After streamlining the apparatus, applying technology is a mandatory solution.

At the consultation workshop on information technology application in livestock management and animal disease surveillance held on March 20 in Hanoi, organized by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with the Institute of Veterinary Medicine (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), representatives of Lao Cai and Hoa Binh provinces shared very frankly and openly about the digital transformation needs of each locality.

Livestock farming in mountainous areas is often small-scale and scattered, so grassroots veterinary staff face many difficulties in accessing it. Photo: HD.

Ms. Cao Thi Hoa Binh, Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Plant Protection of Lao Cai province, is interested in the possibility of expanding the application of information technology in local management. She shared that livestock households in mountainous areas are often small and scattered, so grassroots veterinary staff have many difficulties in approaching them.

According to Ms. Binh, with the policy of reducing the district level and merging the commune level, Lao Cai province plans to reduce the number of communes from 200 to about 20. This is a great opportunity for the locality to allocate resources and standardize the grassroots veterinary team. Ms. Binh also mentioned Resolution 57/NQ-TW dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo, which identifies science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as important breakthroughs.

“When the system is streamlined, the number of staff is reduced while the scope of management is increasingly wide, applying technology platforms is the only solution to ensure the effectiveness of organization and management of the agricultural sector,” Ms. Binh affirmed.

Ms. Cao Thi Hoa Binh, Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Plant Protection of Lao Cai province, consulted at the Conference. Photo: Quynh Chi.

Ms. Binh said that while the FarmVetCare application supports animal disease surveillance at the farm and commune levels, the Vietnam Animal Disease Information System (VAHIS) serves management from the central to local levels.

Therefore, this Department Head proposed: "From the above two foundations, I hope that managers and scientists will discuss to come up with a complete system, extending from the Central to the grassroots."

Ms. Binh committed that Lao Cai is ready to accompany in implementing technological solutions. However, for the system to operate well, it is necessary to organize training, upgrade equipment and complete information infrastructure, ensuring the ability to operate synchronously throughout the area.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Deputy Head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of Hoa Binh, emphasized that any application needs to meet the maximum practical needs of people, be simple, easy to use and easy to implement.

Agreeing with the Lao Cai representative, Mr. Tuan analyzed: At the grassroots level, even if the management model changes, an effective disease surveillance system is still needed. However, the team of officers and veterinarians in many localities is still very limited.

Accordingly, Hoa Binh representative proposed that digital platforms update the list of veterinarians by location, so that breeders can easily contact, ask questions and receive support when needed.

The next step of the ICT4Health project is to transfer all application data to Vietnam. Photo: KC.

“When communes are merged, the tasks of veterinary staff will become increasingly heavier. In that context, applying information technology will help farmers access resources faster,” he said.

At the same time, it is necessary to have veterinary staff at the commune level, ensuring that this team is not only good at their profession but also has the ability to make accurate diagnoses. If there is a team of highly skilled veterinarians, they will be trusted as an important focal point in the livestock data system. The collected disease data will also ensure accuracy, "cleanness" and higher quality.

Lao Cai and Hoa Binh are two pilot localities of the project "Improving human health through sustainable agricultural value chains in the human-animal-environment nexus using information and communication technology in Vietnam" (ICT4Health).

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said that the ICT4Health project has organized training on the use of the FarmVetCare application for 35 veterinarians and 266 livestock households in two provinces. In total, 337 accounts have been registered on the platform, initially helping to improve the ability to monitor and support veterinary services remotely.

According to ILRI representative, the next step of the project is to transfer all application data to Vietnam, while ensuring the platform operates more effectively in the veterinary management and disease surveillance system.