Báo Nông thôn Ngày nay/Dân Việt và Tập đoàn Hùng Nhơn ký biên bản hợp tác

On July 9, Nông thôn Ngày nay/Dân Việt Newspaper and Hung Nhon Group signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly promote communication in the livestock sector, particularly focusing on safe farming models that ensure disease biosecurity.

During a meeting, Mr. Gabor Fluit, CEO of De Heus Group Asia (a major Dutch livestock corporation partnering with Hung Nhon Group on high-tech livestock projects across Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, and Lam Dong), expressed his strong impression of Nông thôn Ngày nay/Dân Việt Newspaper's activities.

"Vietnam is an agricultural country, and you represent the voice of farmers, the largest workforce in Vietnam. Therefore, I believe we will cooperate well to communicate modern and safe farming methods to the people," Mr. Gabor stated.

Mr. Gabor shared that during his first meeting with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, he was deeply concerned by a statistic the Minister presented: over 40% of Vietnam's workforce is in agriculture, yet it generates only 20% of the GDP. In contrast, the Netherlands has only 1% of its workforce in agriculture but also contributes 20% to its GDP.

"Minister Nguyen Xuan Cuong's goal is to rebalance these two figures, increasing the value of agricultural production. This has also been De Heus's goal since we first set foot in Vietnam 12 years ago—to increase production value for farmers by applying suitable breeding stock and farming technology. Currently, the average sow productivity in Vietnam is only about 13-15 piglets per litter; with De Heus's breeding stock and technology, it can reach up to 30 piglets per litter," Mr. Gabor added.

According to Mr. Gabor, with African Swine Fever still rampant and no vaccine available, it's difficult to maintain old farming models. Instead, farmers must be guided to adopt higher biosecurity and environmental safety measures, along with better breeding stock.

"De Heus's view is that we do not want to compete directly with farmers; that is, we do not want to directly engage in farming, as it would go against our group's 100-year promise. Instead, we want to provide farmers with the best breeding stock, the best feed, and ensure off-take for their products. Farmers are the ones who endure the most hardship, and we will help them with new technology to improve farming efficiency," Mr. Gabor emphasized.

Mr. Vu Manh Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Hung Nhon Group, stated that the joint venture with De Heus Group to establish DHN High-Yield Pig Breeding Joint Stock Company in Cu M'gar District, Dak Lak Province, was a risky decision at this time, as many projects have been halted due to the pandemic's impact. "It's like we are walking into the eye of the storm," Mr. Hung remarked.

The two companies will jointly invest in building a modern pig farming system using Industry 4.0 technology, with a scale of approximately 2,500 great-grandparent pigs and 24,000 grandparent pigs. This is also expected to be the largest pig farming project in the Central Highlands currently. Great-grandparent and grandparent pigs will be selected and directly imported from the Netherlands to produce grandparent and parent breeding stock, ensuring a good supply of breeding pigs for the pig farming market.

"We apply advanced farming technology from the Netherlands and Denmark, adhering to 349 criteria. The project is expected to break ground in August 2020, with products anticipated by June 2021. When completed, the project will create hundreds of local jobs and form a closed value chain in livestock farming," Mr. Hung said.

Mr. Gabor shared De Heus's ambition to transform the joint venture farm with Hung Nhon into an ecosystem rather than just a large-scale farm. Accordingly, the group will prioritize wastewater and waste treatment. The distance between farms will be maintained, and land will be efficiently utilized by planting fruit trees between farms, with fertilizer and irrigation water derived from treated pig farming waste.

"Many people say we are taking a risk; who would pour so much money into pig farming when African Swine Fever is still raging? I think differently. While it's true there's a risk, and African Swine Fever is as destructive as a storm, if we go straight into the eye of the storm, we will survive. I believe that after the rain comes sunshine, and in every difficulty lies an opportunity," Mr. Hung emphasized.