Tropentag, October 7 - 9, 2008 in Hohenheim "Competition for Resources in a Changing World: New Drive for Rural Development"

Optimising Breeding Organisation for Small-Scale Pig Producers in Northwest Viet Nam

University of Hohenheim, Institute of Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, Germany

Abstract

In the last decades, the government of Viet Nam has been striving towards commercialisation of pig production, promoting the use of imported, high-yielding breeds. Main development incentives to intensify pig production focus on the Red River Delta and areas surrounding big cities in order to meet the demand of the growing urban population. Smallholders in the mountainous province Son La, however, face various problems to take part in this process and to intensify their production. High quality breeding animals are difficult to find and have to be imported from other provinces, as state breeding farms were dismantled having gone bankrupt, and private breeding farms providing local breeds are absent. Overcoming the constraints that smallholder pig breeding are facing is a prerequisite to the successful integration of this sector in market-oriented pig production.

Starting from the situation in Son La province, the present study attempts to explore the organisational feasibility of community-based breeding programmes and possibilities for their integration into provincial, regional and national structures. An institutional analysis is used to provide a descriptive assessment of institutions involved in pig breeding organisation in North Viet Nam and their interrelations. Information was collected from group discussions with smallscale producers and personal communication with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, departments and research institutes of the National Institute Animal Husbandry (NIAH), as well as other public institutions; in addition information was taken from documents, particularly legal documents.

Results indicate that links between public pig breeding institutions used to be strong, NIAH being the most important institution involved in pig breeding, while the link between smallholders and state institutions has been limited. Farmers would prefer a stronger support for their pig breeding by the state. Few village groups performed activities directly related to pig breeding. The degree of organisation of farmers in production cooperatives is low. In general, farmers attitude towards cooperatives are positive due to perceived advantages like risk sharing, labour sharing, better access to loans. The description of the actual breeding organisation will be complemented by a SWOT analysis to derive recommendations for alternative models of breeding organisation at village level.

Keywords: Breeding organisation, institutional analysis, pig breeding, smallscale pig production, SWOT, Viet Nam

Contact Address: Regina Rößler, University of Hohenheim, Animal Breeding and Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Garbenstr. 17, 70593 Stuttgart, Germany, e-mail: roessleruni-hohenheim.de