|
Matching Livestock Systems with Available Resources |
MEKARN Regional Conference 2007 |
The aim of this study was to evaluate the productivity, economic contribution and main activities of the native buffaloes in Mekong delta of Vietnam for establishing the foundation for future relevant research and development programs. The survey was carried out in six provinces of the Mekong delta including 13 districts of Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Bac Lieu, Long An and Tra Vinh provinces.
There was an increase of the buffalo population in the MD in 2005 with the total heads of 36,400 after a long period of reduction. The live weights of the adult male and female buffaloes in Dong Thap province (560kg and 514kg, respectively) were higher than those of other provinces, while there was an improvement of size and live weight of the buffaloes in Hau Giang, Kien Giang and Bac Lieu. The age of first oestrus was from 2.83 to 3.80 years and the first calving was from 3.87 to 4.69 years. There was an improvement of reproduction rate of female buffaloes in Long An province with 32.1% females having 1 calf per year. The age for starting work was from 2.60 to 3.90 years with the highest working time per year of 4.20 months in Kien Giang province. The transportation of buffaloes for field works was mainly by motor boats. There were changing roles of the buffaloes in different provinces. Farmers raised buffaloes for getting main income from sale of calves in Long An provice and of transporting rice in Kien Giang and CanTho provinces. Buffaloes were raised for reproduction, land preparation and meat in Dong Thap, Bac Lieu and Tra Vinh. The price of buffaloes in the MD province was very high with 5 to 6 million VND per calf, 12-15 million VND per cow and 17-25 million VND per working male buffalo.
The conclusion was that the buffaloes in the MD possessed large size and high live weight. There were signs of increasing buffalo population due to the real demands of farmers. Changing roles of the buffaloes for calf production, pulling rice carts and beef production and a better income from buffalo keeping were clearly observed. Studies on breeding, nutrition, feeds and suitable feeding systems of buffaloes for these changes should be considered.