Top 8 Exemplars of Prosperity through Livestock Farming in Vietnam

1. Mr. Triệu A Nhì

Daring to dream and act, Mr. Triệu A Nhì (1997), Dao ethnic, Nà Bắp hamlet, Đồn Đạc commune, Ba Chẽ district (Quảng Ninh) has determinedly built a model of raising chickens and goats combined with cultivating seedlings, bringing an income of approximately 600 million VND/year. He is not only a typical example of economic success but also a dedicated young person actively involved in local youth movements.

Before starting his career in his hometown, Mr. Triệu A Nhì had worked in various distant jobs, struggling through multiple professions (driver, real estate trading, chef, etc.), but life was still unstable. Then, as fate would have it, while looking for ingredients for his kitchen, he encountered a large-scale chicken farm with high economic profits. Comparing this potential with the strengths of his homeland, he nurtured the determination to enter the livestock farming profession.

At the beginning of 2022, leaving his chef job in the city, he returned to his hometown to build a chicken farm covering nearly 2,000m2. Recalling the early days of entrepreneurship, Mr. Nhì mentioned facing numerous difficulties due to a lack of knowledge and experience. He determinedly studied technical documents on chicken farming, learned through practical visits to large-scale farms, and applied the knowledge to his own flock while boldly establishing a new economic model suitable for the local characteristics…

Thanks to his efforts and perseverance, the farm gradually expanded. From a small-scale farm, his family now raises over 1,200 broiler chickens. He releases three batches each year, earning nearly 400 million VND. He also combines raising goats and cultivating nearly 3 hectares of various seedlings such as acacia, cinnamon, golden tea flower, and betel nut, bringing in an additional income of around 200 million VND annually.

“Like many Dao youth in our hometown, I want to be self-sufficient rather than depend on nature or government support. Our land is very suitable for developing forest planting and livestock farming. There's no reason not to take advantage of that advantage,” Nhì shared.

When mentioning Mr. Nhì, Deputy Secretary of Ba Chẽ District Youth Union Tô Hồng Lai added: “Mr. Triệu A Nhì has become a shining example for people in the village to learn and work together. From Nhì’s model, many youth in the district have shared experiences to develop their economy and prosper on their native land.”

2. Ms. Bùi Thị Hằng

Responding to the movement 'Active women in learning, creative labor, building happy families' launched by the Central Vietnam Women's Union, the Women's Union of Tan Lap commune (Lac Son) has undertaken many practical activities. Through this, many bright and exemplary examples have emerged, such as Ms. Bùi Thị Hằng, a member of Trại Sào hamlet, Tan Lap commune, Lac Son district, Hoa Binh province.

Ms. Hằng shares: 'Starting a business with many difficulties when the family is poor in the commune. In 2016, I participated in a scientific and technical training course organized by the Women's Union. Determined to escape poverty, I discussed with my family and boldly invested in buying breeding stock for livestock farming, with 50 chickens, 30 ducks, 2 breeding pigs. However, due to lack of experience, livestock farming did not bring high economic efficiency. Not discouraged, I learned about livestock farming techniques, economic development through the internet, reference materials, books, newspapers, TV, and bravely went to learn from successful economic development models. In 2018, having access to the women's startup capital support source, I invested in repairing the farm, buying breeding stock, and feed to develop the economy with a free-range chicken farming model, raising ducks combined with pig farming. Up to now, the model has developed strongly, raising 1,300 ducks, 5,000 chickens, 120 pigs per year. The livestock products ensure quality and fast consumption. The total income reaches over 488 million VND per year.'

Seeing the effective model of Ms. Hằng's family, to recognize and expand it to help difficult women's union members reduce poverty and rise, the Women's Union of the commune organizes visits and learning for women's union members. Ms. Hằng does not hesitate to share experiences, effective production methods. Many women follow suit, applying them to livestock farming, cultivation, and achieving good results. After studying Ms. Hằng's family model, 115 women in the commune and surrounding areas have registered for seeds, bran, and she is ready to help households without capital and seeds in livestock farming. Responding to actual needs, she buys a car to go to a livestock feed company to get bran for farming for her family and other households at a lower cost.

Comrade Bùi Thị Thùy, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of Tan Lap commune, said: 'In addition to being good at economic development, Ms. Hằng actively participates in cultural and artistic activities of the local women's union and the Women's Union of the commune; a role model in local movements; her family is continuously recognized as a cultural family. Ms. Hằng is also an enthusiastic member of the women's union executive committee actively participating in the union's activities, effectively participating in the movement 'Active women in learning, creative labor, building happy families' at the grassroots level. In addition, during the Covid-19 outbreak, to partially support the citizens in isolation in the commune, her family supported the Covid-19 prevention steering committee of the commune twice with 5 million VND and 50 boxes of masks; supported the hamlet in the Unity Day with 1 million VND, regularly supported charitable and humanitarian activities organized by the commune and hamlet.'

With Ms. Hằng's economic approach, not only enriching her family but also becoming a shining example for women in the area to learn and follow, gradually forming a movement to strive for excellent production, build happy families, and cultural families. Personally, Ms. Hằng received commendations from the Chairman of the commune People's Committee for the economic development model of household economics in the 2015-2020 period; commendations from the Party Committee of the commune for outstanding achievements in 5 years of implementing Directive No. 05-CT/TW; commendations from the Women's Union of the commune for excellent completion of tasks in implementing the movement, women's union activities in 2021...

Thanks to efficient poultry farming, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Thìn's family in Làng Trò, Phấn Mễ, Phú Lương, Thái Nguyên has not only escaped poverty but also become an exemplary economic household in the locality. At just 36 years old, Mr. Thìn owns assets worth billions. For several years, his family has had an income of hundreds of millions of dong per year. All of this is achieved through chicken farming. In 2016, he borrowed money from relatives, combined with the family's savings, to invest in building a chicken farming facility. Initially, he raised 2,000 crossbred and native chickens using the free-range method. The chickens grew quickly, with firm muscles, so just four months later, he had chickens ready for sale. Traders in the area came to the house to buy the entire product and made appointments to buy the next batches of chickens.

Success came immediately with the first batch of chickens, encouraging Mr. Thìn to invest in expanding the scale of poultry farming. He is confident, seeing that poultry farming suits his strengths. Unlike many other farmers in the area, he knows how to combine traditional farming experience with modern poultry farming techniques, always ensuring a firm grip on success. He also realizes that poultry farming allows the capital to circulate quickly and sees daily profits. Therefore, after each batch of poultry is sold, he reinvests a portion to expand the scale of farming.

From a 1,000m2 farming facility (in 2016), Mr. Thìn has expanded it to 5,000m2 (in 2000); from 2,000 chickens per batch (in 2016) to 10,000 chickens, nearly 5,000 ducks per batch (in 2022); poultry output has also increased from 80 tons (in 2020) to 90 tons (in 2021). Accordingly, annual profits have increased from 300 million dong to 700 million dong (in 2021). In 2022, the poultry output of Mr. Thìn's family reached over 100 tons, with profits exceeding 800 million dong.

Mr. Thìn says: 'Farming has changed my family's life. I only regret that for a long time, I and members of my family were always worried, self-conscious, afraid of raising too many... that they wouldn't all be consumed. Now, I have overcome myself, thinking that raising a large quantity is to turn the animals I raise into products. I hope that many families in the area will join farm farming, thereby establishing a concentrated commodity area, aiming to build a brand for Làng Trò chicken products.'

Mr. Lữ Viết Hùng from Cú Tá hamlet, Tam Văn commune, is a shining example of local excellence in breeding breeding sows, supplying quality breeds to fellow residents with an income of 150 million dong per year.

Visiting Mr. Lữ Viết Hùng's breeding model, one can see his diligence and hard work. On the family's nearly 1,000m2 garden plot, besides regularly raising 10 breeding sows, he also combines raising chickens, ducks, and a pond over 300m2, designed beneath the pigsties, ensuring a water source for cleaning the pens.

For farmers, the most crucial concern is the market for their products. However, according to him, if you take good care, ensure the healthy development of breeds, there is no worry about the market for livestock. Not only do traders come to buy wholesale, but local people also recommend each other. Therefore, the family's breeding sows cannot supply enough for the market. To develop the family's farming towards industry and modernity, the pens have been solidly invested in with a large and airy scale, divided into different areas: breeding breeding sows, raising piglets after separating from their mothers, raising cattle, and raising poultry.

Mr. Hùng said that zoning like this ensures that the livestock develops evenly and is convenient for feeding and cleaning. During the breeding of breeding sows, his family always focuses on disease prevention for pigs, such as blue-ear disease, swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease, erysipelas, E. coli... The most important thing is disinfection, keeping the pens clean and maintaining a suitable temperature. Besides, special attention is also paid to the feeding regime of mother pigs and piglets when they are newborn.

Not only excellent in farming, but Mr. Lữ Viết Hùng is also a very active farmer member of Tam Văn commune. He regularly participates in competitive movements and communal activities, learning and sharing breeding experience with other members. He is very proactive in participating in training courses on the transfer of science and technology organized by the commune, actively referring to documents in newspapers and media to supplement knowledge for the family's farming.

Not only enriching himself and his family, Mr. Lữ Viết Hùng's example has also made many contributions to building an effective breeding sow movement in the locality. He has helped many farmer member families in difficult conditions to rise in life through breeding sows and farming experience, to jointly develop the family's economy and enrich the homeland.

Mr. Mương Xuân Chính, belonging to the Tày ethnic group, from Bản Đéc hamlet, Tùng Bá commune, Vị Xuyên district (Hà Giang), is a typical example of rising out of poverty and gradually becoming prosperous in a challenging land.

Formerly, Mr. Chính's family was categorized as poor in the commune, often experiencing hunger and poverty. Unwilling to endure such hardship, Mr. Chính found his way to boost comprehensive livestock farming, primarily focusing on developing pig farming as a commodity. However, to develop pig farming, there was a need for investment in buying breeds, feed, and building pens. Unfortunately, Mr. Chính's family was classified as poor... With determination, in early 2018, Mr. Chính sought the Farmers' Union of the commune to guarantee a loan application of 80 million VND from the local social policy bank. With the borrowed amount, he invested in buying 10 breeding pigs and 4 breeding sows for almost 14 million VND. The remaining funds were used to invest in building pens, buying feed, and establishing capital for livestock feed trading.

While developing pig farming, Mr. Chính also actively sought knowledge, learned techniques from books, newspapers, and attended training sessions on livestock farming techniques and disease prevention on the local livestock population by the Agricultural Extension Station and the Veterinary Station of the district. Additionally, he personally visited and learned from the successful experiences of pig farmers in the area.

When asked about pig farming techniques and income, Mr. Chính said: From 2020 until now, the family usually raises pigs in a batch system, averaging 2-3 batches a year, with an average of 20-25 pigs per batch. Subsequently, they use the family's pig breeds and purchase additional breeds from local farmers. The amount received from selling slaughter pigs in a year is around 400 – 430 million VND. After deducting expenses such as breeds, feed, vaccination... there is a profit of about 250 million VND each year.

Since 2000, when there was economic capacity, alongside the development of pig farming on a farm scale, Mr. Chính's family has vigorously expanded poultry farming and dug over 1,200 m2 of water surface to raise fish. The income from raising chickens and fish brings in about 130 million VND in profit for Mr. Chính's family every year. In addition, the feed agency also brings in an annual profit of 80 million VND.

In 2014, after completing military service, Mr. Nông Văn Quang (born in 1990) in Tân Tiến commune, Bù Đốp district, started developing his family's economy with 6 hectares of pepper cultivation along with 10 goats and 20 pigs. Through diligent exploration, learning, and actively applying scientific techniques to animal care, his goat and pig herds are robust, rapidly increasing in both quantity and quality.

As of now, his family's annual income exceeds 600 million VND, creating seasonal employment for 15 youth union members in the commune. In 2016, Mr. Quang was honored with the Lương Định Của Award - a prestigious award for outstanding young individuals in production, business, technology transfer, environmental protection, and rural development.

Mr. Quang shares: 'Returning to my hometown after military service, I always thought of developing the economy from the very land that raised me. Therefore, I started my entrepreneurial journey with pepper cultivation, goat, and pig farming. Engaging in agriculture requires continuous learning and knowledge updates to ensure the optimal growth of crops and livestock.'

Ms. Đàm Thị Hoài, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union in Tân Tiến commune, stated: Bù Đốp has a source of animal feed from pepper gardens, so the commune's Youth Union often organizes visits for youth union members to learn from Mr. Quang's goat farming model. As a result, we have successfully developed a commercial goat farming model, providing opportunities to enhance the income of youth in the commune.

In recent years, in Gia Phong commune, there have emerged exemplary farmer union members overcoming difficulties and excelling in local economic development. Among them, Mr. Chu Khắc Thành, born in 1988, and Mrs. Phạm Thị Minh Thảo, born in 1989, in hamlet 4, Lỗi Sơn, Gia Phong commune, stand out as typical examples of rising to success in local economic activities.

Like many other farming families, when Mr. Chu Khắc Thành and Mrs. Phạm Thị Minh Thảo started their family, they had little more than a few acres of fields, raising a few chickens and pigs to make ends meet. However, being diligent, hardworking, and accumulating experience while working, they were determined to develop their family's economy and prosper on the very land of their homeland.

After surveying the land conditions and water sources in the area, in 2019, the family boldly converted deep and less productive rice fields, combining them with fields from neighboring households, totaling an area of 2 hectares to develop an integrated VAC model. The model includes 3 fish ponds covering an area of about 4,000m2, combining the farming of commercial pigs, raising ducks, poultry, aquatic products, and operating as a distributor of livestock feed for cattle and poultry, as well as growing fruit trees on the embankment to serve the family.

Reflecting on the early days of entrepreneurship, the family faced many challenges due to limited capital and lacked experience in animal husbandry. Thus, there were times when they faced risks of disease outbreaks, especially with African Swine Fever, leading to the death of up to 100 pigs, totaling nearly 1 ton, causing significant economic losses. Despite these difficulties and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the market economy and food consumption trends, the model continued to develop effectively. From the model, the family harvests about 6 batches of fish and pigs each year, with an annual output of around 7,500 poultry and aquatic products, exporting over 200 tons of livestock and poultry feed, generating an income of approximately 500 million VND per year after deducting various expenses.

With dynamism, creativity, and the courage to think and act in household economic development, the family's economic development model has provided a stable source of income, creating favorable conditions for raising and educating their children, building a prosperous and happy family. Observing their well-built house with full amenities and livestock facilities, we recognize it as the result of the family's hard work and dedication over time. In addition to economic development, they are also active farmer union members and enthusiastic women participating in union activities, regularly guiding and sharing their animal husbandry experience with fellow union members for high economic efficiency.

With achievements in economic development and contributions to union activities, in the recent summary conference on the movement of farmers striving for excellent production, solidarity in enriching and sustainable poverty reduction, in the period 2017-2022, the family was commended by the district Farmer Union as an outstanding farming family striving for excellent production.

The family's integrated livestock model not only provides a comfortable life for the family but also serves as motivation for many farmer union members and local residents to learn from and emulate, contributing to increased income, poverty reduction, and promoting local socio-economic development.

Ms. Đào Thị Bích embraced rabbit farming as a solution to financial challenges her family faced from various livelihoods. Seeing the economic potential of rabbit farming and its applicability to her family and community, she wholeheartedly adopted this model with the aspiration of prosperity.

Prior to 2018, she boldly invested 60 million VND in building a two-story rabbit farm with an area of 120 m2. She started with a trial of 50 parent rabbits, and, after deducting expenses, was making over 10 million VND in profit each month. Witnessing the success of the rabbit farming model and conducting thorough research, including visits to large-scale rabbit farms in Quỳnh Phụ and Hưng Hà districts, Thái Bình province, as well as in Bắc Giang province, she decided to expand her farming in early 2019. Currently, her family manages 10 rows of rabbit farms, averaging around 2,000 rabbits at any given time, with the peak reaching 4,000 rabbits in a breeding cycle. Annually, the family raises 3 breeding cycles, with each rabbit weighing approximately 2.5 to 3 kg. With additional funding, they also constructed a pond for raising catfish and released 10,000 carp. Additionally, they utilize rabbit manure for breeding earthworms, selling them to local farms and creating a clean environment for rabbit development. In 2022, Ms. Bích's family generated a revenue of 500 million VND. She notes, 'To make rabbit farming effective, we sought our own breeding sources and engaged in good crossbreeding. To reduce the odor, we also breed earthworms, keep the cages very clean, and utilize them for raising fish, catfish, and extra income. Rabbit farming is easy and profitable, so we chose it. We earn approximately 300 million VND per year, ensuring economic stability.'

Ms. Bích's model has become a reliable reference for other farmers to exchange and learn rabbit farming techniques. Sharing her rabbit farming techniques, Ms. Bích added that rabbits are easy to raise and less susceptible to diseases, but if they get sick, they die quickly. Rabbit feed is straightforward and can include agricultural by-products like vegetables and fruits, in addition to green vegetables and a mixed diet produced specifically for rabbits. After 30 days of birth, baby rabbits are separated from their mothers, a critical period when they are prone to intestinal diseases. Thus, farmers must ensure clean and sufficient food. Vaccination is essential for preventing intestinal, fungal, and scabies diseases. Moreover, regular cleaning of the cages is necessary, ensuring a clean and airy environment in summer and warmth in winter. Reflecting on a fellow member of her association, Ms. Phạm Thị Hồng, Chairwoman of the Women's Union in Đông Động commune, said, 'Ms. Đào Thị Bích is a member of the women's union in Xuân Đài hamlet. She is a woman who dares to think, dares to do, dares to invest. To date, her family's model has and continues to provide stable income. In addition, she actively participates in the union's activities, regularly shares breeding techniques with union members to foster mutual development. She is an exemplary figure recognized by our union.'

With personal and family efforts, determination, and a will to enrich themselves, Ms. Bích has succeeded in her entrepreneurial journey on her homeland. Not only excelling in business, but Ms. Bích's family is also a role model for adhering to the Party's and State's legal policies. They consistently receive recognition as a cultured family, being praised as an excellent production and business household at the provincial level for many years.