(VOVworld) – Farmers in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi district have focused on raising dairy cows as part of a national new rural development program. VOV’s Thanh Trung reports…..

With meadows vast enough for 60,000 milk cows, Cu Chi district has become Ho Chi Minh’s dairy cow center. Dairy cow farms of up to 200 cows each are mushrooming in the district. Tan Thanh Dong commune now has the biggest cow herd in the region - 20,000 cows. The dairy business has improved living conditions for 16,000 local families directly involved in raising cows while generating jobs and stable incomes for others involved in the industry, such as farmers who grow grass for the cows. Hundreds of families in the commune earn thousands of USD from their farms annually.

In addition to Tan Thanh Dong, dairy cows are also raised in the communes of An Phu, An Nhon Tay, Pham Van Coi, Tan Thanh Tay, and Phuoc Vinh An to produce milk for big dairy product companies like Vinamilk, Dutchlady, and Friesland Campina. With a liter of milk selling for 0.75 USD, a herd of 10 cows can generate 30,000 USD in profit annually for their owner. But farmers have to spend a significant amount of money on buying breeding cows and animal feed, constructing cow sheds, and growing grass. They also have to invest in a waste treatment system, a milking machine and other advanced technology needed for their farms. Realizing this fact, Ho Chi Minh City offers dairy farmers preferential loans. Nguyen Hung Dung resides in hamlet 3A, Tan Thanh Dong commune: "Thanks to a recent decision by the municipal People’s Committee to support dairy cow farmers, we were able to borrow 25,000 USD to invest in our farm. With the money, we have bought good breeding cows and expanded our production."

In addition to capital assistance, the municipal authorities have organized classes to teach local farmers the latest husbandry technologies and methods. Truong Van Noi, a dairy farmer in Tan Thanh Dong commune, said: "It’s not easy to run a dairy farm, especially when the cows get sick and produce contaminated milk. We no longer have to worry about that thanks to techniques provided by the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development."

Raising dairy cows earns farmers 7500 USD per hectare, 5 times as much as rice cultivation. Nguyen Hoai Phu, Deputy Chairman of the Cu Chi District People’s Committee, said the district plans to develop the local dairy industry with priority given to improving productivity and product quality: "There used to be 18,000 hectares of rice cultivation with very low productivity. So we decided to shift to raising dairy cows. A cow can produce up to 6 tons of milk in a period, much higher than the 3.5 tons of milk per period in the past. We have focused on improving productivity and milk quality by using high-yield breeding cows and modern production technologies rather than simply expanding our herds."

Dairy cows are helping Cu Chi farmers escape poverty and become well-off.