Project Technical Report:" A blueprint for sustainable smallholder pig production in Central Vietnam " ppt

1

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

Project Progress Report
A blueprint for sustainable smallholder pig production
in Central Vietnam
CARD Project 004/05VIE

2
nd
SIX-MONTHLY REPORT

November 2006 – June 2007

2
Table of contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
1. INSTITUTE INFORMATION 3
2. PROJECT ABSTRACT 4
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4
4. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND 5
5. PROGRESS TO DATE 7
5.1 IMPLEMENTATION HIGHLIGHTS 7
5.3 SMALLHOLDER BENEFITS 8
5.4 CAPACITY BUILDING 9
5.5 PUBLICITY 9
5.6 PROJECT MANAGEMENT 10
6. REPORT ON CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES 10
6.1 ENVIRONMENT 10

6.2 GENDER AND SOCIAL ISSUES 10
7. IMPLEMENTATION & SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES 11
7.1 ISSUES, CONSTRAINTS AND OPTIONS 11
7.2 SUSTAINABILITY 13
NOW THAT THE FARMS HAVE BEEN SELECTED, ISSUES OF LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY CAN BE ADDRESSED USING THE
ELECTRONIC SURVEY ASSESSMENTS
13
8. NEXT CRITICAL STEPS 13
9. CONCLUSION 14
10. STATUTORY DECLARATION ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.


3
1. Institute Information
Project Name
A blueprint for sustainable small holder pig production in
Central Vietnam
Vietnamese Institution
N
ational Institute of Animal Husbandry (NIAH); Hue
University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF); National
Institute of Veterinary Research (NIVR)
Vietnamese Project Team Leaders
Dr Ta Thi Bich Duyen (NIAH); Professor Nguyen Quang
Linh (HUAF); Dr Cu Huu Phu (NIVR)
Australian Organisation
The University of Queensland/Victorian Department of
Primary Industry/South Australian Research and
Development Institute
Australian Personnel

Dr Darren Trott, Dr Ian Wilkie, Dr Colin Cargill, Dr Tony
Fahy
Date commenced
April 1st 2006
Completion date (original)
April 2009
Completion date (revised)
September 2009
Reporting period
N
ovembe
r
2006 – June 2007
Contact Officer(s)
In Australia: Team Leader
Name:
Dr Darren Trott
Telephone:
617 336 52985
Position:
Senior Lecturer School of
Veterinary Science
Fax:
617 336 51355
Organisation
School of Veterinary Science The
University of Qld
Email:

In Australia: Administrative contact

Name:
Melissa Anderson
Telephone:
61 7 33652651
Position:
Manager Research Projects Office
Fax:
61 7 33651188
Organisation
School of Land and Food The
University of Qld
Email:


In Vietnam
Name:
Dr Do Ngoc Thuy
Telephone:
84 4 8693932

4
Position:
Senior Scientist
Fax:
84 4 8694082
Organisation
NIVR
Email:

2. Project Abstract

Small holder farmers in Central Vietnam predominantly raise pig breeds such as Mong Cai, Mini pig, and
SocHighland, which are well adapted to local conditions but have limited performance and economic efficiency.
Improving the genetics of local
b
reeds by introduction of high performance Mong Cai lines for pure breeding and
exotic breeding programmes will result in significant benefits for small holder farmers if it can be aligned with an
integrated farrow-to-finish management plan (focusing on health, husbandry, housing and nutrition) to improve
p
roduction parameters and limit health problems. This holistic, continuous improvement plan (CIP) will be initiated
by appropriately trained Vietnamese veterinary and animal scientists, under the direction of Australian experts.
Through a train the trainers approach, the CIP will be extended to veterinary extension workers, commercial
piggery managers and selected small scale pig farmers for successful uptake of knowledge and skills.

3. Executive Summary
This project began with six major objectives: 1. Train the trainers; 2. Select the farms; 3. Adopt best
practice; 4. Introduce new breeding stock; 5. Monitor profitability; and 6. Sustain profitability.

During the second six months of the project, sound progress has been made towards Objectives 2-4
according to the project logframe, with some modifications and an extension request due to
unforeseen circumstances.

A survey of smallholder farmers, designed by Vietnamese and Australian scientists during the
Australian training programme, was completed in the provinces of Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue,
Binh Dinh, and Quang Tri. A web-based survey format was designed and implemented by The
University of Queensland to simplify data entry and analysis and provide a means of monitoring the
continuous improvement plan (CIP) on the selected farms. The database has an image upload
capability so that photos and hand drawn housing plans can be rapidly viewed and/or exchanged

between scientists. This database will provide a platform for continued expansion of the model
beyond the current life of the project.

Based on the survey responses, which were analysed using SPSS, the best 27-30 farms in each
province were selected and Objectives 3-4 initiated (upgrade of facilities, training and introduction
of new breeding stock). The Vietnamese scientists who received training in Australia conducted two
competency based assessments. Firstly, based on survey visits and discussions with Australian
scientists, they were set the task of designing “the ideal” small Mong Cai breeding house for
selected farmers to work towards. Secondly, during farm visits by Australian scientists, farms were
audited and problems identified, discussed and prioritised.

Due to the costs of transport and the lack of suitably trained extension workers to provide support, it
was decided that Binh Dinh province would be excluded from Objectives 2-4 until later in the
project. Instead efforts would be concentrated on implementing changes in the provinces of Quang
Tri (managed independently by NIAH) and Thua Thien Hue (managed independently by HUAF).
NIVR will provide diagnostic surveillance for enteric and other diseases on farm, veterinary support
on investigation of disease outbreaks and provision of their new locally manufactured E. coli

5
vaccine for pregnant gilts in both provinces. Where possible, NIAH and HUAF scientists who
received training in Australia would collaborate in training programmes in both provinces to ensure
adequate transfer of ideas and skills.

Given the types of farming systems encountered during the survey and the extreme differences in
housing quality, it was also decided that rather than compare exotic, crossbred and Mong Cai sow
performance, the majority of farmers (except for one exception involving a farmer with experience
in raising exotic breeds) would be supplied with high-performance pure Mong Cai gilts. If farmers
achieve success with Mong Cai, they may then be encouraged to expand their production and
introduce F1 or exotic sows in the future. Two different adoption models were tested, each in a
different province. In Thua Thien Hue, the close proximity of the farms to HUAF meant that a

higher frequency of farm visits was possible. Therefore changes to facilities such as introduction of
dry sow feeding stalls, farrowing and creep areas, increased ventilation and drip coolers were made
at the same time as breeding stock was introduced with step by step training aligned to key stages of
production. The first pregnant gilts in Thua Thien Hue are due to farrow at the end of October/early
November. In Quang Tri province, the selected farmers attended a pure Mong Cai training
programme developed by NIAH immediately following the selection process. An ideal Mong Cai
farrowing house was designed as the model for farmers to work towards once increased profits were
achieved. Gilts raised in a pure Mong Cai breeding zone in the North were supposed to be
introduced to selected farms in Quang Tri province in July. However the outbreaks of foot and
mouth disease (FMD) and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) virus in Quang
Tri have prevented movements of livestock into this province and the gilts had to be sold back to
the farmers. Therefore complete upgrade of facilities proceeded before the introduction of breeding
stock. As the situation regarding FMD and PRRS control in Quang Tri has improved, new gilts
have been selected and will be introduced in November or December if they can be obtained for the
right price.

Major simultaneous training programs in each province are planned for November, focusing on
management of the Mong Cai sow during pregnancy and farrowing and care of the piglets before
the age of weaning. In week 1, extension workers would be trained followed by the selected farmers
in week 2. Given the 3-4 month delay caused by the outbreak of FMD and PRRS in Quang Tri, a
three-month extension of the completion date is requested, with six-monthly reports adjusted
accordingly (Jan and July each year).

Changes to personnel include the secondment of Dr Coi to a new position as Director of the Thuy
Phuong Pig Research Center and the appointment of Dr Ta Thi Bich Duyen as programme manager
at NIAH. Dr Trish Holyoake has requested that University of Sydney withdraw from the project
given she is currently overcommitted on other projects. It is requested that the $18,000 allocated to
USyd be distributed to the Vietnamese Institutes, to cover the additional costs due to the delays in
Quang Tri and extra travel by Hue scientists.

4. Introduction & Background
In response to the increased demand for pork, Vietnamese small holder farmers in the Central
provinces have intensified their production system, while others have attempted to continue to
produce pigs in older, poorly designed facilities. As intensification has increased, so too have
disease problems, particularly in the pre-weaning stage, so it is not surprising that enteric diseases
cause very substantial losses in this age group. While the diseases involved can usually be
controlled by a combination of good management and strategic vaccination, the sub-optimal
environment provided on many farms is also a major risk factor, especially in the farrowing and
weaning areas. Antibiotics, which add significantly to the cost of production, are used to overcome

6
these deficiencies and their indiscriminate use is probably contributing to the current high level of
multi-drug resistance in isolates from pigs in Vietnam. Expansion of small holder pig production in
Central Vietnam has the potential to improve the income generating capacity of poor families, but
is currently hampered by low profitability due to a combination of poor reproductive performance
and growth rates, lack of husbandry and management skills, poor nutrition and disease problems.
Based on the experience drawn from our existing CARD project (001/04VIE), the problems faced
by small holder pork producers in Vietnam include:

• Lack of on-farm recording to allow effective herd management on a day-to-day basis.
• Lack of written records on average daily gain, feed conversion efficiency and pigs marketed
/sow/year to determine whole-herd productivity and profitability.
• Failure to set and reach reproduction targets.
• Poor ventilation and cooling systems which limit the feed intake of progeny and breeders.
• Restrict feeding of all classes of stock from lactating sows through to finisher pigs.
• Lack of written data to assist resolving herd health problems-particularly mortalities, age
and cause of death.
• Incorrect vaccination strategies for those diseases for which there are effective vaccines.
• Lack of specialist veterinary and extension staff to instruct and advise farmers.

• Lack of model demonstration farms in each province to train the trainers.

To better understand the risk factors that are contributing to pig health problems, and limiting or
reducing production, it is proposed to survey a large number of small holder farms in Quang Tri,
Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh Provinces. Retrospective baseline data on production,
health, housing, environment and income will be collected and deficiencies in husbandry and
housing will be detected and assessed so that they can be prioritised. A representative sample of
small holder farms (defined as those with less than 10-15 sows) and small commercial farms (30 to
100 sows) in each province will be selected for the survey and audit process, which will be used to
assess the standard of production and competency of farmers and facilities. Prior to commencing
the survey, Vietnamese scientists will be trained to visit farms and interview the farmer and his/her
family and collect required data on production and facilities.

Following the survey of selected farms in the three provinces, a workshop will be held at Hue
University of Agriculture and Forestry to identify the key risk factors that are negatively influencing
health and production. A set of priorities will then be established for improving management,
husbandry and housing on farms. This will result in the development of suitable models for pig
production incorporating modified and improved designs for housing, as well as husbandry and
management techniques. Once the full modules have been validated, a series of field days will be
held in each district, with extension service personnel and local veterinarians as trainers. Selected
farmers will also be invited to participate in “train the trainer workshops” so that they can also
participate in training other farmers through “farmer-to-farmer workshops” in each area. The pig
production farrow-to-sale training workshops will be tailored for the needs and production systems
followed.

Many of the poorer households use indigenous breeds of pig with the intention of crossing them
with exotic breeds to improve growth and performance in the F1 progeny. However, the local
breeds currently reared by small holder farmers perform very poorly. Of the three major breeds pure
Mong Cai have by far the best performance. High performance pure Mong Cai have been bred in
Bacgiang with an average litter size of 13-14 piglets (compared to 8-9 for the other indigenous

breeds) and a growth rate of 350-400g per day (compared to only 200-250g for the other breeds).
These results clearly show the robustness of the Mong Cai breed. Introduction of high quality, high
performance Mong Cai sows will provide the nucleus for a central coast pure Mong Cai breeding
zone collective. Pure Mong Cai gilts will be raised for downstream sale to other small holders for a
crossbreeding program using exotic breeds of boar. Hybrid vigour in F1 progeny will provide better

7
growth rates than the currently used indigenous breeds, but will be more adaptable to local
environmental conditions compared to exotic breeds of pig. This program will also maintain the
pure Mong Cai gene pool in the central coastal area.

5. Progress to Date
5.1 Implementation Highlights
1) Completion of farm surveys and development of on-line database: The six Vietnamese
scientists trained in Australian conducted surveys in each of the provinces. The University of
Queensland developed, substantially tested and recently launched an on-line database for accurate
recording of surveys, including an image upload capability. The role of the database is not to gather
exhaustive data from every farm surveyed in Vietnam but be able to quickly recognise systems that
work, major constraints to production and what types of improvements need to be made. Therefore
data collected from each of the selected farms will be more extensive and each time they are visited
a photographic record will supplement analysis of data.
The website can be found at the following URL:
A login name
(AUSAIDCARD) and password (pigproject) have been created for members of the CARD
management committee to access and view the database (without the ability to modify records) at
any time as it is being built. Thus far, data has been entered for a total of 42 farms in Binh Dinh
Province, 87 farms in Quang Nam, 44 farms in Quang Tri and 98 farms in Thua Thien Hue.
HUAF have analysed the results of their survey (a total of 220 farms in Thua Thien Hue and Quang
Nam) using SPSS which are summarised as follows (see Appendix One: Report of Survey
Activities). Sow numbers ranged from 1 to 20 with a mean number of sows of 3.5 and 84% using

the Mong Cai local breed. A total of 93% of farms kept less than 11 sows (ie 1-10) and 89% had
less than 6 sows (ie 1-5). Key demographic data included the fact that 98.4%, 80%, 35% and 7% of
farmers had completed primary, high primary, secondary and post-secondary education,
respectively, but education level did not influence sow numbers. Interestingly all farmers had more
than 5 years pig husbandry experience and 89% more than 10 years. Mean number of pigs born live
was 12.04 ± 1.63 with Mong Cai averaging 12.61 and exotic breeds 9.95. Stillbirths (which includes
early birth mortality from being squashed by the sow) averaged 15.9% overall (13.7% for Mong Cai
and 32.8% for exotics). Mong Cai are very good mothers and rarely require farrowing crates. Over
80% of litters were reported to have diarrhoea, with 12.2% having greater than 55% of piglets in the
litter affected. Factors that may predispose to diarrheoa included poor housing and lack of
temperature control, lack of E. coli vaccination, poor management systems and hygiene, including
the common practice of hosing out creep areas daily. Key constraints to production included
nutrition and general feeding levels (restricted vs ad lib feeding of sows), housing and ventilation,
lack of boar stimulation causing delayed and inconsistent oestrus patterns and returns to service and
lack of on-farm recording data meaning that it was impossible to determine the number of
pigs/sow/year produced. NIAH has entered their farm data into Excel (available on request) and is
completing the electronic surveys before reporting a detailed analysis. However, farms have been
ranked and the best farms selected for upgrade (see 2 below).
2) Improvements to housing systems, preliminary training programs and introduction of
improved breeding stock: Under the direction of Mr Bien, one of our trainee scientists from
NIAH, “the ideal” pure Mong Cai housing system was designed based on the training received in
Australia and impressions of visiting different production systems and conducting audits with Dr
Colin Cargill and Dr Tony Fahy during their farm visits (see Appendix Two: Pure Mong Cai
housing plan). Whilst it must be remembered that many farmers in the central provinces currently
could not afford to build a housing system such as this, they could implement many of the
improvements within their own housing systems to the point where they may generate enough

8
income to expand and build better facilities. Major features of this system (with capacity for 4
farrowing sows) include:

• Tiled roof with ridge vent for air circulation, especially during summer. Cheaper roofing
options include iron (but must be cooled in summer, for example by covering with a
creeper) or thatch.
• Adequate cross ventilation
• Sloping floors to drainage gutters for easy cleaning and processing of dung to prevent
concrete floors staying wet
• Clean, dry creep areas for piglets with temperature kept at 30-32
o
C.
• Dry stalls for individual feeding of pregnant sows
• Separate dunging areas with limited drafts through side wall openings at pig level (a
common error in pig housing design in Vietnam).
The best farms in each province (30 in Quang Tri and 27 in Thua Thien Hue) were chosen based on
analysis of the questionnaire data in SPSS. Each of these farmers has received basic training (See
Appendix Three: Report Quarter 1 and 2_HUAF (and NIAH); training materials (in Vietnamese)
are available from NIAH and HUAF on request). Following encouragement from Vietnamese
scientists and farm visits by Australian team members, continual improvements are being made on
these test farms, some subsidised by the project but mostly by the farmers themselves (see
Appendix Four: Farm data sheets for an example). Full implementation of improvements is a step
by step process and will only truly be appreciated when records for each selected farm are
compared over time, although a preliminary assessment will be made during the major visit planned
for November 2007.
3) Visits by Australian team members to assess project progress (January, April and June
2007).
Dr Tony Fahy visited Binh Dinh and selected farms in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri in
January 2007 (see Appendix Five: Dr Tony Fahy travel report). Following this visit, the major
decision to delay further developments in Binh Dinh until the end of the project was reached.
During April, Dr Colin Cargill visited farms in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri and was very
encouraged at the progress being made (see Appendix Six: Dr Colin Cargill Travel Report). Dr
Darren Trott visited HCM, Hue, Quang Tri and Hanoi in June 2007. During this visit, he was joined

by Prof John Fairbrother (who has assisted with 001/04VIE research) from the FAO Reference
Laboratory for Escherichia coli, University of Montreal and Dr Kit Parke, The University of
Queensland’s specialist pig veterinary consultant who will replace Dr Trish Holyoake on the
project. Dr Fairbrother and Dr Trott have planned to collaborate and develop International funding
applications to continue animal health and production research beyond the life of the current
project, by further involvement of the current partner Vietnamese institutes and expanding into the
south of Vietnam through co-operation with NAVETCO. During this visit a project meeting was
held in Hanoi and several important decision points were reached and reported in the project
minutes (see Appendix Seven: Project minutes).

5.3 Smallholder Benefits
1) So far in our project, selected smallholder farmers have been the direct recipients of the
following:

• A 40% subsidy on the cost of buying and introducing new Mong Cai gilts into their herd.

9
• Assistance, advice and subsidies on remodelling their current housing to suit the
introduction of new Mong Cai gilts. This includes the installation of dry sow stalls,
farrowing crates and creep areas, improving ventilation, heating and cooling, and prioritising
cleaning systems to improve dryness of the pen floors and hygiene. It is anticipated that
these changes combined with strategic use of the right medications will have a significant
impact on the incidence and severity of enteric diseases in the pre-weaning period which are
by far the biggest causes of lost production in smallholder enterprises.
• Basic training on the care and management of Mong Cai from each institute
• Specialist training will be provided during the November visit.

5.4 Capacity Building

A large problem in previous projects has been the difficulty of measuring sustained performance

and improvement over time. We wanted to avoid the situation of repeated project visits by
Australian scientists covering the same ground, making the same recommendations, without
adequate uptake. Our experience with our first CARD project was that some farmers were unwilling
to adopt the changes we were suggesting and we were continually pointing out the same problems
on successive visits, such as poor ventilation and cooling. The model we are developing is designed
for continuous improvement and is centred on two main themes.

Firstly, the training of successive cohorts of people and empowering people for self-improvement.
Our group of scientists have received their training, delivered training programmes and provided
advice and assistance in making housing modifications to improve production, but we would still
like to continually assess their abilities as well as their capacity for passing on knowledge to the
next cohort (extension veterinarians, paraveterinarians, and the selected farmers). This will be
assessed during the November project visit. The ultimate goal is for farmers enjoying the fruits of
their training, hard work and investment to pass on their knowledge and skills to others.

Secondly the creation of the web based recording system allows Australian Scientists to monitor the
situation at first hand in real time. For example it will be possible for us to provide advice and
encouragement to the Vietnamese teams by viewing up to date photos of improvements and
records. We can remotely assess the ability of Vietnamese scientists to recognise the major
production constraints. We can advise on the best locations to situate new housing facilities to take
advantage of prevailing weather conditions. The aim is to streamline our site visits so that more
time can be spent on planning and development rather than repetitive and exhaustive farm visits
covering the same problems first identified. A major area in which we wish to make an impact is to
provide advice on disease diagnosis, treatment and control (already we have seen the impact of
infectious disease outbreaks in Thua Thien Hue where 10 project sows died during an outbreak of
haemorrhagic septicaemia [pasteurellosis] when they were unfortunately vaccinated too late to gain
full immunity and in Quang Tri where the FMD and PRRS outbreaks have resulted in significant
project delays).

5.5 Publicity

1) CARD Newsletter: an article was submitted for the second CARD Newsletter but it did not
appear in the final issue.

2) Major publicity launches are planned for the November training programmes


10
3) Significant local interest has been generated in the project with many local farmers enquiring
how they can be involved in the project in the future.

5.6 Project Management
Operational project management continues to be shared between the 6 institutes. HUAF is directly
responsible for implementation of the programme in Thua Thien Hue and NIAH likewise for Quang
Tri province. The proximity of these provinces to each other allows for interaction with Australian
and Vietnamese scientists at the conclusion of project visits. In his new secondment, Dr Coi has
passed over management of the NIAH component to Dr Duyen but continues to play an advisory
role for the project. As HUAF was responsible for delivering the September workshop, NIAH will
be responsible for hosting the concluding workshop. NIVR will be responsible for providing E. coli
vaccines for the project and disease surveillance through laboratory diagnosis. The Faculty
Research Projects Office in the School of Land and Food at The University of Queensland, who
have many years experience in managing international agricultural research projects, is responsible
for administration of the project.
6. Report on Cross-Cutting Issues
6.1 Environment
The broad environmental impacts of pig production and measures being adopted to alleviate them
(integrated fish farming, biogas and manure composting) have been previously addressed in the 1
st

six monthly report. One major public health concern identified from the most recent farm visits by

Dr Trott, Dr Parke and Prof Fairbrother was the usage of inappropriate antimicrobials for what are
often inconsequential disorders such as non-infectious feed associated diarrhoea or diarrhoea
associated with infectious agents such as protozoa (coccidiosis) and viruses (rotavirus and
transmissible gastroenteritis virus). When we asked what drugs farmers would use to treat pigs
when they were sick, we were shown bottles of norfloxacin. In most cases the bottles were stored
inappropriately at ambient temperature, which would severely limit the potency of the active
ingredient. Fluoroquinolone usage in animals is controversial, especially as they are regarded as
highly important antimicrobials in human medicine and use is usually restricted to hospitals only or
by special permission in developed countries. In Australia fluoroquinolones cannot be used in
foodproducing animals and there are strict withholding periods and usage restrictions in other
countries. There is a very high incidence of fluoroquinolone resistance in South East Asia,
predominantly from the abuse of these drugs in human medicine. In Vietnam, we found an
unusually high incidence of fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli isolates from village pigs in
Vietnam compared to commercial pigs (Do et al. [2006] Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci.
1081:543-5), which
may be explained by what we discovered during the farm visits. Steps to alleviate indiscriminate
usage of antimicrobials are as follows:

1) November training on identification of preweaning diseases of pigs from clinical signs and
post mortem analysis.
2) Supply of veterinary kits to each institute including a small range of drugs for specific
treatment of diseases

6.2 Gender and Social Issues
As per previous report. The recent training session on Mong Cai organised by Dr Duyen from
NIAH in Quang Tri province was attended by 22 women and 9 men. Other issues have been
previously addressed in the 1
st
six monthly report.

11
7. Implementation & Sustainability Issues
7.1 Issues, Constraints and Options
Issue 1: Outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease and PRRS virus in Central Vietnam, delaying
shipment of pure Mong Cai into gilts into Quang Tri province and its impacts on biosecurity.
Constraints: Potential outbreaks of disease are significant project constraints that are difficult to
manage or predict. Certainly they influence the price of pork which can directly benefit Vietnamese
farmers, as recently observed in the China outbreaks, but could spell disaster for our project if our
pure Mong Cai gilts are within an outbreak zone. Already 16 of 125 Mong Cai gilts introduced into
Thua Thien Hue have died (mortality 12.5%), though as they were only 2-3 months old at the time,
the losses are not that significant. Ten gilts died as a result of an outbreak of haemorrhagic
septicaemia. It is possible that this could have been prevented by ensuring complete vaccination
schedules had been implemented before introduction of stock to farms and observing proper
quarantine periods. With regards to biosecurity, in large SPF pig operations in Australia, we would
only be able to visit a single farm per day, which is completely unsustainable in smallholder
enterprises in Vietnam. Our scientists visit up to 8-10 smallholder operations per day and apart from
wearing shoe covers, steps to maintain biosecurity between farms are not practically possible.
Options: 1) A line of communication with Dr Ken Inui, National Center for Veterinary
Diagnosis has been opened to keep our project updated on the latest disease outbreak information in
Vietnam.
2) Vaccination schedules and quarantine periods to be rigorously enforced in each
province.
3) Shipment of breeding stock to Quang Tri province to be delayed until the disease
outbreaks are controlled. All gilts to be vaccinated and placed in mandatory quarantine before
introduction to selected farms.
4) Following discussion with ACIAR project investigators at The University of
Queensland who work on avian influenza, limited biosecurity including use of disposable overalls
and washing and scrubbing of rubber boots in disinfectant should be possible to enforce between
districts.
Issue 2: Binh Dinh Province and the high cost of transport and lack of trained extension

workers to support the project
Constraints: In our CARD project one, we were initially advised by the CARD management
committee that we had to include a province in the South of the country. This has proven to be
unsustainable in the current project with a lot of project time and money wasted in travel costs.
Options: 1) We will use the surveyed Binh Dinh farms as a control population to be re-
surveyed at the end of the project to compare production and profitability with the selected central
provinces.
2) Funds supplied to NIVR for Binh Dinh will be diverted to support disease surveillance,
vaccination and veterinary services in the current programmes in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri,
including the provision of veterinary drugs and medicines for proper management of on-farm
disease.
Issue 3: Data recording, competency issues and general reporting of project achievements
Constraints: 1) CARD requires more data for MS 3 (Train the trainers) than what was presented
in the last report. These include: (a) Detailed report, (b) copies of training materials, (c) objective
assessment of technical competency and (d) Brief Training report from Vietnamese delegates.
2) CARD requires more data for MS 4 (Baseline information) than what was presented in the last
report.
Options: 1) MS 3 Train the trainers: We strongly feel we have provided the necessary data for
this milestone as follows: (a) A detailed training report has been attached (Appendix Eight: MS3
Combined Training report-a hard copy sample of training materials used at The Pig Health and
Research Unit has also been provided). (b) Extensive training materials have been attached:
Epidemiological training at UQ (Vietnamese UQ Module 1 and 2, Questionnaire Design) and

12
Environmental Health and Assessment at SARDI (SARDI Training Material for Vietnamese
Trainees). (c) (i) All 6 Vietnamese students passed their competency exams in each unit and were
awarded certificates (Appendix Nine: training certificate) (ii) Creation of the on-line survey and
“ideal Mong Cai breeding house” are milestone deliverables that also cover practical assessment of
the Vietnamese students. (iii) Trip reports, in particular Dr Cargill’s detailed analysis of on-farm
problems identified and solutions developed that all trainees were involved in indicate practical

uptake of skills. (d) We feel that the training report from Dr Duyet is adequate and would be
unnecessary repetition to list what skills have been developed, given that these are already
mentioned in our report. (e) Training must be on-going, therefore where do we draw the line
regarding competency assessment? For example, competency testing will be undertaken again in
November in each province.
2) MS 4 Baseline information including (a) survey and analysis of farms. (b) Identification of: (i)
suitable high priority project interventions (ii) selection of smallholders for training and (iii)
estimates of potential physical and financial impacts. (a) Development of the on-line database has
taken time and effort to perfect. Each institute has completed their surveys and much of this data
has been analysed by SPSS to identify the farms selected for upgrade of facilities. Most of the data
has now been entered onto the on-line database. The CARD management committee can view
results in real time any time they like throughout the course of the project using the provided
username and password. Further analysis of the results is also ongoing, as are improvements to the
system such as the inclusion of a survey reference number, enabling the same farm to be easily
identified and compared over time. Some of the major findings of the survey are the high number of
farms providing no creep area but still hosing and flushing their premises on a daily basis, creating
an unacceptable environment for baby pigs and higher incidence of enteric diseases. (b) A list of
high priority project interventions is attached (Appendix Ten). These are drawn from the combined
experience of three site visits by Australian scientists spanning winter to summer. (ii) Selection of
the best 27-30 farms in each province has occurred and their details supplied in the current report.
(iii) We would like a definition of what the CARD committee means by this deliverable and argue
that it should not be used as a basis for assessing milestones funding. Clearly, this sort of detail
cannot properly be assessed until later in the project.
3) Communication issues between institutes. As it can be appreciated, managing a project involving
three institutes in each country has been difficult but rewarding. One of the major problems has
been stressing the importance of supplying records of achievements for assessment and marketing
purposes, especially given that Australian scientists cannot often spend more than 10-14 days in
Vietnam during a single visit. To facilitate this process, we have identified an Australian trainee
veterinarian with a strong interest in agricultural research in developing countries who paid for her
own airfare to be part of our February 2007 training programme. The trainee has spent considerable

time at the Pig Health and Research Unit in Bendigo and during the November 2007 visit, this
trainee will stay on until the end of January to assist researchers and farmers in the two central
provinces. Her major roles will be to ensure that backdated electronic records of farm visits are
properly entered into the database, photos are uploaded into the database, problems occurring on
selected farms are investigated and solutions identified, samples for disease diagnosis are collected
and sent to NIVR and that vaccines are available for pregnant gilts. This will maintain stronger
links between Australian and Vietnamese scientists in the field and ensure all data is available for
analysis and reporting.
Issue 4: Delivery of Milestones 5, 6, 7 and 8
Constraints: Timeframe in which these milestones are to be delivered.
Options: It is requested that the timeframes on milestones and deliverables for this project be
pushed forward by three months to take into account the outbreaks of FMD and PRSS in Vietnam
that have limited stock movements and impacted upon our project. This would also align reports
with the start and middle of the year, times that are more suitable to the semester timetables of
Universities. We advise that much of data for milestones 6 and 8 has already been collected but
would like to wait until after the November 2007 visit to finalise these deliverables and report on

13
the success of our combined training mission in the Central provinces. This would then be included
in the 3
rd
six monthly report (milestone 7).
Issue 5: Quality and integrity of survey data
Constraints: Translation and data entry errors may exist which may compromise the integrity of
the survey data. This is especially compounded when multiple scientists are entering the data.
Options: A veterinary trainee with a strong interest in agricultural development (Ms Tarni Cooper)
will spend several months in Vietnam (January/February) with each institute carefully cross
checking data entry, supplementing on farm data with digital pictures and ensuring that followup
visits to selected are entered into the database. Currently farms are identified by their district,
commune and family name. To streamline data recovery and comparisons over time a simplified

numeric code will be introduced to identify each survey farm with cross checking against current
Excel spreadsheets.
7.2 Sustainability
Now that the farms have been selected, issues of long-term sustainability can be addressed using the
electronic survey assessments

8. Next Critical Steps
Progress on previous critical steps:
a) Farming system models to be tested: Fifty seven farms representing various production
systems (lowland, upland, integrated farming with fish and ducks, biogas production) have been
selected for upgrade, training of household representatives, introduction of new stock and ongoing
surveillance and audits.

b) Housing design: The ideal housing system has been designed by Vietnamese scientists and
approved by Australian scientists. Costs to build the system now need to be estimated. Most
selected farmers have been encouraged to make modifications to their existing housing systems as a
cheaper alternative, which will be completed by November and audited during the November visits
and training programmes.

c) Choice of stock: Apart from a few selected farmers with experience raising exotic breeds in
Thua Thien Hue, the overwhelming indication, from both farmers and scientists, is that the
introduction of high performance pure Mong Cai presents the least risk of failure and the greatest
opportunity for profit given the limited investment that is possible for smallholder farmers in Quang
Tri and Thua Thien Hue and the current state of housing.

d) Nutrition: Available products in each province have been surveyed and are currently being
analysed. It will now be possible to recommend diets on a year round basis for the selected farms.

e) Health, Hygiene, Management: Housing design has been optimised to improve each of these
areas. Pregnant gilts in Thua Thien Hue will be vaccinated against E. coli in October and the first

litters will be born in November, ideally just in time for our training programmes to focus on care of
the pregnant and lactating sow and litter before weaning.

f) Development of project website: This will be the next task for The University of Queensland as
we attempt to broaden our project to beyond 2 provinces.
Current critical steps:
(a) November training programmes: Drs Fahy, Wilkie, Trott and Cargill will met in early
October to plan the training exercises in each province. A small number of extension workers will
be trained first, followed by the selected farmers. Scientists will visit Thua Thien Hue and Quang

14
Tri farms in two groups with both groups meeting at the end of the day to review the day’s
activities. Both groups will also meet at the end of the training period to review results for the
planning of future training programmes.
(b) Supply of veterinary drugs: Drs Fahy and Cargill will supply small veterinary drug kits to be
used on the selected farms. This will include antiparasitics, antcoccidiostats (Baycox), a selection of
antimicrobials, limited hormonal drugs for pregnancy and lactation, such as prostaglandins and
oxytocin and other drugs.
(c) Complete analysis of survey results: This will proceed as soon as all the survey responses are
entered onto the online data recording system.
(d) Setup of dataloggers to record temperature and humidity in each selected farm.
9. Conclusion
Progress has been made on a number of important milestones during the reporting period. The study
sites have been reduced from 4 provinces (Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Binh Dinh)
to 2 provinces (Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue) and both provinces are now staggered in terms of
introduction of breeding stock and monitoring of profitability by a time period of approximately 6
months. This has been mainly due to unforeseen circumstances in the form of the spread of FMD
due to a new virulent strain and a highly virulent PRRS strain that spread from China. The PRRS
outbreak in particular has decimated small holder production due to the frequent transmission by
artificial insemination of infected semen. Despite this, significant progress has been made in Thua

Thien Hue with the simultaneous introduction of breeding stock, capital upgrade of housing
facilities and training and knowhow. This province also has the advantage that project scientists
have much shorter travelling times.The same rate of progress has not been achieved in Quang Tri,
however upgrade of facilities has proceeded and scientists are waiting to introduce breeding. In
hindsight this was a wise choice given the disease outbreak problems and it will now be interesting
to compare the two approaches in each province during the life of the project (“step by step” in
Quang Tri versus “all at once” in Thua Thien Hue).
Project Progress Against Milestones

The Milestone tables in Schedule 2 below should take preference over the milestone table in the project proposal if there is any discrepancy between them.

No
Logframe Ref
(Output)
Milestone Description Deliverables: Means of Verification for Payment
Expected Delivery
Month/Year
Payment
1
CARD Contract Signed
• Research Agreement signed. Milestones and payment schedules in place
April 2006 $128,400

received
2
1
st
Six-monthly Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as

attachments) Submitted (1
st
report)
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
Submitted (1
st
report)
September 2006 $38,050

received
3
Objective 1
Output 1.1
Trained Trainers Detailed report on intensive training provided to 6 Vietnamese scientists
including:
• Copies of training materials Submitted (2
nd
report)
• Objective assessment of technical competency of trainees and ability to train
other stakeholders Submitted (2
nd
report) but ongoing
• Brief training report from Vietnamese trainees Submitted (1
st
report)
October 2006 $38,050

To invoice
4
Objective 1

Output 1.2
Baseline Information
• Baseline survey and analysis of 80 randomly selected smallholder (10 -15
sows) and 20 larger farms in 4 provinces including data on production
levels, nutrition regimes, health and hygiene status, welfare, housing and
management regimes, environmental impacts, division of labour and income
and profitability. Submitted (2
nd
report) data analysis ongoing
• Identification of suitable high priority project interventions and selected
smallholders for training and demonstration units and estimation of potential
physical and financial impacts Submitted (2
nd
report)
January 2007 $38,050

To invoice
5
2
nd
Six-monthly Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as
attachments) Submitted
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
March 2007
Reporting period
to June 2007
$38,050

To invoice
6
Objective 2
Output 2.1, 2.2
Pig Demonstration Units
• Interim Report on the successful establishment of smallholder demonstration
units including:
• Size, structure and location of units
• Agreed demonstration unit implementation plans
• Agreed responsibilities and accountabilities for demonstration unit
implementation and subsequent demonstration unit based extension
programs, including the role of demonstration farmers in technology transfer
June 2007

October 2007
$38,050

15
7
3rd Six-monthly Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as
attachments)
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
September 2007

December 2007
$38,050
8
Objective 3

Output 3.1. 3.2
Training Manuals Training manuals for extension worker and smallholder farmers including:
• Copies of training material and extension aids
• Formats of pig monitoring and recording systems and their use in CIPs
November 2007

December 2007
$38,050
9
4
th
Six-monthly Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as
attachments)
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
March 2008

June 2008
$38,050
10
Objective 4
Output 4.1
Objective 6
Output 6.1,
6.2, 6.4
Pure Mong Cai Breeding Zone Detailed report on the establishment of Mong Cai breeding Zone in the central
provinces including:
• Physical structure of 40 smallholder cooperatives
• Organisational and management structure for establishment and

sustainability of a large scale breeding zone (incorporating 40 smallholder
cooperatives)
• Breeding and CIP programs
• Responsibilities for monitoring of physical and financial performance during
the project and beyond
June 2008

September 2008
$38,050
11
5
th
Six-monthly Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as
attachments)
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
September 2008
December 2008
$38,050
12
Objectives 1,
5, 6
Project Validation
• Objective assessment of improvements in competency of research and
extension staff and of demonstration farmers as a means of technology
transfer
• Final research/technical report on development and implementation of CIPs
for improving the production and profitability of smallholder and larger pig
production units, including summary of farm based data

• Poster papers and international conference report
• Final report on the establishment and sustainability f the central coast
breeding zone.
• End of project survey (including random selection of participants in the
baseline survey and of smallholders participating in training programs) to
evaluate the physical and financial impact of project interventions
March 2009

June 2009
$38,050
13
Project Completion Report
• Report submitted using the CARD standard reporting format detailing
progress in achievement of logframe activities. (Brief Training Reports as
attachments)
• Statutory Declaration of Personnel, Equipment and Other Services Provided
April 2009

July 2009
$60,010

16
TOTAL $606,960

Project Progress Against Proposed Objectives, Outputs, Activities And Inputs
Project Title: A blueprint for sustainable small holder pig production in Central Vietnam
Vietnamese Implementing Institution: National Institute of Animal Husbandry, Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry, National Veterinary Research Institute
PROPOSAL PROGRESS REPORT
Narrative Information Required Performance
Measures

Assumptions Information Required
OBJECTIVE 1
“Train the
trainers”

• Vietnamese scientists will undertake
intensive training programs in Australia.
This is a capacity building exercise to
develop in-country specialists who will
provide the majority of training at the
next level and drive the project objectives
at the farm-level
• Six selected Vietnamese Scientists (two
from each institute
1) Farm audit
checklists*
2) Competency
testing (in Australia*
and Vietnam**)
3) Draft
Questionnaire
development and
assessment*
4) Examination
(epidemiology and
farm audits)*
Assumptions: Scientists
have the appropriate
level of education,
aptitude and skill to

undertake training and
drive the project.

All students completed
their training
programmes, showed a
high level of aptitude
and received their
certificates


*Completed
** in progress or ongoing

OUTPUTS
1.1. Training
programme






1.2. Survey
questionnaire and
farm audit

• Six scientists will be trained to a high
level in the following areas: (1) animal
health and husbandry, (2) animal

production and herd health, (3) housing
and environmental sustainability (4)
epidemiology and population medicine
(two from NIVR, two from NIAH and
two from HUAF)

• A selection of small holder farms and
large commercial piggeries in each
province will be audited
As above








Questionnaire design
audited by UQ
veterinary
epidemiologist Dr
Annette Litster*

Electronic survey
database created* and
records entered **

In country
As above

Questionnaire and
checklist accurately
reflects small holder
production

Issues of translation and
accuracy have been
identified in the
electronic on-line
survey and are being
rectified
• No issues regarding training however, competency assessment is
ongoing and will not be completed until after November 2007







• Output performance measures relevant and achievable.
Issues relating to timing and quality of delivery of outputs.

1) Delays on developing on-line survey (Jan07-May07) and in
getting Vietnamese scientists to enter data correctly (May07-
Aug07)
2) Data protected by passwords
3) Needs careful analysis by Australian Scientists for accuracy
4) Needs modification to include a database reference number
that can be flagged to easily identify farms selected for

17
competency
assessment by Dr
Tony Fahy, Dr Colin
Cargill (Jan 07*,
Apr* 07, Nov 07**)



upgrade
ACTIVITIES
1.1.1


1.1.2




1.2.1

1.2.2


1.2.3

1.2.4

Australian site visits by project leaders
(March-April 2006)

High-level training in specialist aspects of
pig production as required and
epidemiology training at SU, PHRU,
SARDI and UQ (May-Jun 2006)

Survey and audit design (Apr-May 2006)

Validating survey, training auditors (May-
Jul 2006)

Survey analysis (July-Dec 2006)

Workshop and publication (Dec 2006)


• All Activities completed except 1.2.3 and 1.2.4 which are
ongoing
• Survey analysis requires web based UQ programme which was
not fully operational until May 2007
• Auditing and selection of farms to be validated in Jan, Apr and

Nov visits
• Dec and Jan all records will be checked for accuracy and
photographic records of facility upgrades will be entered into
each survey.
• Limited analysis of 220 farms in Thua Thien Hue and Quang
Nam has produced some interesting results
INPUTS
Veterinary Kits supplied to six Vietnamese
trainees at the conclusion of training. The
kit included post mortem knives, sharpener,
and digital thermometer

Dataloggers for recording temperature and
humidity




OBJECTIVE 2
“Select the
farms”

•
Build up criteria for demonstration
farms, select and invest in regional
small holder enterprises for formation
of the Central Vietnam small holder
breeding collective and pure Mong
Cai breeding zone.

*Completed
** in progress

OUTPUTS
2.1 Selection of
smallholder farms





•
Selection of and formation of 70
small-holder co-operatives in 4
provinces (10-15 sow capacity)
• Small holders ranked according to
audit checklist and invited to join

Small holders
ranked according
to audit checklist
and invited to join
Phase 3 Training.*

Small holders are
willing to work
together efficiently

and rapidly



• Output performance measures relevant and achievable.
Issues relating to timing and quality of delivery of outputs.

• Farms have been selected and facilities being upgraded ready for
final inspection during November 2007 audit
• The degree of support from the farmers has been tremendous.
We are often asked by neighbouring farms when they will be

18

2.2
Housing
modification in
selected units
(pre- and post-
weaning for
piglets and
sows)

Phase 3 Training

•
Units constructed according to
workshop specifications

District map
locations in each
province and list of
participants**

Audit checklist and
inspection, list of
modifications**

Photos of each
upgraded facility
entered into
database**





Upgrades are
completed in time to
take benefits of
newly arrived stock

Farmers will
construct according
to instruction

Instruction is sound

able to join
ACTIVITIES
2.1.1




2.1.2



2.2.1


Selection and audit of large scale (30-
100 sows); 50 units in each province
(Jun-Dec 06)

Analysis of small holder audits and
selection of households to form model
farm units (Jul-Dec 06)

Housing modifications (Jan-Mar 07)




• 2.1.1; 2.1.2 A large number of farms in each province audited

and a total of 57 units in two provinces selected for upgrade. We
have chosen to concentrate on small farms rather than conduct
large farm audits in each province.





• 2.2.1 The time required to provide Housing modifications has
been extended (February –November 2007) and will be reported
on during the November 2007 visit:
INPUTS Subsidy to upgrade facilities for
selected farmers



OBJECTIVE 3
“Adopt
World’s best
practice”


Design and implement training manual
and workshop for breeding sows and
growing pigs for technical staff and
small holder co-operatives.


*Completed
** in progress

OUTPUTS
3.1 Training
manual (English
and Vietnamese)

3.2.
3-5 day



Provision of English
and Vietnamese
versions of training
manuals **


Translation into
Vietnamese will be
accurate


• Output performance measures relevant and achievable.
• No issues relating to timing and quality of delivery of outputs.

19
small holder
training
workshops in
Quang Tri,

Quang Nam,
Thua Thien and
Binh Dinh
provinces


First Training
workshops
(attendance by 4-5
provincial
veterinarians with a
vested interest in
developing skills)
planned for
November 2007** in
Quang Tri and Thua
Thien Hue only
Delays on training due
to inclement weather
(monsoon season in
Central Vietnam)
ACTIVITIES

3.1.1



3.1.2

3.2.1

3.2.2


Co-ordination, preparation and
publication of training manuals (Mar–
Dec 06)

Stakeholder workshop (Hue) to
determine scope of housing and
training requirements (Dec 06)

Training workshop planning (Jul-Dec
06)

Conduct 1) paravet and 2) small holder
training workshops in 4 provinces (Jan-
Oct 07)






Training manuals and powerpoint presentation material has been
prepared in English ready for first training workshop in November
2007

Workshop identified major production constraints, housing design
and environment and focus on Mong Cai.


Paravet/extension worker training workshop for November 2007.
OBJECTIVE 4
“introduce
breeding
stock”


Transport 250 pure Mong Cai gilts to
small holder co-operatives in Quang
Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces (5-
10 gilts per selected co-operative)


*Completed
** in progress

OUTPUTS
4.1
Safe arrival
of breeding
stock to Quang
Tri and Thua
Thien Hue co-
operatives

Transport 250 pure Mong Cai gilts to
small holder co-operatives in Quang
Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces (5-
10 gilts per selected co-operative)


Monitor breeding
parameters (age of
first litter, interval
of litter, littersize, #
piglets born live,
weight, # piglets
weaned, piglets /
sow / year, total
weight of weaned

High rate of
mortality/farmers not
ready to take advantage
of breeding stock,
outbreaks of exotic
disease, or severe
weather delaying
transport of stock

• Output performance measures relevant and achievable.
• No issues relating to timing and quality of delivery of outputs.

20
piglets/ sow / year,
total income
(minus expenses)*
ACTIVITY
4.1.1


4.1.2


4.1.3



4.1.4

Organise pure Mong Cai breeding
programme to supply healthy stock.

Transport (Mar-Oct 07)- ie just after
each workshop

Artificial insemination with pure Mong
Cai semen from Trieu Hai farm (Oct
07- Oct 08)

Supply of pure Mong Cai sows to local
small producers for crossing to exotic

boars (Jan 09)

• 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 completed or in progress
• All breeding gilts (125 Mong Cai, 10 exotic) have been
introduced to test farms in Thua Thien Hue with a 12.5%
mortality rate (mainly due to an outbreak of haemorrhagic
septicaemia due to improper observation of quarantine period).
All sows vaccinated with NIVR E. coli vaccine (October). First
Mong Cai gilts due to farrow in November

• Delays in Quang Tri until after the November 2007 farm visit
due to : 1) Outbreaks of infectious disease (FMD and PRRS) 2)
Flooding and 3)



21