Stating at a hi-tech application forum hosted by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Nhan said that at present agriculture’s added value is less than VND100 million (US$4,400) a hectare a year.
Therefore HCMC should clearly determine its study ability as well as science and technology potentials to develop into a domestic animal breed center of the southern region.
Consumers’ demand is the motive power for scientists to study and provide seedlings. A market forecast division should be established for them to do that.
Mr. Nhan said that farmers and scientists are unclear about market demand. Therefore the state should do connectivity to bring together farmers, businesses and scientists. HCMC must hold at least 30 percent of the southern market share to become a breed supply center of the region.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, HCMC has 28 businesses and cooperatives producing and trading breeds. Of these, there are many pig and dairy cow farms applying hi-technology in production.
There are seven businesses trading dairy cow semen imported from the US, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel and New Zealand.
The city has put into operation dairy demonstration and experimental farm (DDEF) since 2013. The farm has successfully applied new technologies such as dairy cow herb management system, total mixed ration (TMR) and automatic cooling system; which have helped increase daily milk yield to 24.5 kilograms a cow, improve breeding reproductive and reduce insemination age by 56 days and insemination time by 24 days.
DDEF has been a training place, transferring hi-tech dairy cow farming technology to breeders in HCMC and other provinces. Pig lings are mainly supplied by Saigon Agriculture Incorporation (Sagri) and Tien Phong Pig Farming Cooperative with the total sow herb of over 65,000.
Annually HCMC provides over one million pig lings and over one million doses of pig semen for the city and southern market. In addition, the city also provides 500 million fry fish and 130 million ornamental fish, create transgenic Japanese rice fish (Oryzias curvinotus) by cross-breeding.
Many scientists said that HCMC should quickly establish associations of occupation to attend in genetic evaluation system like Canada’s way of doing.
Concluding the forum, deputy chairman of the city People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem affirmed that HCMC always listen to opinions from farmers and scientists to continue improving policies, building value chains and connecting with provinces and institutions to gradually make HCMC the domestic animal breed center of the region.
