Leading the country in developing pig farms
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province, to date, the whole province has attracted 308 investment projects in the field of animal husbandry (mainly cow, pig and poultry farming projects), with a total area of nearly 11,700ha and a total construction investment capital of more than 57,149 billion VND. The whole province has attracted 255 pig farming projects (quantity of more than 6.2 million heads), of which 23 projects in the East and 232 projects in the West, with a total area of more than 7,337ha, investment capital of nearly 40,600 billion VND.
With this scale, Gia Lai is currently leading the country in attracting industrial pig farms. The province orients to develop concentrated, high-tech livestock farming, ensuring disease safety, food safety, environment and value chain linkage, mainly in the western region.
Gia Lai province encourages the conversion of thousands of hectares of inefficient rubber to high-tech farming to exploit land funds and promote socio-economic development in border areas.
Priority investment areas are arid, low-nutrient land such as near An Khe pass, Ia Lau, Ia Mo, Ia Puch, Ia Pa, Po To, Sró and Dak Song communes. Investors must commit to applying modern technology, thoroughly treating waste, not causing pollution, and creating jobs, contributing to infrastructure development and improving people's lives.
Preventing environmental pollution from livestock density
Along with the development of the livestock industry, functional agencies also warn of the risk of environmental overload in some areas with many farms.
According to the Gia Lai Provincial Sub-Department of Environmental Protection, some areas such as Ia Lau and Po To communes currently have very high livestock density, reaching about 6-7 livestock units (DVVN) per 1ha of agricultural land.
Although considering the entire province, the livestock density is still within the permissible limit according to regulations, not exceeding 1 VNA per 1ha of agricultural land, but the concentration of too many livestock facilities in some localities is at risk of exceeding the environmental load.
This situation increases the risk of bio-insecurity, pollution, environmental incidents and the formation of hotspots for security, order and people's lives. Faced with this reality, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province has reported to the Provincial People's Committee to consider temporarily suspending the receipt of dossiers for new pig farming projects in areas with high population density, agricultural production areas with high value, areas planned for other economic sectors or key areas for national defense and security.
Mr. Doan Ngoc Co - Deputy Director of Gia Lai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment - said: "Along with perfecting the management mechanism, functional agencies are required to strengthen inspection and examination of the operation of livestock farms; closely monitor the treatment of waste and wastewater and resolutely strictly handle violations of the law on environmental protection".
