July 31, 2008
Vietnam takes measures to expand feed raw material sources
Vietnam''s Livestock Breeding Department has made plans to reduce the US$1 billion the country spends on imported feed raw ingredients by finding alternative material resources.
Livestock production costs more in Vietnam as the raw ingredients need to imported, Hoang Kim Giao, the head of the Livestock Breeding Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told Vietnam News Agency.
Under a new plan, the department will build up intensive farming areas of corn, soy and even grass and make better use of agricultural by-products for materials, says Giao.
New strains of corn should raise the productivity to seven tonnes per ha from the present four tonnes, says Giao.
This will ensure the provision of 11.5 millions tonnes of corn per year, 1.2 million tonnes more than current demand, said La Van Kinh, Deputy Director of Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
Vietnam''s feed processing industrycurrently only provides 261,000 tonnes of feed, just 8 percent of domestic demand of 3.3 million tonnes.
Low soy prices in Vietnam have given farmers few incentives to plant the crop. However, the Cultivation Department will now enter into contractual agreements with soy farmers to ensure viable prices.
The Department is aware that it has to increase the grass area from the current 54,000 ha to the 450,000 ha of grass that is needed, says Tran The Duong, Deputy Head of the Livestock Breeding Department.
Better use of waste agricultural products such as straw, trunks of corn and peanut could also lessen the dependence on export material market, says Doan Duc Vu, the head of Livestock Breeding Division of Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
These agricultural waste products can be fermented and then added with salt, cassava or corn flour to become animal feed, said Vu.
The Academy''s research shows that every six kilogrammes of corn or peanut will be equivalent to one kilogramme of mixed bran.
Vietnam intends to expand its animal breeding industry to account for 42 percent of overall agricultural production instead of the current 24 percent now.