AADGN Country Reports 2013/14

COUNTRY REPORT - VIETNAM Dr Nguyen Ngoc Anh Vice-Director, Goat and Rabbit Research Centre, National Institute of Animal Sciences (NIAS), Xuan Khanh, Son Tay, Hanoi, Vietnam Email: [email protected]

1.

Current status of dairy goat farming

Vietnam is a monsoon-tropical country located in Southeast Asia. The total land area of Vietnam is 331,114 sq. km, with a population of 90 million of which 55 million are involved in agriculture related activities. Rice cultivation occupies about 77% of the total 11 million ha of the cultivated area. Other cultivated crops include maize, potato, cassava, groundnut, soybean, sugarcane, fruits, coffee, tea, rubber and coconut. Agricultural production contributes 25% of the national GDP, of which crop food production accounts for 77% and livestock production, mainly with pigs, cattle, chicken, ducks and goats accounts for 20%. Goats are raised all over the country in extensive free-ranging system with low productivity. Total goat population is about 1,300,000 heads of which 200,000 heads are dualpurpose or meat and milk. In recent years, more attention has been given to goat production and with the support of the government and international organizations; several programs were carried out with satisfactory impact to goat farming in Vietnam. It is cleared that goats are important to improve the income of the poor households in the hilly and mountainous areas and also to poverty reduction and hunger alleviation in Vietnam.

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1.1 Dairy goat population According to the National Statistic Department of Vietnam, the total goat population in 2006 was around 1,525,300 head with only 150,000 head of dairy goats of which 67.5% is found in the North and 32.5% in the South with the remaining in the Central. Although the population of goats declined to about 1288,700 in 2010, the population of dairy goats increased by 33% to 200,000 head. The increase is mainly in the dual purpose goat breeds. Table1. Livestock population (x 1000) of the recent years Species Pig Cattle and buffalo Poultry Goat (total) Dairy goat

2006 26.855 9.432 214,600 1.525 150

2007 2008 26.561 26.702 9.721 9.235 226,000 248,300 1.778 1.483 160 170

2009 27.628 8.989 280,200 1.375 180

2010 27.373 8.830 300,500 1.289 200

1.2 Breeds of dairy goats Local dairy goat breeds Bach Thao goat This breed is a dual-purpose local goat for meat and milk. This is the main dairy goat breed in Vietnam and located mainly in Ninh Thuan province (Central Vietnam). Because of increasing demand, Bach Thao goats are being introduced to many other provinces. The origin of Bach Thao goats which are black color with white spots and big and falling ears, is not clear, although some people believe that they may have originated from Europe a long time ago. The body weight is 75-80 kg and 40-45 kg, respectively for mature male and female. Milk yield is about 1.1-1.4 kg/ day with the lactation period of 148 to 150 days and producing 1.7-1.8 kids per year. This indigenous breed has been reported to perform well under improved management conditions.

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Male Bach Thao goat

Female Bach Thao goat

Photo 1 Bach Thao goats in Vietnam Imported dairy goat breeds Besides the local dual purpose Bach Thao goats (Photo 1), Vietnam imported several exotic dairy goat breeds including Saanen and Alpine from France by frozen semen and live goats in 2002. These breeds are used to upgrade the local Bach Thao to improve milk yield of the local breeds. In 1994 Vietnam also imported three dairy goat breeds; Jumnapari, Beetal and Barbari from India (Photo 2). These exotic breeds, mainly used as crossbreeding materials with local goats for the improvement of milk production, have high milk yield and adapted well in Vietnam conditions.

Alpine

Saanen

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Barbari

Beetal

Jumnapapri

Photo 2: Some of the dairy goat breeds imported to Vietnam to improve milk production of local goats Shami goat Shami goat originated from Greece has an average milk yield 3 liters/day and lactation length of 250 days. The semen of Shami goat was imported into Vietnam in 2013 for the purpose of improving milk yield of local breed. The GRRC (Goat and Rabbit Research Center) used the semen of this goat to cross with Bach Thao goat by artificial insemination. The result of artificial insemination produced 20 female and 25 male Shami-Bach Thao crossbreds. The body weights of crossbreeds were 2.8-3.8 kg at birth and 25-30 kg at 6 months and 40 kg at 9 months. The milk yield of Shami-Bach Thao crossbred goats is now under investigation. 1.3 Farm Size According to the National Statistic Department of Vietnam, the number of dairy goats was about 150,000 head in 2006. Since 2012, goat milk is well liked by many consumers and the number of dairy goats has increased considerably around 210,000 head (45% in the north, 35% in the South and 20 % in the centre).

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Table 2. Land area and distribution of dairy goats in different regions in Vietnam in 2012 Region North Centre South

2.

Land area sq. km 166.6 89.7 65.8

Goat population x 000 head % 90 45 40 20 70 35

Production systems

Goats in Vietnam are managed under intensive, semi-intensive and extensive systems. In the intensive system, animals are kept in confinement and feed are supplied entirely from outside. Ten days after kidding the kids are separated from their mothers and the does are milked twice daily. The kids are allowed to suckle after milking. The kids are weaned at three months of age. In the semi-intensive system, goats are grazed, and additional feed are given at night. This system is found suitable to the existing goat farms in Vietnam. In the extensive system, animal graze on available pasture without supplementation. This system is common in rural areas. The average herd size of dairy goats is about 5 to 20 head per household. There are some bigger farms in Binh Thuan province with up to a hundred head. In remote areas, goats are taken care by children or the older family members. The Goat and Rabbit Research Center (GRRC) belonging to the National Institute of Animal Sciences (NIAS), located in Hanoi, serves to coordinate the breeding program, national and international research cooperation projects for the country. In addition dairy goat production is also under the extension program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to help the small holders in the country.

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Photo 3: Semi-intensive (top) and extensive (bottom) systems practiced by dairy goat farmers in Vietnam

2.1 Housing and other infrastructure

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Photo 4: Housing system in the village level for raising dairy goats 2.2 Feeding and nutrition Three types of forages are commonly used depending on the production systems (Photo 5 and Photo 6): a) Extensive Grazing System: Feeds are mostly from native grass and tree leaves and mostly in mountainous and drier areas. New feed sources need to be developed for this system in order to improve biomass yield and forage quality.

Photo 5: Extensive, semi-extensive and intensive feeding systems b) Semi-intensive Feeding System: Goats mostly graze during the day and are housed at night when additional feed are offered. Many kinds of feed crops are planted including Flemingia, Leucaena, and Guinea grass, Panicum maximum, Brachiaria ruziziensis and locally available Elephant grass, Banana sterms and leaves, Paper mulberry (Brousonetia papyrifera), Jackfruit leaves.

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c) Intensive Feeding System: Goats in this system are mostly confined in pens and forage offered as in a cut- and carry system.

Photo 6: Feed resources for dairy goats 2.3 Health management The major diseases reported are internal parasites, ecthymatosis, diarrhea and pneumonia. The important and dangerous infectious diseases with high mortality (Pasteurellosis, Enterarotoxaemia) are effectively controlled by vaccination. The other infectious diseases which spread rapidly (Ecthymatosis, Keratoconjunctivitis) are treated effectively with local medicines. After appropriate treatments 80-90% of infected animals are normally recovered. Goats are mainly kept in extensive and semi-intensive systems in which the goats are housed in low cost housing or in reasonably sized yards enclosed by wooden fences at night. The cages are often made with bamboo. The incidences of under-nutrition, inbreeding and poor hygiene are still widespread in dairy goats system at the village level and there is little attempt by farmers to control internal parasites.

3.

Goat milk production statistics

There is a big demand for goat milk, especially in the city because goat milk is mainly given to young children and old people as well as for making cosmetic products. Although the dairy goat industry in Vietnam is still facing many problems, such as farmers lacking in the proper dairy goat management technology, lack of proper milk collection and processing centers and disease challenges, with the appropriate governmental support 118

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and several other international programs, we expect a rapid expansion of dairy goat production in Vietnam in the near future. 3.1 National milk production statistics Generally, goat milk is not usually consumed by Vietnamese people, because it is not available in the market. The living standard of people has improved in recent years therefore, demand for goat milk and its products has increased rapidly. Many farmers are taking this opportunity to keep dairy goats therefore the population of dairy goats in Vietnam has been increased lately, from 150,000 head in 2005, to 210,000 head in 2012 (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Number of dairy goats in Vietnam from 2006 to 2012 3.2 Consumer preference Consumers prefer fresh goat milk, yoghurt and cheese. In Vietnam, there is not enough goat milk to supply to the increasing market demand. 3.3 Price of goat milk Due to the high demand, price of goat milk is on the rise. Comparing to the price of cow milk, price of goat milk in 2012 was twice higher than cow milk (30,000VND and 18,000 VND per liter for goat milk and cow milk, respectively) (Figure 2). 119

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Figure 2: Goat population and milk goat price in Vietnam from 2006 - 2012

4.

Challenges and solutions to enhance dairy goats farming

4.1 Challenges Some appropriate technologies for improving dairy goat production have been developed in the past several years. These technologies are region specific and need to be modified and expanded to meet the needs of all regions of Vietnam, particularly the central and southern Vietnam. The traditional goat production in Vietnam is mainly by extensive system using native plants as feeds and veterinary remedies. Thus the incidence of under- nutrition, inbreeding and poor hygiene including internal parasites is widespread in this village production system. Therefore goats kept under this system have low productivity including low reproductive performance and growth rates and high mortality. Lack of husbandry experience and knowledge, availability of credit facility, technical information and productive animals are some constraints which are severely affecting daily goat production in the rural in the hilly and mountainous regions in Vietnam.

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4.2 Solutions to enhance dairy goat farming Breed solution: a) Use Bach Thao goat bucks for crossing with Co goats to create F1 and F2 (50 or 75%) to improve their productivity for both meat and milk. This method could be applied widely across the whole country. b) Use selected Saanen and/or Alpine bucks for crossing with Bach Thao and Bach Thao-Co or Jumnapari-Co does to create Saane/Alpine-Bach Thao, Saanen/Alpine-Bach Thao-Co and Saanen/Alpine-Jumnapari crosses for high milk production and suitable for the different regions of Vietnam. Feeds and feeding system solution: a) Identify useful local feed resources in each integrated livestock farming system. b) Processing and preservation of local feed resources to provide sufficient year round nutritional supply for the dairy goats. Other solutions: a) Control diseases and intestinal parasites by developing appropriate strategies (e.g., vaccination, suitable housing, etc.) to control the major diseases of dairy goats. b) Marketing and processing facilities to ensure quality goat milk and products to allow them to be sold at profitable price. c) Train and disseminate information on new technologies to improve productivity and provide appropriate demonstration model farms for the farmers to learn. d) Develop further collaborations with international and regional agencies and organizations, particularly in Southeast Asia countries to increase adoption of relevant technologies to improve dairy goat production in Vietnamese.

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