TRAVEL REPORT: Dr Colin Cargill CENTRAL VIETNAM – 21st to 30th May 2008 CARD Project (424 7155 01 004/05VIE) A blueprint for sustainable small holder pig production in Central Vietnam Participating Agencies: Vietnam: National Institution of Animal Husbandry (NIAH) – Dept of Small Livestock Research Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry (HUAF) – Faculty of Animal Sciences National Institute of Veterinary Research (NIVR) – Dept of Bacteriology Department of Agricultural and Rural Development of Quang Tri Province Vietnamese farmer Association – Thua Thien Hue Australia: The University of Queensland – School of Veterinary Science South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) Department of Primary Industries Victoria – Pig Health and Research Unit Report Date – 10th June 2008 OBJECTIVES To travel to Hue Vietnam: a to review progress of project; b to participate in a farmer training programs in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue Provinces with colleagues from HUAF (Dr Duyet and Mr Phuong), NIAH (Mr Bien and Ms Cam), NIVR (Dr Tuan and Dr Huyen) and Dr Tony Fahey To travel Ha Noi: a to visit NIVR to meet with Dr Phu, Dr Huyen, and Dr Tuan and Dr Tony Fahy b To visit Dr Patrice Gautier a consulting veterinarian with significant experience in Vietnam PRINCIPAL CONTACTS Name Hue Professor Nguyen Quang Linh Dr Hoang Duyet Ho Ngoc Phuong Mr Ngo Huu Toan Mr Dang Bien Mr Au Tuan Ms Cam Mr Nguyen Huyen Position Dean – Faculty of Veterinary Science Lecturer – Faculty of Animal Science Faculty of Animal Science Lecturer – Faculty of Animal Science Department of Small Livestock Research Department of Bacteriology Department of Small Livestock Research Department of Bacteriology Institution Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry National Institution of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institution of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Veterinary Research Ha Noi Associate Professor Cu Huu Phu Mr Nguyen Huyen Head – Department of Bacteriology Department of Bacteriology Mr Au Tuan Department of Bacteriology National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institute of Veterinary Research TRAVEL SCHEDULE DATE Location 19th May Singapore ACTIVITY Adelaide to Singapore: depart 12:05 / arrive 17:40 20th May Ha Noi Singapore to Ha Noi: depart 10:05 / arrive 12:20 21st May Hue 22nd May Hue 23rd May Hue 24th May Hue 25th May Hue 26th May Hue 27th May Hue 28th May Hue 29th May Ha Noi Ha Noi to Hue: depart 10:10 / arrive 11:20 Meeting with colleagues from Hue Meetings at HUAF to prepare for Farmer Training program while waiting for Team members from NIVR and NIAH to arrive Visit Phai Dinh Quy Thuong Xa Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Phan Quy Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Van Tri Tram Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Le Minh Hung Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Dao Dau – Dai An Khe Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Le Thi Nga Farm in Quang Tri Province Visit Hoang Thuan Farm in Thua Thien Hue Province Visit Tran Trong Quan Farm in Thua Thien Hue Province Visit Le Thi Yen Farm in Thua Thien Hue Province Visit Nguyen Huu Kiem Farm in Thua Thien Hue Province Training Review Meeting – HUAF Campus Project Review and Planning Meeting – HUAF Campus Hue to Ha Noi: depart 12:10 / arrive 13:20 30th May Ha Noi 31st May Ha Noi 1st June – June Ha Noi to Jakarta: depart 13:30 / arrive 22:10 Jakarta 4th June 5th June Meeting at NIVR with project leaders Meeting with Dr Patrice Gautier Free day Adelaide Meetings with International Potato Centre, WVI and ACIAR Country Representative Jakarta to Singapore: depart 19:05 / arrive 21:45 Singapore to Adelaide: depart 23:45 Arrive Adelaide 07:40 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The main purpose of the visit was to participate in a farmer training program designed for the project farmers in Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue Provinces Farmer Training The teams from HUAF and NIAH had been asked to select of the best farms in each Province as training sites, and to invite to project farmers to each site for the training session The material to be covered in each training session included sow condition scoring, mating and reproduction, feeding and diets, housing and providing an optimal environment for different age groups of pigs, and health including medication and vaccination Unfortunately our colleagues from NIAH and NIVR were a day late in arriving for the training program so the initial planning meetings were only attended by the team members from HUAF During this meeting we reviewed training materials prepared by Dr Duyet, Mr Phuong and Mr Toan, as well as finalising the medication vaccination schedules and the housing plans and recommendations Due to a misunderstanding and lack of communication within NIAH, the Quang Tri Team had planned for the training program to take place on one farm with 30 farmers attending the one session However, after further discussion and explanation, Mr Bien was able to reorganise the program as originally planned Training program in Quang Tri province The training sites for the program in Quang Tri Province included six farms with an average of 5.25 farmers (3.7 females and 1.3 males) attending each site The scientists from HUAF, NIAH and NIVR worked well together and shared the training amongst the group However, Dr Duyet still seemed to take the majority of sessions, especially mating and reproduction and nutrition While the first farms all had pig sheds built since the commencement of the project, only the first and third farms visited were free-standing rectangular sheds with half open walls on the two longer sides and closed ends with a door However the first shed was aligned roughly north south allowing sun to shine into the shed mornings and afternoons Only the third shed met all the recommendations for building design The second and fourth farms visited were new but attached to the family home The design of the second farm was OK as it was rectangular in shape with the longer sides half open, but the fourth farm was square and one of the open ends was covered with iron sheets in an attempt to block the sun However, the sun still shone in over the top of the iron which obstructed air movement and created a safety issue The last two farms were connected to the family home and were good examples of sheds which provide a sub-optimal environment for the pigs The major issues identified on farms in Quang Tri Province  New sheds not being aligned east west to reduce sunburn of pigs and heating of sheds  High temperatures within sheds  No means of cooling sows (every one degree over 200C feed intake reduces 2%)  Thin sows due to underfeeding  Cold weaners and no “box” supplied  Scouring due to cold wet environment  No ad-lib feeding  Water pressure in nipple drinkers too high  No water available for the majority of the day  Poor ventilation with things like iron sheets, other buildings and shrubs limiting air movement  Mange Training program in Thua Thien Hue Province Four farms were selected from the 24 farms in Thua Thien Hue Province as training sites with an average of 5.2 farmers (1.5 females and 3.75 males) attending each site It was interesting that the ratio of females to males in Quang Tri was 2.75 while in Thua Thien Hue it was 2.5 males to every female Again the scientists from HUAF, NIAH and NIVR worked well together and shared the training amongst the group, demonstrating that at this level the Organisations can work well together The first and fourth farms were free-standing rectangular shaped pig sheds with half open walls on the longer sides However, the first farmer had placed netting on two sides of the shed which reduced ventilation and had stored large bags in the roof space reducing ventilation and the volume of airspace in the shed The last farm visited had two rectangular shaped sheds and was cooling the rooves with water Side walls were half open but air movement tended to be restricted due to half open shutters hinged in the middle The second and third farms visited were attached to the family homes and in one case the piggery opened onto the area where the family prepared food and stored eating and cooking utensils The major issues identified on farms in Thua Thien Hue Province  New sheds not being aligned east west to reduce sunburn of pigs and heating of sheds  High temperatures within sheds  No means of cooling sows  No ad-lib feeding  No water available for the majority of the day  Poor ventilation in piggeries adjacent to family house  Proximity of pigs to family cooking area and storage of eating utensils  Mange Review of the training program On the last day of the visit we attempted to have a review of the training program before the scientists from NIAH and NIVR returned to Ha Noi During our discussion we attempted to make a list of both the strong and weak points in the training program as well as positive and negative points about the farms visited The strong points included:  Opportunity to show farmers directly  Material easy to understand  The Project Team knew the farmers personally The weak points included:  Problems over disease prevention and biosecurity - need equipment o Overalls o Boots o Shoe covers  Need to have demonstration farms o One good farm with all the features we recommend o One bad farm with few of the features that we recommend  Need longer time-frame to prepare o Several weeks discussion by email instead of one week Review of the farms The positive features  New building aligned east – west  Pig house separated from family home  Water cooling on the roof  Vines growing on roof  Shade trees with no low foliage  Tile rooves The negative features  Environment for piglets not good on many farms o Need to  use creep boxes  Keep floors dry  Reduce air movement  Closed openings along side walls o Need to  Install blinds which open from the top (easy for farmer to open & close)  Inside of sheds too hot o Need to  Consider fans  Water cooling on roof or misting in shed  Shade trees  Vines on roof  Roofing materials – tiles best Conclusion Overall the program was well organised, despite the initial lack of communication within NIAH The scientists also participated enthusiastically and created a good atmosphere and team spirit Staying in Hue and meeting each evening over dinner for a review and discussion of the day’s events was also a highlight of the visit It is important that the Team identify the deficiencies noted on the farms during each visit and ensure that the farmers are aware of them It would also benefit farmers if they were given an explanation as to why each deficiency is important, and how to rectify the deficiency We could also assist our colleagues at NIAH and HUAF in producing training materials that are more professional and providing each participant with a copy at the conclusion of the program It would also help if there was a greater lead time in planning training programs so that all groups are clear about the concept and the execution In this instance, the final email was only sent days before we were due to meet in Hue and some scientists arrived without having seen the email Finally I would encourage senior colleagues from each Institute, especially the Vietnamese Project Leader, to have greater participation in the training programs, at least during the initial planning review meeting and post training review meeting FULL REPORT SECTION I - VISIT TO HUE Wednesday 21st May The afternoon was spent meeting with colleagues from Hue and planning the weeks’ activities Unfortunately the four participants from Ha Noi only travelled to Hue on 23rd and they did not arrive until evening They had also planned to stay in Quang Tri at night but agreed to come to Hue so that we could have team meetings each evening over dinner Thursday 22nd May The concept of farmer training on the “best” farm selected in each districted had not been well understood and in Quang Tri it had been decided to only visit one farm, with all 30 farmers coming to that farm Hence we needed to reschedule the program on Quang Tri so that we visited farms (2 each day) with to farmers invited to each farm Mr Bien did an excellent job in reorganising the Quang Tri program with little support During the morning we reviewed training materials prepared by Dr Duyet, Mr Phuong and Mr Toan, as well as finalising the medication vaccination schedules and the housing plans and recommendations Farmer training program in Quang Tri province Friday 23rd May Farm #1 Phai Dinh Quy Thuong Xa Farm Five farmers attended the training – females and two males The pig shed was a modern design with open sides and closed ends with a door at each end (Figure 1a), and more importantly the side walls were open There were monchai sows with body scores of 1.0 and 2.5 One sow had been weaned pigs 30 days previously and the other pigs only days ago, but neither had been on heat There were also monchai gilts from the project The weaner pigs were cold and scouring despite an air temperature of 31oC and heat index of 38 o C However the floor was wet and the floor temperature was only 25 oC Although the farmer had been provided with a creep box it was not being used so we invited him to place it in the weaner pen with dry straw in the bottom Over the next 30 minutes the majority of weaner pigs moved from the cold floor to inside the box (figure 1b), confirming its value The floor temperature inside the box was 29 oC However, we agreed that the creep box needs a larger opening across the front of the box for weaners Water pressure from nipples was also too high (figure 1c) We returned to this farm two days later because the older weaner pigs had classic signs of oedema disease (figure 1d) Interestingly the farmer subsequently claimed all the weaners in the pens with scours and OD died, and this seemed to be accepted without question, despite it being epidemiologically impossible Figure 1a – Farm #1 Quang Tri Figure 1b – Pigs in creep box Figure 1c – High water pressure Figure 1d – Pigs with Oedema Disease Farm #2 Phan Quy Farm Five farmers, including the owner, were present – females and one male The farm was a new building but attached to the house on one end The western side of the building was totally open, and half of the eastern side allowing reasonable cross ventilation (figure 2a) The floor temperature was 31 oC, the air temperature 33 oC, the HI 45.2 and humidity 63% The farm had monchai sows One sow with a litter of 10 pigs was being treated for mastitis and the other two had been weaned and mated There were also xbred gilts and monchai gilts from the project No water was available and pigs were not being fed ad-lib Figure 2a – Pig shed with open side walls Figure 2b – Creep box for suckers with milk supplement Saturday 24th May Farm #3 Van Tri Tram Farm Seven farmers including the owner were present – females and one male The pig house was new since our last visit to this farm and the building was aligned roughly east west with open side walls that faced roughly north south There was good cross ventilation and the side walls were not covered with blinds (figure 3a) There was no ridge vent but ventilation was good The air temperature was 32 oC, the HI 39.5 and humidity 66% with air movement at 2m/sec There were monchai sows, one small exotic sow and monchai gilts from the project The small exotic sow had piglets in a creep box (figure 3b) with a 25 day old scour Piglets are all sold at kg liveweight Fertility seemed good because one sow had been weaned 100 days, one 70 days, one 50 days, and one about to farrow All had been mated about days post weaning No water was supplied to any of the pens and none was available to pigs in the pens Pigs were not being fed ad-lib Figure 3a – Pig shed with open side walls Figure 3b – Creep box for suckers with milk supplement Farm #4 Le Minh Hung Farm Four farmers were present – females and one male The pig house was very wide with rows of pens the length of the shed (figure 4a) The shed had been added onto and this was a major error in design It adjoined the house on the southern side and was open along the eastern and western sides There were sheets of iron standing against the western wall to protect pigs from the sun but the effect was to severely limit ventilation (figure 4b) There were monchai sows, monchai gilts and one exotic sow with 13 piglets There were 14 weaners One sow was lame and needed to be euthanised No water was supplied or available to any pens or pigs and feeding was again not ad-lib The floor temperature was 28oC, air temperature 33.4 oC, and Hi 43 Obvious improvements that could be made were to install fans, add a ridge vent, place a blind on the western side that could be opened from the top and grow shade trees with thin trunks along the western side Figure 4a – Pig shed with open side walls but very wide across Figure 4b – Iron sued to stop ventilation and create OH&S issue Sunday 25th May Farm #5 Dao Dau – Dai An Khe Farm Five farmers attended including owner and wife – females and males The building was an old-style design in an L-shape (figure 5a) It had an open front approximately 1.8 m high and the back was approx 1.3 m high Although there was good overhang for protection from the sun, there was little ventilation and the pens were wet and dirty The HI was 45, the roof 50oC, air temperature 34oC, and humidity 65% There were mated monchai sows, one was due to farrow in days, another in month and one that was mated days ago (7 days postweaning after a 30 day lactation).There was also one monchai gilt The farm was a bad choice for a farmer training program because there was little that could be recommended as best practice However, the farmer was preparing to build a new piggery at a distance from the house and existing piggery (figure 5b) Unfortunately he did not seem to be asking any members of the team such as Mr Bien for input for the design and alignment of the building Figure 5a – L-shaped pig shed Figure 4b – Site for proposed new pig house Farm #6 Le Thi Nga Farm Five farmers were present – females and one male oC Again it was an older style building attached to the house However it was open on the two longest sides (figure 6a) but ventilation was reduced by other buildings and a banana plantation (figure 6b) The heat index was 48, the air temperature 35 oC, and the roof temperature 48 oC PRINCIPAL CONTACTS Name Position Professor Nguyen Quang Linh Dean – Faculty of Fisheries Dr Hoang Nghia Duyet Mr Ngo Huu Toan Lecturer – Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Lecturer – Faculty of Fisheries Ms Ha Thi Hue Secretary – Faculty of Fisheries Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh (B) Lecturer – Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Lecturer – Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science Researcher- CARD Project Mr Phan Quang Trung Mr Ho Ngoc Phuong Dr Ta Thi Bich Duyen Mr Au Tuan Vice Head Department Small Livestock Research Department of Small Livestock Research Department of Small Livestock Research Department of Bacteriology Mr Hieu Vice Director Mr Anh Extension Officer Mr Dao Van Hop Chairman Dr Nguyen Que Coi Dr Thuy Director – Thuy Phuong Pig Research Centre Head – Department of Small Livestock Research Head – Department of Bacteriology Department of Bacteriology Mr Nguyen Huyen Department of Bacteriology Mr Nguyen Ngoc Phuc Vice-Director – Thuy Phuong Pig Research Centre Director of Research – Thuy Phuong Pig Research Centre Mr Hoang Bien Mrs Hanh Associate Professor Nguyen Van Dong Associate Professor Cu Huu Phu Mrs Pham Kim Dung Institution Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry National Institute of Animal Husbandry National Institution of Animal Husbandry National Institution of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Veterinary Research Department Agriculture Quang Tri Province Department Agriculture Quang Tri Province Hai Lang Commune, Quang Tri Province National Institute of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institute of Veterinary Research National Institute of Animal Husbandry National Institute of Animal Husbandry ITINERARY DATE DAY LOCATION ACTIVITY 09/01/2009 Fri Brisbane Depart 23:45hrs 10 Sat Singapore, Transit, Arrive Hue _hrs, Brief meeting with Tony and Hanoi, Hue Colin at Green Hotel WEEK 11 Sun Bình Điền Visit farms, making observations and recommendations and visit a veterinary supplies store 12 Mon Thuỷ Visit farms, making observations and recommendations Dương and Thuỷ Phương 13 Tue Quang Tho Visit farms, making observations and recommendations 14 Wed TTHue Free Day- Shopping and sightseeing with Mr Phuong 15 Thur TTHue Work on report 16 Fri HUAF Planning meetings, Work on report, End of Year party with Fisheries Department, including project staff 17 Sat Hue Write an article for the UQ School Newsletter/Gatton Star Newspaper, Work on report, Birthday party for Phuong WEEK 18 Sun TTHue Hire bicycle for Kit, ride to Tien Mu pagoda and read 19 Mon HUAF Work on database, transferring data from old forms to new 5pm: End of year party with HUAF staff, meet with Professor Tien regarding workshops for staff and students of HUAF 20 Tue HUAF Work on database, transferring data from old forms to new, Oversee translation of paper questionnaire into Vietnamese, Work on trip report Visit Tet Flower Festival on the Perfume River 21 Wed HUAF Deal with computer issues via the VPN network 22 Thur TTHue Learn to ride a motorbike, Dragon-boat dinner cruise down Perfume River 23 Fri TTHue Ride bicycle to Tu Hieu Pagoda 24 Sat TTHue Rained out – Read etc WEEK 25 Sun Lunar New Year’s Eve – Fisheries party, watch fireworks with Phuong, Quynh Anh and Kirstin (Masters student from USA) 26 Mon Hue, Thuy Tet – Morning ceremony at HUAF, to welcome in NY Phuong with heads of staff, First guests of NY at Professor Linh’s commune house, First guests of NY at Phuong’s house, visit houses with Phuong and co 27 Tue Tet – Visit friends to wish them a happy new year, with Phuong (Phuong’s family house, 28 Wed Tet – Visit the homes of Dr Duyet, Dr Toan and Dr Thanh 29 Thur Edit article about project, for UQ marketing coordinator 30 Fri Free day 31 Sat Friends arrived from HCM WEEK 01/02/2009 Sun TTHue 02 Mon HUAF 03 Tue HUAF 04 05 06 Wed Thur Fri 07 Sat Bình Điền Quang Tho Thuỷ Phương Hue 08 Sun 09 Mon 10 11 Tue Wed Thuỷ Dương, HUAF, HUAF Research station HUAF Research Station HUAF Quang Tri 12 13 14 Thur Fri Sat Quang Tri Quang Tri Quang Tri 15 Sun Quang Tri 16 17 Mon Tue HUAF 18 19 Wed Thur Huong Chu HUAF 20 Fri 21 Sat Hue, HCM, Singapore Singapore, Brisbane Visit the Tu Hieu pagoda and the Imperial city, meet with people running assistance projects in Hue, in lagoon management and child welfare Work on Vietnamese form on database, correcting errors identified by Warren University New Year party, Prepare paper questionnaires for field use Conduct farm audits in Bình Điền commune Conduct farm audits in Quang Tho commune Conduct farm audits in Thuỷ Phương commune Meet with representative from SNV Netherlands Development Organisation to investigate possibility of finding financial and technical support for farmers to install biogas systems, travel to a farm to view a manual irrigation system WEEK Conduct farm audits in Thuỷ Dương commune Investigate sudden death in sheep – look at photos of PM and examine living sheep PM dead sheep to investigate sudden death, visit local medicine store, treat herd for anaemia and parasites Work on trip report, photo labelling, editing Travel to Quang Tri Province, conduct farm audits on farms Conduct farm audits in Quang Tri Conduct farm audits in Quang Tri Conduct farm audits in Quang Tri WEEK Compare audits in Vietnamese and English and work on Database with Dr Duyen, visit Quang Tri citadel, travel back to Hue Sort surveys, respond to emails, work on report Work on database Buffalo lunch with Phuong’s family and friends Conduct farm audits Assist with Kit’s Pig Health lecture Visit ‘Happy Hue Project’ Depart Hue 0910hrs, Depart HCM 1450hrs, Depart Singapore 2110hrs Arrive Brisbane 0600hrs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THUA THIEN HUE Staffing Mr Phuong continues to be the only member of staff dedicated to the project on a fulltime basis Mr Vũ Văn Hải returned to HUAF after completing his Masters in the Netherlands and expressed a wish to work with the team again Notes from tour with Colin and Tony Misdiagnosis and therefore inappropriate treatment of disease presents as a significant problem and limitation to production in this province Commune vets are not fully qualified and instead of completing the full 5-year veterinary degree, they have studied for a few months to gain certification These ‘paravets’ are trained by qualified District veterinarians Paravets are paid a nominal wage (10,000VND (approx A$0.65)/month) by the government, keeping them in the system, and earn the rest of their wage through fees paid by farmers for their services and medications or from other non-veterinary sources There are approximately 11 paravets in each commune, responsible for particular villages and the head paravet, coordinating these is paid 50,000VND (approx A$3.10/month) Fully qualified veterinarians seek jobs within the government sector, such as the position of District vet, in universities, or in private pharmaceutical or feed companies As we went around the farms I received instruction from Colin and Tony, regarding shed improvements we may be able to oversee while we are in Hue Some of the improvements are fairly minor, with the removal of sections of roofing or alteration of blinds (Figure 1) Figure Modifications still required at a farm in Thuy Duong Commune, Thua Thien Hue While there have been major improvements at this farm (Farm Code 02010) , the veterinarians recommended that blinds draw from the topdown, allowing better ventilation when some protection from the wind is required An easy method includes the insertion of a wooden pole to the top of the blind, with hooks at various heights for easy alteration On Wednesday the 14th of January we were scheduled to visit farms in Hương chữ commune but were not granted authorisation due to a reported fear of PRRS outbreak This was unfortunate as we suspect that the diseases classified as PRRS have not always been so and we would have been interested to see the affected pigs to compare diagnosis and also observe quarantine practices It is possible there were other, unreported reasons for their wanting us to stay away from the area Each household in TTHue is given 3,000,000VND/year, however, the cost of building the recommended shed, designed by HUAF staff, is 12,000,000VND I am concerned that there were two mutually exclusive selection criteria for inclusion in the CARD project; The farmer’s primary source of income should be pig production, The farmer must comply with recommendations of project staff For example, one farm (ID# 02069) has quitted the project due to lack of funds, preventing them from complying with advice from the project staff In its place another farm (ID# 02113) has been added, with a household that has several other sources of income, including aquaculture, rice farming and forestry The new household is comparatively wealthy and owns 5ha of land, allowing them to make major adjustments to the existing shed (Figure 2) and to plan for the building of a new shed after the lunar New Year (2009) Figure A new farm in Thuỷ Phương commune, Thua Thien Hue When a farm was forced to pull out of the project due to financial constraints this farm was added A ridge vent has been built and further improvements are underway The greatest restriction in Quang Tho commune seems to be in the lack of free land Farms are usually land-locked and many are prone to flooding Therefore, current housing must be modified where there is no room for building of a new shed Such housing is often less than ideal, attached to the homestead and inadequately ventilated (Figure 3) Many farms want to install biogas systems but these are reportedly limited by flooding and space Roofing- Rice straw has been shown to be a very good insulator, although less durable than fibro or tiles Phuong reports that the price for rice straw has increased this year There is some concern that the fibro roofing material may have asbestos, as it had many years ago in Australia Tiles are a better insulator than fibro but are more expensive Reportedly, the local, rural people like to use the more modern material, fibro, representing progress and the people in the cities are beginning to prefer more traditional materials Figure The pigshed of a land-locked household in Quang Tho commune, Thua Thien Hue Modifications to the existing, ‘lean-to’ shed must be made, as there is no room on the property for a new shed We recommend a biogas system to deal with effluent; however, this will need to be designed and built carefully, within the limited space Drug stores- Drug companies represented: - Vinavetco - Saigonvet - Viavet - Bayer Anova BIO WHO GMP It appeared that a customer could purchase nearly every drug except penicillin; most drugs are second or third generation, e.g ampicillin, sulfamethoxazol Many of the drugs freely available in these drug stores are banned, especially in food-producing animals or reserved for top-shelf use in Australia Many stores act as suppliers for humans and animals; one side of the medicine store is for human medicines and the other side is for animal preparations (Figure 4) One person may sell medicine from both sides of the store Many of the paravets have their own mini-medicine store in their own house Figure Local Drug store in Thuỷ Dương commune, Thua Thien Hue Province Many drug stores sell medicines and feed supplements for both animals and humans Online Database When I asked Phuong for the translated paper questionnaire, he produced a 5page translated document The English version is 13pages and on checking over it, I found that the Vietnamese document had different formatting and indeed, different questions I am unsure where the miscommunication occurred but I discussed the need for continuity with Phuong and he was happy to translate the final English version into Vietnamese (Appendix1) Formatting was kept the same as the online database to enable the creator (Warren Ham) to upload the Vietnamese version onto the database Phuong found this job fairly easy because he had already translated many of the questions and surveyed the farmers before There was a problem with Question 51, regarding heating for creep boxes; the Vietnamese language does not have an equivalent word for ‘lamp.’ The closest translation is an oil-lamp, used by fisherman Farmers never use what the English language would refer to as a lamp (i.e the option ‘lamp’ is redundant in this question) so we have used the Vietnamese word for oil lamp For each farm, Kit and I completed an audit using the English form and the Vietnamese staff member responsible for that farm completed a Vietnamese version I spent time with Mr Phuong (HUAF) and Dr Duyen (NIAH), who will be responsible for entering data/training others The online Vietnamese form will be trialled by these scientists and cross-checked by myself, as Warren has enabled the user to flick between languages Record Keeping Record keeping was much more widespread and comprehensive than last year Mr Phuong had put together books with a page dedicated to each sow (a sow card format) Farms that had not already received a book were given one during our visit and Phuong supplied new books for households that had filled theirs There were a couple of farmers who had not fully embraced record-keeping and continued to restrict it to writing artificial insemination (AI) dates on the walls of sow pens Education Materials and Kit’s Presentation Kit and I discussed the production of materials for distribution to farmers and indeed, Kit found an item suggesting that this be done in the project proposal We think it would be good for farmers to have pictures of classical presentations of the most common diseases to assist in accurate diagnosis We would also like to tackle the issues of drug residues and resistance through adaptation of the ‘Do It Right’ materials used in Australia We want the materials to be - Simple and easy to follow - Largely pictorial - Translated into Vietnamese - Easily reproduced - Given to farmers and Commune paravets We were unable to produce these materials during our stay, due to time constraints but Kit did give a presentation to scientists at HUAF, regarding common pig diseases encountered in Central Vietnam I was able to scribe some of the issues raised in the lecture, by Kit and the scientists and document ideas for future research (Appendix 2) Biogas Systems As we went around the farms, I became interested in the distribution of biogas systems and the reasons people didn’t have them I put together a very short questionnaire to get some basic data on biogas systems as we went around the remainder of the farms, to look at problems encountered and benefits of having biogas systems (Appendix 3) I am yet to analyse the data collected but some patterns became evident, such as people in Quang Tri generally being under the impression that they had too few pigs to make biogas a feasible option, whereas in TTHue, finance was viewed as the limiting factor While in Hue I met an agriculturalist who had emigrated from Queensland and was working for SNV (a Netherlands aid organisation) SNV has a program set up to assist small-holder farmers to install safe biogas systems and receive technical support SNV gives a VND1million rebate to the farmer after a quality assurance check by their qualified Vietnamese staff The farmer must outlay approximately VND78million before receiving the rebate but also benefits from continued technical support I provided staff at HUAF with information regarding the program I was also able to visit an SNV project site, where a manual irrigation system, involving a bore and hand-pump was being trialled Lunar New Year (Tet) Festivities The University was largely closed during the Tet holidays, aside from when there were ceremonies, such as on New Year’s Day, to welcome in the New Year and usher in good luck for 2009 Kit and I partook in celebrations, commencing with a HUAF and a more intimate Fisheries Department, End of Year dinner We were able to meet other foreigners at these Dinners, including a Master’s student from Holland, working with people affected by law changes in Bach Ma National Park, staff of an Italian, FAO-funded lagoon management project and a guest lecturer from Edinburgh University School of Tropical Veterinary Medicine, lecturing on load-bearing animals We also visited the Hue Flower Festival with Mr Phuong and friends before watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks and performances in Hue City We were requested to attend a ceremony at HUAF on New Year’s morning and were honoured to be the first guests of the New Year at Professor Linh’s house The first day of Tet is the most auspicious The second day, I learned, is for visiting friends and we did this, with Phuong and his friends, in rural TTHue The third day is for paying respect to teachers and we visited key HUAF staff involved in the project, as they are all themselves, teachers A few days before Tet I had acquired a very useful skill; I learned to ride a motorbike and I used the Tet holiday to gain confidence, riding from house to house I feel so fortunate to have had this insight into Vietnamese culture and when I return to work in Vietnam in my professional years, I feel that thanks to my Vietnamese colleagues, I will be able to work with an improved understanding QUANG TRI Staffing Staff members from NIAH visit the farms in Quang Tri once per month and collect data from books provided by NIAH Farm Visits 29 of 30 selected farms in Quang Tri province were visited over four days, with the other household absent due to the mother’s severe illness We were a little concerned on our second day, when we attempted to enter a farm but the farmers did not want us to so due to concern about spread of disease We were informed that earlier in the year there had been mass fatality on a farm in Quang Tri on the same day of an onthe-farm training session had taken place None of the Australian vets could think of a contagious disease that would kill a whole herd within half a day of exposure Word had spread about this incident and farmers were hesitant to let us enter their sheds With some careful negotiation by Dr Duyen and an expression of thanks by us, we were allowed to enter the farms but we limited our time in each The farmers not seem to understand that all people and animals entering the farm are a biosecurity risk and the local commune paravets spend their days moving between farms Biosecurity has been enhanced in most new sheds, with lime being placed at the doorway but disease control is often still limited by unrestricted movement of other animals, such as cats and poultry, in and out of the sheds and little restriction of various people, including friends, drug salespeople, paravets and veterinarians Farms were greatly improved, with the introduction of an ‘EM’ (environmental microorganism) chemical for compost Compost no-longer smelled as much and farmers were very pleased with the cleaner air surrounding their sheds and houses Each commune has a NIAH-appointed ‘leader’ whose house is used for a library of resources for farmers These leaders came with us on our visits to each farm in their commune and with the exception of one, who had a falling out with a couple of the farmers, they were well received The leader is responsible for reporting back to the team at NIAH, in case of a problem, such as the recent PRRS outbreak and one had not been available when the farmer needed to communicate a problem It would be interesting to see what resources the farmers used from the library and what could be added to enhance its usefulness Record Keeping The books have a ‘Sow Card’ format with separate pages for each sow but are lacking a place for the recording of medications used to treat the pigs; there is a place for listing of incidence of disease but no corresponding medication list Staff said there were two factors that would make it difficult to record medications used: They believed it would be very difficult for farmers to read the labels and correctly write the name of the active compounds The farmers often call ‘commune vets’ who dispense the drugs and they don’t know what the pigs are being treated with and say it would be difficult to find out from the veterinarian I feel that there is an opportunity for education of farmers in reading drug labels, making simple dosage calculations and recording drug use There exists no laws regarding withholding periods (WHPs) and this information is not available on drug labels in Vietnam so these records would not be kept at this stage, i.e there is a place for implementation of an adjusted version of Australia’s ‘Do It Right’ program Farmers either: i Go to a drug store and tell the seller the symptoms of their animals and they buy the drug the seller recommends, ii Call a commune vet (paravet) who comes to the property to dispense medication and/or treat the pigs or iii Buy drugs directly from drug representatives who come to the farm, sometimes using them as their primary veterinarian (see FarmID 02074) Swine Health Workshop - Dr Kit Parke Some notes from the presentation… Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Kit - Need to Diagnose and prevent spread as disease period is so long, etc Need to understand clinical signs for disease detection Scientists’ point raised - Government officials came to farms in 2008, to take samples and detected the virus by Real- Time PCR Kit - Aerosol transmission occurs up to 3km and farms in VN are very close together The question must be asked, “Is PRRS endemic in central VN?” Control of disease is difficult: It is reported by farmers and project staff that both negative and positive pigs were culled It is almost certain that not all cases of PRRS are reported Scientists’ question - Is destroying pigs beneficial in controlling the disease? Kit’s response - Culling will only be useful in creating a disease-free farm if all replacement animals are found to be negative for the disease On our farm visits we found that this was not the case; Farmers used compensation money to buy new stock (e.g grower pigs, to maintain cash flow) but these animals were not quarantined or tested for PRRS Kit - Clinical signs include fever (39-41°C), off food, 3months of infertility in boar, abortion/retained piglets in sow, i.e predominantly reproductive signs in adults Respiratory signs predominate in young pigs Not every animal/herd will show clinical signs Many signs are due to secondary pathogens Scientists’ discussion - Mr Phuong said “But if the diagnosis is wrong, culling is a very expensive method of control, for everyone involved.” LOTS of discussion was sparked (sensitive issue!) but translation was limited Kit - No treatment is available for viruses but secondary invaders can be treated Future Directions Need research in the areas of: Epidemiology of the disease in Central Vietnam Cost versus benefit analysis of the current eradication scheme Swine Fever (Hog Cholera) Kit - Asked, “What is the recommended vaccine regime for disease control?” Scientist response - Disease levels in VN have decreased in the past 20-30y Salmonella vaccine only introduced 3years ago so don’t know efficacy Hog cholera vaccine is a live, attenuated vaccine, made using a VN strain sent to Holland (produced by NAVETCO in HCM) Pasteurella multocida (P52) from Pakistan 3in1 vaccine costs 20,000VND/vile Erysipelothrix vaccine is optional but quite popular HUAF recommend: Piglets at 35days old and sow vaccinated twice/year My question - I asked Dr Hai, “Does the commune vet support this schedule? Can the farmers access the vaccine themselves?” Dr Hai response - Yes, the commune vet can come at a phone call Farmers cannot buy vaccine themselves There is a follow-up vaccination for those missed, i.e when more than 2months pregnant at time of bi-yearly vaccinations Farmers often complain of animals getting sick after the vaccine, saying the vet is incompetent When farmers see a vaccinated pig get sick they think the vaccine doesn’t work - One vial has many doses so it is difficult to vaccinated one sow (too much vaccine wasted) The commune vet charges a large fee for the service of vaccinating stock Further Directions - The scientists want us to conduct a controlled trial for vaccine efficacy, using a complete vaccine regime, on our project so that the scientists can use the results for farmer education Leptospirosis Kit - Village flooding (Water is the primary transmission medium) Rats, chickens, etc may assist in transmission Sows may initially have reproductive failure and then the spirochaete may be harboured in the kidney, resulting in an asymptomatic carrier In Australia pigs are vaccinated largely to protect humans and kidneys are inspected for white spots, at slaughter Recommended treatment is oxytetracycline, in-feed and injection Medicate all pigs (sows) Leptospirosis is not a huge problem in pigs but control is important, to protect humans Scientists: Point raised - In central VN: Post-flooding, get disease in pigs and reports of pig farmers in hospitals Kit - If humans are not diagnosed quickly they can become infected for life Future Directions - Do research on Leptospirosis in Central VN, including the usefulness of using a vaccine Sarcoptic Mange Kit - Diagnosis can be made from clinical signs, without seeing mites but a good place to find them is the brown scabs in the ears Mites don’t kill the pigs but they can severely affect growth rates Treatment is by ivermectin of all in-contact animals; elimination is possible ‘Sebacil’ has not been effective on the farms we have visited (possibly due to resistance and/or dose issues) Scientists’ questions - “What are the differences between demodex and sarcoptes?” “Does the treatment kill the eggs?” “What about the differential diagnosis of zinc deficiency?” Kit’s responses - Explained differences between sarcoptes and demodex Ivermectin does not kill the eggs but has residual activity for 30days so will kill hatchlings In zinc deficiency there is no pruritis (sarcoptes is intensely pruritic) and there is profound thickening of the skin Other differentials are ‘Greasy Pig’ (may be secondary to self-trauma from sarcoptes) and Mosquito Bite Hypersensitivity (will see discreet lumps) Diarrhoea in Young Piglets Kit - Very yellow: Milk fat from undigested milk Characteristics vary with: Diet, age of pig, disease USE ELECTROLYTES to prevent imbalance! Encouraged senior HUAF staff to implore NIVR to start producing the E.coli vaccine commercially (currently not being made at all) Scientists’ information - Farmers feed the diarrhoea of sick piglets to the sows so she will produce antibodies and secrete them in her milk Kit’s response - For this technique to be beneficial, would need to feed the contaminated faeces 3weeks before sow/gilt farrows (especially in gilt) Coccidiosis Kit - Steatorrhoea due to Isospora spp More of a problem in exotic sows Easy to prevent: ‘Baycox’ (a Bayer product) given to all suckers at 3days (1ml orally) Haemolytic E.coli - 10days of age through to weaning - May see sudden death with blue ears and blue snout so may be confused with PRRS FUEL USE QUESTIONNAIRE Questions Relating to Biogas Have you heard of biogas systems? Do you know someone with a biogas system? Do you have a biogas system? Who installed your biogas system? Is your biogas system functional? Do you have a technical advisor or repairs person you can call if you have a problem with your biogas system? If you not have a biogas system, you wish to install one? If yes, what is preventing you from installing biogas? Questions Relating to Firewood Do you currently use firewood? 10 Where you source your firewood? 11 If you buy your firewood, how much money you spend per month? 12 If you collect your firewood from the forest, how much time does it take you to collect it each month? ... groups of pigs, and health including medication and vaccination Unfortunately our colleagues from NIAH and NIVR were a day late in arriving for the training program so the initial planning meetings... one was due to farrow in days, another in month and one that was mated days ago (7 days postweaning after a 30 day lactation).There was also one monchai gilt The farm was a bad choice for a farmer... training materials prepared by Dr Duyet, Mr Phuong and Mr Toan, as well as finalising the medication vaccination schedules and the housing plans and recommendations Farmer training program in