The EUR2.8 million project was jointly carried out by MARD and the Belgian Technical Cooperation Agency from February 2005 to February 2010. It is designed to increase local milk output and reduce dependence on imports while generating more jobs and increasing the incomes of rural workers.

The Head of the ministry’s Animal Husbandry Department Hoang Kim Giao, who is also director of the project, said that the number of dairy cows in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Ha Nam, Bac Ninh and Vinh Phuc participating in the project has increased by 54 percent and their milk production is up 42 percent. Each dairy cow brings an annual average income of VND15.7 million.

The project has cooperated with major milk manufacturers including Vinamilk to provide consultation on breeding techniques to dairy farmers, and help ensure stable milk prices.

Under the project, encouragement was given to the application of environmentally-friendly breeding techniques such as using cattle waste to make biogas.

According to Giao, the country now has 120,000 dairy cows, though the milk only meets 28 percent of domestic consumption.

Vietnam has devised a national milk development programme for the 2001-2010 period to reach a total of 500,000 domestic dairy cows by 2020, meeting 40 percent of consumer demand. The agricultural sector plans to develop the Central Highland province of Lam Dong into a dairy cow development centre for the country in the coming years.