Systems of cattle production in south central coastal Vietnam

The objective of this study was to describe cattle production systems in South central coastal Vietnam including: farming resources, herd structure, feed resources, feed and feeding management, and constraints to cattle production. The study site, representative of the agro-ecological characteristics of the sandy zone in the South central coast, included Phu Cat, Tuy An, and Phuoc Nam districts selected from Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Ninh Thuan provinces, respectively. Secondary and primary data on cattle production systems were collected using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Participatory meetings at the commune level were organised to collect qualitative information. In addition, 180 households were interviewed by using a set of questions.

Results showed that surveyed households in Ninh Thuan had advantages in raising cattle compared with Binh Dinh and Phu Yen in terms of labour and land area; however they were also more limited by lower rainfall. Households in Ninh Thuan had twice the number of cattle, sheep, and goats than those of the other two provinces; however households in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen had greater numbers of pigs and poultry than farmers in Ninh Thuan, suggesting different income generating strategies. The method of raising cattle of surveyed households in Ninh Thuan was more extensive than in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen, evident by the scale of crossbred cattle, feeding systems, cattle management, and feed resources. Planting grass, storing agricultural by-products, supplying concentrate, cutting naturalized grass, and restricting the amount of cattle were methods suggested by surveyed householders to solve the lack of feed issue. Capital was believed by producers to be the most important factors that influenced cattle production (69% of farmers). Other important limitations to production included lack of feed and disease.