Tu Ne’s Veterinarian Group
When husbandry groups were established in Tu Ne commune, an urgent requirement arose for the establishment of a veterinarian group. This is due to the fact that few people in each village knew how to treat the diseases of their animals. Therefore, when the risk and especially an epidemic occurred, they had to ask for help from veterinarians who lived outside the village, which cost time and money. Consequently, some domestic animals died due to late treatment.At the end of 2006, the Tu Ne veterinarian group was established. It consists of 15 members, one of whom is a female – Mrs Bui Thi Chinh who lives in Bin village, Tu Ne commune. Members of the group are either veterinarians from the villages as well as those who are not trained, yet have a desire to become veterinarians themselves.As veterinarians, they need to master a better base of knowledge and skills compared with members of other community-based groups, such as animal husbandry, bee keeping or weaving groups. Therefore after the establishment of the group, a training course was given the first priority. Mr Phan Ba Sinh, a member of the Tu Vu veterinarian group, a commune in Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho province, who has a great deal of experiences in veterinary activities, was invited to be a trainer. At the course, members of the group were provided with the knowledge and skills of how to diagnose and treat common diseases on animals in a careful manner. Experience from the group members was also shared so that less experienced members had an opportunity to gain practical knowledge.
In order to support the group to operate effectively, the project provided the group one medicine cabinet and other tools such as cylinders, scalpels and scissors with a budget of 4,269,000 VND. In addition, the group was also introduced to a medical agency in Tan Lac district. As a result, the group members could sell medicine to villagers at lower prices compared with those in the market. Veterinary activities have brought many benefits to villagers in treating disease on animals. The number of dead animals in the community has been reduced and many diseases which were not treated several years ago are now successfully cured. Further, preventive measures have been passed on to villagers by the veterinarians. Due to this, villagers’ beliefs in their veterinarians have strengthened, and built up their confidence to invest in animal husbandry.However, the group members have also been faced with many difficulties. Although the income from this work is quite high, approximately 30,000 to 50,000 VND per day depending on the type of the disease, the work is not regular. Thus, members of the group engage in other types of work to improve their household income. Further, veterinarians in Bin and Cac villages are still scarce and as a result villagers normally go and seek advice from their colleagues in Chua and other villages. These difficulties have been recognized and partly resolved by all members in the group.
The model of the veterinarian group has been considered to be effective and has brought benefits to villagers in Tu Ne commune. Therefore, it has been decided that this model be applied to Thanh Hoi commune. CECAD hopes that the establishment of veterinarian and animal husbandry groups in these communes can contribute greatly to improving the villagers’ household economy.
