Currently, farmers in Da Nang are busy growing vegetables and actively restocking livestock and poultry in order to proactively supply and meet the increasing people's consumption needs duirng the forthcoming Lunar New Year 2024.

Farmers are busy taking care of vegetables and end-of-year crops.

Production and restocking according to market needs

Ke Son chickens raised in backyard by the Hoa Phong 1 Agricultural Production Service Cooperative in Hoa Phong Commune, Hoa Vang District, is one of the city’s OCOP products.

The cooperative is expected to supply about 3,000 chickens to the market for the upcoming Tet holiday.

According to Mr. Nguyen Si, Director of the Hoa Phong 1 Agricultural Production Service Cooperative, the livestock situation this year was difficult. Faced with the expected increase in people's demand, livestock farmers in the area boldly restocked their herds about 2 months ago to ensure meat weight and quality.

The prices of chickens near Tet will remain stable at VND90,000-VND100,000/kg for fresh chickens and VND140,000-VND150,000/kg for pre-processed chickens.

During the breeding process, farmers strictly comply with quarantine procedures, and use all-natural food so quality is always guaranteed.

Meanwhile, the family of Mrs. Pham Thi Phuong in Phu Son Nam Village, Hoa Khuong Commune, Hoa Vang District only re-herded 40 pigs. Compared to 3 months ago, her pig herd has decreased by more than half.

According to Mrs. Phuong, other livestock households in the area are still afraid of disease outbreaks at the end of the year.

On the other hand, the current price of live pigs is at VND48,000-VND50,000/kg, a decrease of VND5,000-VND7,000/kg compared to the purchase price in August, so many people are also worried about restocking.

Similarly, Mr. Phan Nghia also from Phu Son Nam Village expressed his concern over the complicated developments of diseases among livestock and poultry.

It is known that his family is raising about 100 pigs, and 400 chickens were re-herded two months ago.

According to Mr. Nghia, taking care of livestock at this time is very important. He stressed the need for farmers to carefully observe the signs of diseases to promptly handle and avoid diseases affecting and spreading to the entire herd.

Meanwhile, farmers in safe vegetable production areas across the city are always busy fertilising and producing vegetables to serve demand of the year-end market.

At the Tuy Loan safe vegetable production area in Hoa Phong Commune, Hoa Vang District, 40 farmer households are sowing varieties of vegetables, tubers and fruits on a total area of 8 ha. The area is expected to provide 2-3 tons of vegetables, tubers, and fruits of all kinds for the Tet market.

Since 23^rd day of the 10^th lunar month, farmers at the La Huong Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative in Hoa Tho Dong Ward, Cam Le District, have sown many types of agricultural products with a focus on cauliflower, asparagus, soapberry, spinach and herbs with a harvest time of 25-60 days.

Mr. Tran Van Hoang, Director of the La Huong Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative, said that about 7.5 hectares of area have been plowed and planted by farmers after heavy rains.

He added that vegetables grow and develop well thanks to the favoruable weather conditions. Therefore, he hopes that the upcoming source of agricultural products in the city will be abundant with stable prices.

Mr. Phan Nghia, residing in Phu Son Nam Village, Hoa Khuong Commune, taking care of a herd of pigs to sell before Tet. Photo: TRAN TRUC

Ensuring disease safety

Mr. Nguyen Ke Hiep, Vice Chairman of Hoa Khuong Commune People's Committee, informed that the situation of livestock and poultry farming in the area is currently quite stable and is able to meet the demand for this year's Tet market.

However, restocking livestock and poultry herds encounters many difficulties because households are still concerned about diseases, leading to a decrease in the total number of pigs raised in the commune.

Furthermore, African swine fever is spreading some neighbouring localities and is posing a high risk of infection in the city. Therefore, the commune has mobilised people to re-herd pigs according to market needs.

According to the municipal Office of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hoa Vang District, up to now, the district has about 16,808 pigs in total, including 4,463 in Hoa Phu Commune; 3,277 in Hoa Khuong Commune; 2,430 in Hoa Tien Commune; and 2,420 in Hoa Bac Commune.

As for poultry, the whole district has more than 142,765 chickens, including 39,040 laying hens, and about 14,410 ducks and geeses.

Mr. Doan Van Bao, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Bureau under the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that in the coming time, his unit will continue to prevent and control animal diseases throughout the city, as well as maintain animal disease-free zones for avian influenza and foot-and-mouth disease in Hoa Vang District.

Special attention will be paid to mobilising and guiding farmers to produce products organically and ecologically, and use pesticides and fertilisers safely and effectively.

Reporting by VAN HOANG, TRAN TRUC - Translating by M.DUNG