Dairy farmers need supportive policies

HCM CITY (VNS)— Dairy farming may have helped improve incomes for many farmers but needs to become more efficient to grow sustainably, experts have said. Ho Mong Hai, deputy head of the Animal Husbandry Department’s HCM City office, said as living standards go up, there is increasing demand for milk and dairy products. “But milk output meets only about 30 per cent of the domestic demand,” he told Viet Nam News, adding that ” the country imports large quantities of milk and dairy products.” Meanwhile, the cow-breeding industry is facing challenges that threaten its sustainable development, he said. They include shortage of experience among farmers, lack of good animal strains, insufficient land for raising cattle and foraging, and poor veterinary services, he said. Luu Van Tan, head of Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina Viet Nam’s Dairy Farming Development Department, said another problem is that more than 90 per cent of dairy farms are of small scale, which results in low productivity and quality and high costs. FrieslandCampina has a US$13 million programme since 1995 under which it established a milk purchase system by signing contracts with farmers, provided them regular technical support and training in dairy farming, and set up a quality control system for milk. To encourage farmers to pay attention to milk quality, the company always bases its purchase price on quality, Tan said. Recently the programme helped small farmers form small groups to reduce costs and since higher volumes fetched higher prices, he said. Tran Van Dat of… [Read full story]