Vietnam is a tropical country in Southeast Asia. It is ÍsÔ²shaped and stretches 2000 km from North to South. Its area of 329.566 square km supports a population of 78 million of whom 80% are involved with agriculture.

During the last 5 years the agricultural output of Vietnam has grown at about 4% per annum and contributes about 25% of GDP and generates 60% of exports. Production of the major crops, principally paddy rice, grew sharply between 1990 and 2000. Animal production contributes 27% of the agricultural output. Per capita consumption of livestock products in 2000 was 32.4 kg of meat including 5.0 ² 5.5 kg of poultry meat and 53.3 eggs and 0.5 litre of fresh milk. Seventy seven percent of meat produced is pork, 16% poultry including duck and 7% red meat, mainly from buffaloes and cattle.

Animals and poultry form an integral part of village life and have important social functions in Vietnam. They are important source of cash income for village families and provide a cheap source of protein for rural people.

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The population of poultry in Vietnam increased rapidly from 1990 to 2000 with an annual increase of about 9.5%. In 2000 total population of poultry was estimated about 196 million including nearly 50 million ducks and muscovy ducks. This is double the estimated population in 1990.

Total production of poultry in 2000 was 270,000 tons that increased 1.5 times when compared with those in 1990.

The numbers of poultry in the whole country are relatively big but the egg and meat production are still low because most of them (approximately 75% of poultry population) are kept in small households with local breeds. The size of chicken herd is about 10 ² 20 chicken per family that consume mainly locally available feed.

The productivity of local poultry in Vietnam is moderate and quite variable. The body weight of 5 month old local chicken broiler is only 1.3 ² 1.5 kg and local laying hens produces 70 ² 80 eggs per year. The annual live weight off ² take varied from 0.8 kg to 2.1 kg of meat per head and from 9.9 egg to 25.5 eggs per head depending on the different agro ² ecological zones. The productivity is weak given the low initial production base and the potential for increased productivity through better nutrition and cross breeding.

Because local chicken meat is perceived to be more tasty and of higher quality than that of many exotic breeds, during the last few years village chickens production has increased in response to consumerÔs preference for local breeds.

There is a diversity of local breeds raised for different purposes. More than 10 indigenous and native poultry breeds have been raised in different parts of Vietnam. Their use in practice and production has contributed to the conservation of poultry genetic resources in Vietnam. The most popular breed is the Ri, raised in the North, and Ta vang and Tau vang in the South. They are dual ² purpose breeds, slow growing but adapted to scavenging and the hot climate. They have high resistance to diseases and parasites.

Consumers prefer some breeds because of the yellow colour of feathers and skin, features that are favored for the frequent spiritual festivals held in Vietnam and for family offerings. Some breeds are raised for specific purposes: Choi and Tre breeds for village cockfights; and Ac for making traditional tonics to benefit people who are old or sick.

Some other dual-purpose breeds have been imported during recent years such as Tamhoang and Hoa Luong Phuong from China, Nagoya from Japan as well as Sasso from France. They are used for cross breeding with local breeds. The crossbreds such as R1, BT1 have shown that their growth rate and carcass rate is considerably higher than those of local breeds while good tasting egg and meat still remain.

Chickens are raised in every village in Vietnam and 75% of the national flock is kept under traditional village conditions. Villagers use free²range, back yard or semi²intensive systems, but not intensive systems.

Poultry production in Vietnam is often integrated with pig rearing and aquaculture in villages. Fish-chicken ²pig integrated farming system has been considered as having the highest rate of profit on total cost and farm area.

Most farmers keep chickens, but the smaller flocks contain only few birds. The average flock size 10 ² 20 chicken per family and they consume mainly local feed. Other poultry such as ducks, including muscovies, and geese and quail are also kept in villages. The daily management of small flocks of poultry is usually the responsibility of women and children.

The size of chicken flocks vary during the year due to the market needs. The peak of production occurs between December and February for Lunar new year of Vietnam when the price is the highest because consumption of chicken is part of the tradition

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Poultry diseases are considered the largest threat to traditional poultry production in Vietnam. Newcastle disease is the main fatal disease of chicken. The disease is endemic in the country and outbreaks are reported throughout the year with a peak during the months of November to March. Viscerotropic velogenic forms of the disease are frequently confirmed by diagnostic laboratories. Fowl cholera and fowl pox are also common disease in village chicken. In villages where Newcastle disease is controlled by vaccination, fowl cholera has become the most economically important disease for traditional chicken production.

Vietnamese government has encouraged our farmers to actively participate in vaccination campaigns against major infectious disease of poultry, firstly Newcastle disease. The first vaccine against Newcastle disease that was produced in Vietnam was the F ËAsplinÓ strain. This was followed by the Mukteswar strain and La Sota strain. Recently a new type of Newcastle disease vaccine called ËThe thermostable vaccineÓ has been developed from Australian I2 strain.

This vaccine has been highly appreciated by the farmers and rural development officers because of itÔs preventive efficacy and ease use. In 2000, 12 million doses of the thermostable vaccine was produced and sold in Vietnam. Recently the use of vaccines for prevention of infectious diseases in poultry has been increasing due to effective extension activities and the preventive efficacy of vaccination campaigns. Generally, the incidence of ND in village chicken depends mainly on availability of the vaccine and capacity of villagers to properly use it.

Thanks to frequent vaccination campaigns, incidence of ND decreased sharply and chicken population increased rapidly in many villages. Outbreaks of fowl cholera are reported all year around but usually are concentrated at the beginning of the rainy season. The serotype of local pathogenic Pasteurella multocida isolates was determined as type A1. Fowl pox is also a fatal disease of young chickens. The disease has been present over the whole of the country for a long time and caused great loss in chicks and young chickens in villages.

The Vietnamese government has encouraged our farmers to actively participate in vaccination campaigns against major infectious disease of poultry, firstly Newcastle disease. The first vaccine against Newcastle disease that was produced in Vietnam was the F ËAsplinÓ strain. This was followed by the Mukteswar strain and La Sota strain. Recently a new type of Newcastle disease vaccine called ËThe thermostable vaccineÓ has been developed using the Australian I-2 ND strain.

This vaccine has been highly appreciated by the farmers and rural development officers because of itÔs preventive efficacy and ease use. In 2000, 12 million doses of the thermostable vaccine was produced and sold in Vietnam. Recently the use of vaccines for prevention of infectious diseases in poultry has been increasing due to effective extension activities and the preventive efficacy of vaccination campaigns. Generally, the incidence of ND in village chicken depends mainly on availability of the vaccine and capacity of villagers to properly use it. Thank to frequent vaccination campaigns, incidence of ND decreased sharply and chicken population increased rapidly in many villages.

In addition to infectious diseases, parasites and nutritional disorders are also problems in village chickens. Traditional raised chickens have severe worm and fluke infestations. They often cause intestinal disorders and low productivity. The common anthelminthic pharmaceuticals that are available in Vietnam are tetramisol and levamisol.

Village chickens obtain feed mostly from their natural environment by scavenging. They also receive supplementary feed usually paddy rice or some commercial concentrate at the end of the day. Supplementary feed varies from 10 to 30% of total daily feed intake depending on the familyÔs economic situation, age of poultry and production stage as well as current market price. The insufficient daily feed intake causes poor growth rate and low productivity. Recently the nutrition of village chicken has been improved considerably by introducing a new technology to successfully raise earthworms at the household level using ruminant and pig manure mixed with decayed rice straw. Another technology for the proper conservation of paddy rice, maize and peanut at family scale have prevented mould growth.

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