INDIGENOUS PIG BREEDS ALONG TRUONG SON MOUNTAIN CHAIN, VIETNAM

Summary

Truong Son is a longest mountain chain in Vietnam, more than 1,100 km, along the boundary of
Lao DRP and Vietnam, where many indigenous ethnic minorities of Lao and Vietnam are residing: Lao,
Van Kieu, Ba na, Ta oi, Co tu, Gia Rai, E De, M’Nong, Xo Dang, Co Ho. Van Pa and Lon Soc breeds
as representatives in two areas: the North and the South of Truong Son Mountain. For a long time,
local pig production becomes an important livelihood activity of indigenous people in both supplying
protein source for people and cash income. However, the breeds have poor productivity so they are on
step by step eliminating from the production systems and becoming the rare breeds and high risk of
lost. In over ten years, the “Vietnam Livestock Genetic Resources Conservation” project cooperation
with Tay Nguyen University and Quang Tri College have researched and tried to conservation the rare
genetic resources. The characteristics, population and trend of the breeds were measured and
described. The project was carried some important activities to conservation the breeds in their
environment and production systems.

Introduction

Truong Son is a longest mountain chain in Vietnam, more than 1,100 km, along the boundary of Lao DRP and Vietnam, where many indigenous ethnic minorities of Lao and Vietnam are residing: Lao, Van Kieu, Ba na, Ta oi, Co tu, Gia Rai, E De, M’Nong, Xo Dang, Co Ho… and the immigrated people from low land (Kinh group). Truong Son is also the places with highest of biologic
diversity in Indochinese region. The indigenous pigs are the original breeds that domesticated and developed during the process of economic and social development of indigenous ethnic minorities in the areas. It is said to be descended from the wild pig that resident in the Truong Son Mountain. The breeds’ information was surveyed and collected from 1990s by the animal genetic resource conservation program that conducted by National Animal Husbandry Institute and its collaborators in Tay Nguyen University and Quang Tri technical college. Two breeds identified are Van Pa and
Lon Soc breeds as representatives in two areas: the North and the South of Truong Son Mountain. For a
long time, local pig production becomes an important livelihood activity of indigenous people in both supplying protein source for people and cash income. However, the breeds have poor productivity so they are on step by step eliminating from the production systems and becoming the rare breeds and high risk of lost. The studies to document characteristics and to conserve of the breeds are needed to keep agro-biology diversity in the areas. From 1995, the researcher groups from Tay Nguyen University and Quang Tri College conducted studies and activities to protect the breeds.

Content and Methodology

Content

The main contents of the paper is summary of the results from different researches on
conservation indigenous Soc pig breed that were support by the program of conservation rare animal
genetic sources:
- Describe of pig breeds are existing along the Truong Son mountain chain, Vietnam;
TRUONG SON
- Population and trend Va Pa and Lon Soc breeds;
- Production performance of the breeds;
- Activities for protecting the breeds

Methodology

The data and information in this paper base on colleting and summary results of researches during
period research and from the surveys that are conducted in last two years.

Results of studies

Lon Soc:
Lon Soc is the local breed that domesticated by indigenous ethnic minorities resident in Central
Highlands of Vietnam. Lon Soc is name by Dr. Truong Tan Khanh in 1992 and it accepted and official
registered in Vietnam animal Atlas in 2004. The appearance of the pig is very near with wild big from
TSMC with black hairs all over of body or black and has some white places on the toenail. Similar with
Van Pa, Lon Soc also has a small number of populations with yellow-black hair strips along the body
and it will be disappeared when the pig grow up. Lon Soc has small size of mature body (30 – 40 kg),
thick skin, pointed mouth, long hear, long and hard mane hairs on the neck and back. Pig has small
and firm legs and move by nails. Lon Soc is quickly moving and good skills on looking for feeds from
natural condition and little depending on feed supplying from the people.

Traditional management of Pigs

Traditionally, farmers let their pigs wandering for searching the feeds in natural condition. The local
pigs can be looking for feeds quite far from the houses and villages. Feed supplied from natural
condition depending on area of “grazing land” and feed available. The natural feeds including
vegetation roots and animal in thin layer of under ground surface and vegetable, grasses on grazing
lands. Feed intake of pigs from natural is very important for their demand. A survey in 2007 showed
that, on average, farmers only supply only 1 kg of rice bran or other low protein concentrate (cassava,
maize…) and some kg of vegetable for 1 mature sow 45 kg. This supply is very low compare to
nutrition demand of the pig but pigs are still good in growth and reproduction.
Breeds’ population and trend

Van Pa

Before, Van Pa pigs distributed in all the mountain districts in Quang Tri province but it is reduced
quickly in recently years. Now the pigs are only existing in some commune (A Bung, A Vao, Hý.ng
Hi.p, Hý.ng Sõn, Húc Ngh.) in Huong Hoa and Dakrong districts. The number of Van Pa pig is
estimated about 500 heads in farmers’ production and about 100 heads in conservation farm at Quang
Tri College.

Lon Soc

The population of Lon Soc is much higher than Van Ba; it is estimate about 5000 heads are
keeping in small households and in some large farm. Before Lon Soc distributed in almost all ethnic
minority villages and families in the Central Highlands, but it is very few villages/families are raising
Lon Soc now. A survey in 2007 at Ea Kar district, Daklak province showed that the number of villages
keeping Lon Soc reduced quickly in last decades. In 1995, the pigs were kept in all 31 village in district
and more than 80% farmer kept pigs but in 2007 only 5 villages still keeping local pigs and only 20%
of farmer in the villages keeping local pigs (table 1).
The reasons for reducing of pig population were explained by farmers and authorities in the district:
- Wandered management of pigs is not allowed in the new settle villages in recently year, because
it is making pollution and danger for people health, while the pigs have low growing rate, farmers can
be lost money if they keep pigs in pen and supply concentrate feeds.
- The high hybrid and exotic breeds have been introduced for ethnic minority people by extension
and they have started high adopted by farmers.

Growth performance

The experiments on Lon Soc and Van Pa pigs showed the weight gain of the breeds is very low, on
average the grow performance in household condition is about 95.07g/day. It is a little higher when
raising the pig in pen and supplying concentrate feed with CP 12% (Feed standard for domestic pig)
(121.96 g/day) but feed conversion is very high: 4.61 kg/1kg body weight gain (table 2). This result
showed that when keeping the pigs in pen, farmers may be lost because of low growing. A research to
identify appropriate process for raising Lon Soc and Van Pa efficiently is needed to conservation the
breeds in the production and contributing to improve livelihood of ethnic minorities in mountain areas
along the Truong Son.

Recommendation

Lon Soc and Van Pa are breeds representative of local pig breeds existence along the TSMC. The
breeds are known as the rare breeds and on high risk of lost. The actions for conservation them are
imperative. From the results of researches, we have some suggestions:
- Continue activities for in-situ protecting of these pig breeds at Quang Tri and Central Highlands
- Identify ways to use and develop the pigs in agriculture production, this researches needed are
not only on protecting the genetic resources but also developing the breeds in production systems.
This achievement will impact to biodiversity of agriculture systems in the areas and contribute to
improve livelihood of ethnic minorities of mountain people in areas.
- Need to conduct deeper researches on phenotype and genotype of these breeds to have detail
planning on selecting and improving breeds’ production.

References

UBTV QUỐC HỘI, (2004). Pháp lệnh giống vật nuôi
NIAH, 2004. Vietnam Domestic Animal Atlas
TRAN VAN NHO, (2007). Annual report of Van Pa Genetic Resources Conservation
HOANG VAN TIEU, LE VIET LY, LE MINH SAT, AND VO VAN SU. (2007). Vietnam Livestock
Genetic Resources Conservation & Exploration (VLGC&E) from 1990 to 2007
NGUYEN VAN HAU-National Institute of Animal Husbanry - Viet nam, (2006). Genetic diversity and
genetic distance in seven Vietnamese native pig breeds based on microsatellite analysis.