Chapter 9: Livestock Production Systems in Northern Vietnam: Problems and Prospects

This chapter aims to review the evolution, current problems and prospects for the development of livestock production systems in Vietnam and outlines some implications for sustainable development of livestock production sector in the future. The livestock production sector in Vietnam plays an important role in household economy. It has been developed rapidly due to the increasing demand for food of animal origin for domestic consumption. The pressure to move towards a more sustainable livestock production is now rising, resulting in the need of redesigning livestock production systems. This chapter aims to identify the evolutionary process, current problems and future prospects of livestock production systems as the basis for suggesting Policy options for sustainable development in Northern Vietnam. We begin with an overview of livestock production system evolution during the socio-economic transformation period initiated in the late 1980s. This chapter will focus on the analysis of current technical, socio-economic and institutional problems that are now faced by most livestock keepers. There is an in-depth discussion about the evolutionary perspectives and policy implications for sustainable development of livestock production systems