FrieslandCampina Vietnam has implementing dairy development program in the past 15 years with the total investment up to now is more than 13 million U.S dollars. At present, there are 70 Vietnamese engineers, veterinarians, and Dutch experts are working full time for this program. More than 2400 farmer households have contracts to supply milk to the company, which taking regular trainings and tests, and providing approximately 170 tons per day of quality milk (25% of the country’s output). Within 5 years, the number of cows providing milk for the company has doubled, from 18,000 (2006) to 35,000 (2011).

 

With the hundreds-of-year experience in the dairy industry in the Netherlands, the cradle of the world dairy industry, since 1996, FrieslandCampina Vietnam has implemented Dairy Development Program (DDP), starting with organizing milk collection system to ensure farmers can sell their products; to giving regular technical support and veterinary services; and organizing training to farmers on technical construction of sheds, grass planting, selection and processing food, care of calving cows and calves, how to prevent common diseases, etc.

 

To encourage farmers to pay attention to improving milk quality practically, FrieslandCampina Vietnam always offer the purchasing price based on milk quality. Over the years, in milk content, amounts of solids and fats have been continuously improved, while the amount of micro-organism has reduced, there are no antibiotics, no additives, meeting the stringent standards.

Ms. Pham Thi Le (Tan Phu Trung Commune, Cu Chi District) who owns the farms that won first prize of sustainable farming model in the Ho Chi Minh City Dairy Contest and Exhibition No. 3, is one of the first households start her dairy farming with Dutch Lady (previous name of FrieslandCampina Vietnam). She said: "Since the beginning of supplying milk to Dutch Lady, I have been carefully instructed by dairy technicians to construct housing and to take care of dairy cow scientifically like this. As seeing the effectiveness of those techniques, I have kept implementing like that for more than 10 years. The more I do my farming, the more I see the efficiency and the value of the foundation that the company helped to set up. " Or as Mr. Nguyen Van Factory (Tan Thanh Dong Commune, Cu Chi district), the owner of the dairy cow winning the title" Miss cow " is also supplying milk to Dutch Lady, shared:" At first I was quite silly, but luckily that my first steps were supported by the dairy technicians of Dutch Lady. "

 

 

Assessing the benefits of quality milk production, Mr. Luu Van Tan, Head of FrieslandCampina Vietnam’s Dairy Development Program reckoned that the program does not benefit only enterprises or farmers but also consumers. "Enterprises can have the supply of quality milk to produce reputable products meeting high standards about nutrition and food safety. Farmers can make more income and have a stable life with their farming, an important factor to develop the dairy industry sustainably. Individual consumers feel secure when using products that safety and nutritional adequacy have been proven. "

 

Dr. Hoang Kim Giao, director of Husbandry Department - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said: "Dairy Development Program of FrieslandCampina Vietnam after more than 15 years of operation has actually contributed to dairy development in Vietnam. "

 

Source: Vietnam Potential Magazine