Feeding pigs 10 precious medicinal herbs, Bac Giang farmers earn millions of USD

On the last afternoon of the Year of the Tiger, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hai, Director of Binh Minh Organic Agricultural Cooperative, was busy in the kitchen cutting a piece of pork leg to serve guests. The plate of pork leg with firm pieces, sweet taste mixed with a characteristic aroma made those who enjoyed it for the first time nod in praise.

He said that this is one of the prides of the cooperative members when they successfully raise pigs with herbs and create products typical of their hometown Hiep Hoa, Bac Giang province.

Established in December 2016, Binh Minh Cooperative consists of 8 members who are pig farmers in Danh Thang and Luong Phong communes of Hiep Hoa district. This is also one of the few cooperatives in Bac Giang province that has successfully proposed many solutions, applied herbal animal feed products and provided the market with a source of clean, quality pork.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hai checks ham and sausage before leaving the warehouse.

Sharing about his experience in raising and creating products from pigs, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hai said that before establishing the cooperative, he worked as a postal employee. After that, he worked as a technician for a company specializing in fermenting and converting food.

"From here, I began to have many opportunities to come into contact with fermented foods, and then realized that I had to change the current way of raising pigs. I applied raising pigs with precious medicinal herbs and brought about clear results," Mr. Hai shared.

According to Mr. Hai, the animal feed at the cooperative uses 10 precious herbs, including Andrographis paniculata, Phyllanthus urinaria...

To successfully process and mix a special feed for pigs consisting of many herbs, Mr. Hai spent a lot of time studying and refining knowledge while working with Japanese experts. This type of feed does not contain growth hormones, helps supplement organic acids, high minerals, and increases the resistance of pigs.

Ham products with delicious taste, sweetness and characteristic aroma of Binh Minh cooperative

According to the director of Binh Minh cooperative, the difference in raising herbal pigs compared to the traditional method is that the cooperative chooses herbs that are easy to find, have the effect of detoxifying, removing worms, stimulating digestion, and enhancing resistance.

"Thanks to that, during the entire process of raising pigs, we will not have to use any antibiotics," Mr. Hai emphasized.

From about 600 pigs and more than 100 sows in 2016, the latest figures at Mr. Hai's cooperative show that the total herd has now reached 1,000 sows and more than 10,000 pigs.

According to Mr. Hai, for each pig sold on the market, the cooperative members will earn a profit of one million VND. The cooperative's revenue in 2022 from pork products will reach more than 24 billion VND.

The Mo Rong black pig breed (crossbred from Dak Lak wild boar, Cao Bang and Mong Cai domestic pigs) has high economic value at the cooperative.

From raising herbal pigs, Binh Minh cooperative currently produces products including: Pre-processed packaged herbal pork, ham, sausage, smoked meat, ham... in which herbal pork ham, herbal pork sausage, Binh Minh herbal pork sausage have been recognized as 4-star OCOP.

The market for the cooperative's products is currently mainly in provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang. The cooperative members aim to produce products for sale on supermarket shelves or in famous restaurants.

Mr. Hoang Tien Hung, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hiep Hoa district, informed that in order to help Binh Minh cooperative promote its products and expand production, the district has supported logo design, printing labels to build product brands, and installing additional cold storage with a total cost of nearly 300 million VND.

According to Vietnamnet