Recording the price of pigs in Dong Nai province, from 41 thousand VND/kg on April 8, it has now increased. Households raising clean pigs, pigs with VietGAHP certification, are getting more attention from the market, pigs that have not been sold but have been purchased by businesses at the barn with deposits...

Image from ANOVA FARM farm

We went to Thong Nhat district, one of the localities with the largest pig herd in Dong Nai province with over 380 thousand pigs, including 30 cooperative groups raising clean pigs according to VietGAHP process with nearly 400 households, of which 23 cooperative groups have been granted certificates.

Clean pigs are easy to sell

Mr. Vu Viet De, Head of GAHP 1 Cooperative Group in Gia Tan 2 Commune, said that during the African swine fever outbreak in the northern provinces, pig farmers with "clean" certificates could still sell their pigs, although the price had decreased according to the general market level.

According to Mr. De, pig farmers participating in the clean pig farming chain will survive well because they develop together in a more professional direction. Here, VietGAHP Cooperatives will be a bridge for small-scale pig farmers to easily access new techniques and technologies in pig farming as well as link with businesses in the consumption stage.

Previously, when the market price of pigs was low, there were still some difficulties and obstacles such as: the price of pigs with VietGAHP certificates was not high; the purchasing company did not buy bad pigs, causing disadvantages for pig farmers.
On the contrary, when pigs were in an epidemic, consumers paid attention to clean pigs, leading to a quite favorable consumption market. However, at this time, the total herd of pigs in the population is insignificant because farmers are selling them early and at a loss due to fear of an outbreak.

Mr. Nguyen Van The, a member of THT Gahp 1, is raising nearly 100 sows, in addition to 300 pigs for meat and 500 piglets (rounded - PV). He said that his farm has participated in the VietGAHP project since 2017. Two years ago, the price of pigs dropped, so both clean and unclean farmers suffered huge losses. Even though the cost of clean pigs is higher because they have to declare, disinfect and treat the barn, the food must have a clear origin, and be fully vaccinated... "Recently, a person from Thy Tho Company who has a purchasing contract came to my farm to pay a deposit in advance so that in a few days they can catch about 70 - 80 pigs, calculated according to the price at each time," said Mr. The.

Changing mindset

According to Mr. La Van Hung (Vice Chairman of Gia Tan 2 Commune People's Committee), the locality currently has 9 effective clean pig farming cooperatives. Thanks to the support of the local Lifsap project and the response of livestock households in implementing the VietGAHP process well, demonstrated through organizing training sessions and investing in supporting livestock equipment for people, up to now, 6 cooperatives have been certified. These cooperatives have signed contracts to sell clean pigs to Anh Hoang Thy Company and Thy Tho Company, so they are not afraid of being forced to lower prices.

"We regularly develop plans to open training courses to improve management capacity for cooperative leaders and cooperative directors. In addition, we also train and educate staff on the environmental impact of livestock production and waste management. Currently, the commune has a centralized slaughterhouse according to the VietGAHP process with a capacity of about 200 pigs/day and night", Mr. Hung shared.

According to our research, currently a 20kg pig costs about 2.1 - 2.3 million VND. For small-scale farmers who have to buy piglets to raise, after deducting all costs and losses, even if the price of live pigs is over 45,000 VND/kg, there is not much profit left, and it is difficult to compete with large farms with much lower raising costs.

However, in reality, many farming households still have to stick with the profession because this is the main source of income for the whole family. Because most farmers are middle-aged, it is difficult to switch to another profession.

Therefore, small-scale farmers are forced to change their thinking, work hard to learn new experiences and techniques to survive the fierce competition of the market. Accordingly, when entering the clean farming chain, signing a contract with a business with a stable output, which is the way out for household farming, it will no longer be fragmented as before...

Nông nghiệp Việt Nam