Tripartite linkage gives livestock farmers a boost
HA NOI (VNS)— Tripartite links between livestock farmers, feed suppliers and banks were expected to help Viet Nam's livestock sector solve long-lasting problems such as increased input costs, unstable prices and outlet for their products, experts said.
The Vietnamese livestock sector, mostly consisting of small-scale household farming, outdated techniques and a shortage of investment for farming activities, has been experiencing a difficult time as farmers struggle to access loans and attempt to conform to environmental protection regulations.
A farmer named Minh, who raised pigs for over 10 years in the southern province of Tay Ninh's Ninh Son Commune, told Tin tuc (News) newspaper that her family had stopped raising pigs and started to grow vegetables.
"I am always worried because raising pigs is risky, with diseases, low demand and poor quality animal feed," Minh said.
In many cases, wholesalers control prices, posing more uncertainty for farmers.
Deputy head of the Livestock Production Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Dang Thanh Son said that financial shortages were a major problem for Vietnamese livestock farms, even modern facilities, because it was difficult for credit institutions to accept pigs as collateral.
Son mentioned a co-operative programme in southern Dong Nai Province, in which co-operation between farmers, feed suppliers and banks had been tightened.
Accordingly, the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development offered farmers loans with preferential interest rates, and feed producers sold their products directly without any middlemen and allowed farmers to defer payments.
Deputy minister Luong Le Phuong said that closer co-operation would bring many benefits.
The market for livestock products would be ensured as food processing companies committed to buy the goods, and food processors could have a stable supply and control the quality of input products. Feed producers would also have a stable market.
"Drastic measures are needed to boost co-operation," he said.
A farmer named Dung in Dong Nai Province's Thong Nhat District said that after joining the programme, his loans had been disbursed on time, and repayments were flexible.
By buying feed directly from companies which had joined the programme, my profits increased from 5-7 per cent, he said.
Director of Binh Minh Livestock Company Ltd Duong Anh Tuan said that his company was trying to build tighter connections with its distributors and animal feed providers.
By doing so, most of his company's products are now sold in supermarkets, and he can also defer payments for feed suppliers.
He said that the company and his partners would co-operate to find a feed formula which was more suitable for local pigs and weather conditions. — VNS