With the fast economic growth expanding the urban population in Viet Nam, demand for food has been increasing in a fast pace in the recent years. Poultry has been an important source of animal protein, approximately 4,650,000kg poultry meat being consumed monthly in the Vietnam’s capital Hanoi (source: Ha Noi Trade Department, 2014). Though industrial poultry factories are expanding in Viet Nam, many individual households manage their own small and middle scaled parent flock farms or hatcheries to support this vast urban demand and gain extra economic income, acting as an important role in Viet Nam’s poultry production chain.
Since the H5N1 HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) outbreaks starting in 2003, poor biosecurity in poultry farms have been pointed out as one of the hazardous factors that contributed in increasing the risk for disease introduction, disease spread as well as threatening the food safety along the poultry value chain in Viet Nam.

Therefore the Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) Programme within FAO Viet Nam developed basic and advanced guidelines for farmers of small and medium scale poultry breeder farms and hatcheries. These guidelines were implemented in 6 parent flock farms and 6 duck hatcheries in 2 provinces.

Hatchery Farmers and Social Protection

By implementing recommended biosecurity measures in farms, farmers witnessed big improvements in many aspects. The rate of egg productivity and hatchability increased and automatically farmers were able to gain more income than before. From this guideline, small and medium scale farmers will be able to build up more resilience towards disease outbreak or natural disasters, as they are the more vulnerable than industrial factories.