Restocking livestock to ensure disease safety

Storm No. 3 has caused heavy damage to Quang Ninh province as well as many northern provinces and cities. In particular, the agricultural sector in general and livestock in particular have also been greatly affected, causing the death and washing away of many livestock and poultry, making the livelihoods of farmers difficult. Immediately after the storm, with great efforts and efforts, livestock households have re-organized their herds, however, if they do not follow the correct livestock farming procedures, they can easily face the risk of increased disease in livestock and poultry.

Typhoon Yagi with its strong intensity and the rains that followed the storm caused heavy damage to the agricultural sector of Quang Ninh , including more than 500,000 livestock and poultry killed or swept away, and over 7,500 hectares of rice flooded...

Faced with the damage to the agricultural sector, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issued Official Dispatch No. 108/CD-TTg dated October 18, 2024 on promoting the recovery of agricultural production after storm No. 3, requesting ministries, branches and localities to urgently support people and production and business establishments to quickly restore agricultural, forestry, fishery and livestock production activities damaged by storms and floods. The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the provinces that have just been hit by natural disasters to accelerate the recovery of agricultural production, stabilize people's lives, and contribute to completing the growth target of the agricultural sector in the last months of 2024 and 2025; promote cooperation and connection between localities, production establishments, suppliers of seeds, feed, environmental treatment products, equipment and input materials for agricultural production, and support people to restore production and stabilize their lives.

Livestock farmers in the province are actively restocking their livestock. — Livestock farmers in the province are actively restocking their livestock after storm No. 3.

Implementing the direction of the Prime Minister, the Northern localities, including Quang Ninh province, have requested relevant departments, branches, sectors and localities to actively support people to restore agricultural production, livestock, aquaculture, forestry products, etc. Immediately after the storm, farmers in localities in Quang Ninh province focused on restocking livestock and poultry to ensure food supply for the upcoming Lunar New Year 2025. However, this is the transitional season, and it is very easy for diseases to break out in livestock and poultry, so the professional agency recommends that farmers need to restock according to the principle of ensuring disease safety.

According to the Department of Animal Health (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the localities affected by storm No. 3 causing floods are the places where African swine fever is at risk of breaking out. In 26 localities affected by storm No. 3, there are 731 outbreaks with the number of sick pigs being nearly 53,500, the number of dead and culled pigs being 53,571. Along with that, in these localities there are also 21 outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, 21 outbreaks of lumpy skin disease, 2 outbreaks of avian influenza, 15 outbreaks of rabies... with thousands of livestock and poultry having to be culled.

Therefore, in localities affected by storm No. 3, the agricultural sector must regularly monitor and supervise to promptly detect pathogens or epidemics, and absolutely avoid the indiscriminate dumping of dead livestock, poultry or aquatic products, polluting the environment and causing widespread epidemics. Along with that, the re-herding of livestock and poultry must strictly follow safe farming processes, clean barns, import quality livestock breeds of clear origin, and fully vaccinate to ensure good growth of livestock and poultry.

At this time, many livestock households in Quang Ninh province are focusing on livestock and poultry. However, it is currently the autumn-winter transition season, the weather and temperature are changing erratically, so it is easy for dangerous diseases such as avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, blue-ear pigs, etc. to arise. Therefore, livestock farmers are in dire need of guidance on the process of ensuring hygiene in barns, livestock environments, and providing sources of breeds to ensure disease prevention for livestock and poultry from the agricultural, livestock, and veterinary sectors. Thereby, ensuring that farmers can carry out short-term livestock farming cycles well to serve the Lunar New Year market in 2025.

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