Smallholder pigs in northern Vietnam
Smallholder pig development in Vietnam is one of the focus value chains of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish. Planned intervention areas include animal health, feeds and feeding, breeds and genetics, food safety, the environment and other cross-cutting areas such as policies, markets and gender. Promising opportunities exist for the value chain to make a positive contribution to the Vietnam meat industry with pork being the dominant meat consumed in Vietnam and smallholder pig producers accounting for at least 80% of pig production,
A recent study by ILRI scientist Lucy Lapar and colleagues on ‘smallholder competitiveness’ offers insights into household pig production systems in Vietnam. It said that increased attention should be given to domestically produced feeds (increase their supply; reduce their costs; better utilize existing supplies) for pigs.
“Policies that will enhance productivity across all producer types will be preferable, rather than a targeted policy directive focusing on developing large, industrial farms. Limitations in land and household labor may also limit potential for expanding scale, thereby further supporting the case for sustaining smallholder competitiveness.”
According to the report, the small-scale pig sector may grow more slowly than large-scale, but it will not decline. The modern large-scale sector is too small to threaten traditional small-scale sector for at least 10 years.
“For as long as smallholders remain competitive in supplying pork being demanded by Vietnamese consumers, there is great potential for them to sustain their significant share in the pork market as projected.”
This work has attracted recent attention from the media in Vietnam: read a recent report in the Saigon Times.
Access the ILRI report: Smallholder competitiveness: Insights from pig production systems in Vietnam
For more information on the value chain contact Lucy Lapar (l.lapar (at) cgiar.org)
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish 