Dutch experts helps Vietnamese cow raising farmers
A group of Dutch farmers came to Vietnam to share with Vietnamese counterparts the best practices in cow raising for improvement of productivity and milk quality.
The Dutch farmers selected by Agriterra had visited dairy farms in Ho Chi Minh city and few provinces to learn local milking techniques and take milk samples for testing. The tailor-made training program was developed based on those site visits in collaboration with FrieslandCampina Vietnam to provide Vietnamese farmers with practical cow raising techniques. The program was aimed at improving milking techniques to reduce the somatic cell counts and bacterial levels in milk produce. We also expect that the Vietnamese farmers, who learnt the advanced techniques from the Dutch counterparts will not only apply them in their business but also help the other local farmers in improving milk productivity and quality.
Wim Van Ittersum, one of the Dutch farmers, said he was back after three years in Việt Nam and was impressed that local farmer’s techniques had been improved, leading to higher quality and quantity of milk, which is bought by FrieslandCampina.
The programmes are being carried out as part of an agreement FrieslandCampina Vietnam signed with Agriterra in 2012 to sustainably develop the dairy farming industry in countries where it has operations to improve the lives of farmers there.