| HOME | FAQS | SITE MAP | CONTACT US | |||
 |
|||
USAID Supports Marketing of Traditionally-raised Poultry to Fight Bird FluThursday, March 05, 2009 HANOI, March 5, 2009 – While many Vietnamese buy chickens produced on large and biosecure commercial poultry farms, a new survey funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) indicates that consumers are prepared to pay more to buy safe, tasty chicken raised outdoors on free-range pastures. According to 500 consumers and 50 retailers surveyed in Hanoi, 70 percent of households would pay up to 10 percent more for guaranteed safe food products. Sixty-eight percent of consumers say their main response to disease outbreaks is to continue buying the same type of meat, but shift to meat with clear origin, good reputation, and certification. The survey comes at the start of a new USAID-funded pilot initiative designed to strengthen the free-range poultry sector in Vietnam and better control the spread of avian influenza and other poultry diseases. The initiative aims to create public-private partnerships to developing supply chains – from poultry farms all the way to the consumer -- that promote chickens raised under traditional conditions with high standards for safety, free from avian influenza and other poultry diseases. “We are very much looking forward to the project’s support,” said Mr. Mai Van Tuong, a producer of free-range Tau Vang chicken in the An Linh cooperative in Binh Duong province. “For our cooperative, the set up of one small-scale slaughterhouse will help us improve the quality and profitability of our production. Additionally, it will cut out middlemen and thus create a win-win scenario for both customers and producers: customers can enjoy high quality products with a cheaper price and producers like us can have better control over pricing issues. I believe that this project will receive strong support from local authorities.” Through September 2009, the project will initially help poultry cooperatives in the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Binh Duong, an animal feed company and its network of farmers in Hanoi province, and a small breeding company and its network of farmers in Ha Giang province to raise production standards while promoting higher consumer awareness of biosecure chickens. This meat will combine good and fresh taste with optimal safety and will come from chickens raised on pastures or under trees, in biosecure conditions that will greatly reduce infection from avian influenza and other diseases. The chickens will be raised under strong veterinary supervision, will be slaughtered and transported in compliance with international food safety standards. This project is an initiative of the global STOP AI Project implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI). DAI’s implementing partners in Vietnam include the Asian Veterinary and Livestock Services (ASVELIS) and Market Development and Investment (MDI). ASVELIS will work with poultry producers, slaughterhouses and retailers to develop the supply chains and MDI to raise consumer awareness and visibility of the improved poultry products. They will work in close collaboration with Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Consumers in Vietnam should be able to take advantage of high quality, safe, traditional chicken meat by June 2009. Vietnam is one of the countries that most affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza caused by the H5N1 virus. Although government leadership has been successful in significantly reducing the number of outbreaks, the virus is still being detected in the country’s poultry population. Avian influenza can be transmitted from animals to humans. Experts are concerned that the virus could mutate into an influenza strain that is transmissible between humans, potentially launching a global influenza pandemic. Since 2003, Vietnam has had 109 human H5N1 cases, resulting in 54 deaths. Since 2005, USAID has provided $27.5 million for avian influenza prevention and control in Vietnam. # # # FURTHER READING
| |||
|
|||
