also the main source of income for his family.

“If I had the capital and capacity, I would expand my farming. The most important thing in raising cows is to choose a good breed of cow, build a well-ventilated barn, prevent diseases well, and provide enough food and nutritious grass so that the cows will produce milk that meets the standards of the purchasing unit, Vinamilk,” said Mr. Hang.

Mr. Thach Minh Duong in Tam Loc hamlet, Dai Tam commune, My Xuyen district shared that his family's economy was relatively difficult in the past, but in 2012, when he started raising dairy cows, his life began to improve and become more stable. From the initial 2 dairy cows, the family has now grown to more than 10 dairy cows. Compared to the income from raising dairy cows, it is more effective than growing crops and rice.

Many families in Soc Trang have escaped poverty thanks to raising dairy cows

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Soc Trang province, from the foundation of raising dairy cows of the small-scale Evergrowth Agricultural Cooperative, in 2013 the province began implementing the Dairy Cow Development Project. The program quickly brought about positive results, such as contributing to the transformation of livestock breed structure and farming methods from small-scale to concentrated farming, gradually forming a dairy farming profession in the province, joining hands to implement "Restructuring the agricultural sector towards increasing added value and sustainable development".

In addition, dairy farmers are also equipped with knowledge, experience in raising cows and the trend of developing dairy cows in the direction of increasing scale, forming households and farms.

Mr. Tang Thanh Chi, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of My Xuyen district, said that in order for the local dairy cow development project to be effective, in the past time, the district has supported nearly 3,300 doses of insemination, supported 160 reserve dairy cows for 91 households and lent capital to buy 24 cows for 12 households.

In addition, the district also trained 20 artificial insemination technicians, trained farmers in cow raising techniques, and visited and studied effective dairy cow raising models. In addition, it has supported the construction of over 50 advanced dairy cow raising models, such as grass planting, composting, straw composting, silage, etc., resulting in models that bring high economic efficiency.

Conference summarizing the Dairy Cow Farming Project in Soc Trang

By the end of 2020, the total dairy cow herd in Soc Trang province had grown to more than 10,000 heads, an increase of more than 5,300 heads compared to 2013. The dairy cow herd is concentrated in 5 districts and cities including Tran De, My Tu, My Xuyen, Chau Thanh, and Soc Trang city. From this number of dairy cows, the annual milk output reaches 12,530 tons. Up to now, the market for fresh milk products in Soc Trang is quite large, purchased and processed by businesses to supply nationwide. This is the driving factor for the development of dairy farming in the coming years.

In addition, to sustainably raise dairy cows, Soc Trang has also developed a grassland area of 1,000 hectares so that people can increase green roughage for dairy cows. The model also creates jobs for over 5,000 workers in rural areas, in the Khmer ethnic minority areas, helping farmers earn more income; contributing to sustainable poverty reduction and increasing the value of agricultural production.

Mr. Vuong Quoc Nam, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Soc Trang province, emphasized that in the coming time, the province will continue to maintain and further develop beef and dairy cattle breeding projects for people in localities with favorable conditions; in which, directing the agricultural sector to pay attention to and focus on effective breeding models; at the same time, have appropriate policies for poor and near-poor households, ethnic minorities, cooperatives, etc.

"The province pays attention to policies for poor and near-poor households, and households with difficulties but with materials, production conditions and production aspirations. This policy is suitable for the subjects in the ethnic minority areas of the province, in line with the policy of hunger eradication, poverty reduction and economic development right in the locality", Mr. Nam clearly stated.

In addition, in order for the project to develop cattle farming in general and dairy cows in particular to continue to achieve high economic efficiency, the Department of Agriculture of Soc Trang province also focuses on improving the quality of breeds, maintaining and expanding advanced livestock models to ensure biosafety.

In addition, improving the professional capacity of technical staff, production capacity and linkage for cattle farming households, improving the quality of feed sources and mechanization in livestock farming, supporting farmers to access capital as well as increasing the scale of livestock farming in households... are the goals of Soc Trang province in the coming time./.

According to VOV.vn