Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multi-sectoral problem that affects humans, animals, plants/crops, and the environment. AMR control necessitates a global approach combined with coordinated national initiatives across policy and regulation. Importantly, preventive measures and engagement with farmers and other food value chain stakeholders are required. The Vietnamese Department of Animal Health and Production in collaboration with FAO Viet Nam, with financial support from the U.K. Fleming Fund, launched the Farmer School Community (FSC) initiative modeled after the Farmer Field School (FFS) methodology.

Farmer School Community (FSC) development involves a two-fold approach starting with the formation of farmer groups centered around a common production system, creating a community and environment which fosters the sharing of observations and knowledge from its members. Secondly, qualified experts and facilitators would then be brought in to impart ideal farming practices and to assist with the periodic collation of detailed data, a crucial step to remedying one of the current limiting factors which is the limited availability of quality antimicrobial usage (AMU) data that can be used for improving agricultural practices, combating antimicrobial resistance, and driving positive economic impact for the participants.

Three farmer schools’ community (FSC) were set up in Dong Hy, Phu Luong, and Phu Binh districts of Thai Nguyen province. Each school composed of 10 small to medium scale farms with 1,000 to 5,000 colored-feather chickens participating. Volunteer farms served as rotating venues for regular visits, allowing other FSC members to observe and learn new practices. Over the course of activities, each school organized several training lessons covering different stages of poultry production,  encouraging knowledge sharing and discussion between farmers on their observations and experiences through on-site training and practical demonstration.

One of the key points of the FSC was that participants were not required to make any changes to their infrastructure, equipment, or input providers. The farmers also retained full autonomy over production decisions. This resulted in diversity over chick placement dates, chicken breeds, chick sources, chicken feed, and veterinary supplies. This approach is aligned with the FFS philosophy of "Start with what farmers have” wherein the focus is on incremental improvements and not full overhauls of the farms.

Due to varying timelines and needs, the practical training was adapted to each farm's specific situation in addition to covering the general topics common to all. The context of the lessons mainly centered around good husbandry practice, vaccine usage and responsible antibiotic practices, knowledge on the setting up of advanced chicken houses, and biosecurity measures focusing on the Three-Clean ideology of “Eat Clean, Drink Clean, and Maintain a Clean environment”.  Aligned with the project’s goal of promoting prudent antibiotic use, the guiding principle was “Prevention is Better than Treatment,” emphasizing that healthy poultry require less medication, reducing both AMU and costs. Farmers were trained on disease prevention, including ensuring biosecurity, boosting natural immunity, and applying appropriate vaccines based on local epidemiology. They also learned organic techniques, such as adding tea byproducts or garlic powder to feed, to improve chicken immune system and appearance.

Throughout the production cycle, nearly all 30 FSC poultry flocks remained healthy, with most farms avoiding antibiotic use entirely. Average antibiotic usage dropped from 3.32 kg to 2.19 kg per 1,000 chickens—a 34% reduction. Financially, antibiotic costs fell by 31.86%, from 3.6 million to 2.46 million VND per 1,000 chickens. Two farms in Dong Hy eliminated antibiotics use completely, relying on improved biosecurity and organic practices. Chicken survival rate was maintained at 99.24% across all three districts. Accordingly, the average Cumulative Feed Conversion Ratio (weight of feed used versus live weight gained, both measured in kilograms) was 2.50 which is considered excellent for domestic Vietnamese chickens.

In conclusion, positive outcomes of FSC were achieved and sustained while maintaining a considerate and respective approach towards the unique and diverse conditions being experienced by each locality, farm, and participant farmer. The program was highly flexible in delivering technical content, imparted the knowledge and drive to enable participants to improve standards from “Good” towards “Best in Class”, and most importantly, it allowed farmers to adopt changes at their own pace and comfort levels. By capitalizing on economic and health-related benefit awareness, the program was able to influence a shift on the practices and mindsets among farmers, suppliers and local communities. The program also contributed valuable data for future initiatives while also building confidence in the benefits and feasibility of a continued drive towards sustainable livestock transformation, greater efficiency, stakeholder inclusivity, and overall community resilience in tackling the issue of Antimicrobial Resistance.