Ho Chi Minh City orders restructuring in pig farming

The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has sent documents to localities ordering pig repopulation under the "Project on restructuring the pig industry in the period from 2021 to 2025" to revive husbandry, reduce the risk of disease recurrence, and meet consumer demand.

Accordingly, localities should strengthen providing information and encouraging farmers to strictly implement biosafety and veterinary hygiene measures in livestock production. Besides, localities should coordinate with banks and credit institutions to guide farmers who are facing capital difficulties to access subsidized loans according to regulations.

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of HCMC instructs farmers and cooperatives to renovate their farms from open into closed farms with cooling systems, which are isolated from infectious factors and ensure the environment in pig farming. Farmers need to make declarations to the local authorities before repopulating their pig herds. Financial assistance will be provided for those who made declarations if an epidemic occurs.

The Department of Livestock Production and Animal Health ensures the sources of vaccines to provide sufficiently and timely for vaccination, allocates resources to closely monitor the epidemic, proactively detects outbreaks early, thoroughly handles outbreaks, and prevents epidemics from spreading on a large scale.

The Department of Industry and Trade of HCMC develops plans to ensure the supply and demand of pork and stabilize the market to encourage farmers to increase pig repopulation. The Food Safety Management Board of HCMC has strengthened inspections at wholesale markets, traditional markets, and spontaneous markets, strictly managing the sources of pork from provinces to the city for consumption, and preventing pathogens from infecting to help pig farmers feel secure when repopulating their pig herds.