Yen The, the chickens that keep on giving

Stable incomes

Yen The naturally-raised chickens were granted copyright protection by the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. They are consumed in many localities such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Phu Tho, Thanh Hoa, Thai Nguyen, Nghe An and Son La.

Vu Tri Hai, chairman of the Yen The District People’s Committee, said the total number of poultry in the district reached 4.5 million in 2016, of which chickens stood at four million. The number of large-scale farming households is growing, with more than 7,000-9,000 chickens per batch and several batches per year. Chicken farming has become a profession in Yen The District with stable incomes ranging from VND50-100 million a year, even incomes from VND150-200 million a year for some households. The thriving chicken farming has also generated related services, contributing to creating more jobs and increasing incomes, and speeding up hunger eradication and poverty alleviation.

However, consumer markets have not been expanded, leading to a decline in production value. Therefore, Yen The District has made greater efforts to promote branding in order to build a stable consumer market. In addition, Bac Giang Province also organized a promotion conference to introduce its chickens to participants. Yen The naturally-raised chickens were honored by the organizing board of the “ASEAN businesses for a green, clean and beautiful environment” – a public communication program in Southeast Asia - and awarded with the ASEAN Best Food title.

Elevating the national brand

Yen The naturally-raised chickens are the first animal breed in Vietnam to be granted copyright protection by the NOIP under the Ministry of Science and Technology, and are in great demand and sold in large volumes throughout the country and in export markets. It has now become a brand increasingly loved by consumers inside and outside Vietnam.

To ensure sustainable development, the Bac Giang People’s Committee has instructed specialized agencies to guide the process and expand the breeding area. Many chicken breed hybridization and improvement projects are underway in Yen The to improve product quality, maintain the prestige of the brand and expand markets. One of them is the 2013-2015 VietGap (Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices) promotion project for Yen The chickens, funded by the district people’s committee, which is underway in Tam Tien, Dong Tam and Dong Ky communes. Since the project was launched more than two years ago, the quality of chicken raised in Yen The has gradually improved.

Duong Van Thai, deputy chairman of the Yen The District People’s Committee, said Bac Giang Province will continue implementing the standardization and unification of samples and code for use in batches of commercial chickens. In addition, strengthening trademark management, implementing chicken farming restructuring and promoting links between businesses, farming households and cooperatives in raising, purchasing, slaughtering, processing and marketing on the basis of creating a closed production chain are mentioned as necessary.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said that Bac Giang Province in general and Yen The District in particular need to promote the value chain in order to elevate the Yen The brand.