Entrepreneurs in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces are finding that breeding chicken in air-conditioned farms is an expensive but highly cost-effective trade.
Entrepreneurs in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces are finding that breeding chicken in air-conditioned farms is an expensive but highly cost-effective trade.
The number of air-conditioned poultry farms in recent years has increased significantly in the two provinces as more people find they can earn higher profits and prevent fowls from getting diseases.
Tong Van Huong, chairman of the Minh Hoa Commune Farmers Association in
Huong said the investment for building a 1,000sq.m air-conditioned chicken farm was about VND1 billion (US$58,000) compared to VND200-300 million ($11,000-18,000) for a conventional one.
However, an air-conditioned farm which uses cement and steel can be used for up to 10 years while normal poultry farms can be used for only 2-3 years.
With automatic feeding systems that are typically installed in air-conditioned farms, a labourer can breed 100,000 chicken against 30,000 in normal farms.
Huong said a 10,000sq.m air-conditioned farm could breed a brood of 10,000 chickens at a time and farmers can breed 4-5 broods a year in such farms.
At current animal feed prices, farmers can earn profits of VND40-50 million ($2,400-2,900) for breeding 10,000 chicken over a period of 45-60 days, according to Huong, who is one of the leaders in running air-conditioned chicken farms in Minh Hoa Commune.
Huong said Minh Hoa Commune alone now had 20 such farms and several farmers were applying for bank loans to invest in similar projects.
Huong himself is investing in six additional farms that will be able to breed about 80,000 chickens at a time.
The department estimates that the number of chickens bred in air-conditioned farms, mostly in the districts of Thong Nhat, Vinh Cuu, Trang Bom and Long Thanh, can double by the end of the year.
Several farmers with air-conditioned chicken farms have also contracted with major livestock companies including CP, Emivet and Jappa to breed chicken for them.
These companies supply chicks, animal feed and breeding techniques to contracted farmers.
(Source: VNS)
