At the ceremony to launch a database system for the livestock industry. (Photo: baochinhphu.vn)

In a recent talks on digital transformation in the livestock sector, Duong Tat Thang,  Director of the Department of Livestock Production at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the world is in a digital era, an era for development.

Economic development associated with the application of information technology and data mining for management, production and business.

The livestock industry, a techno-economic industry, cannot be excluded from this development trend.

Together with cultivation, breeding will be prioritized for digital transformation breakthrough this year, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien said at a recent ceremony in Hanoi in mid June to launch an information and database system for the livestock industry.

Digital transformation is an inevitable trend. The promotion of digital transformation in agriculture and rural areas is one of the decisive solutions to restructure the industry successfully towards building a transparent and accountable agriculture.

The information and database system for the livestock industry is a platform, helping connect and share information between state agencies, businesses, and livestock breeders. It will update information about livestock facilities, total flocks, output, animal feed, and markets.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

More particularly, the livestock database is considered the first step and an urgent requirement to improve the livestock management in line with the Law on Animal Husbandry and, at the same time, connect state management agencies, livestock enterprises, and breeders.

The Livestock Industry  Information and Database System has been piloted in seven cities and provinces and 269 animal feed factories nationwide. To date, 600 accounts have been granted to animal feed factories, veterinaries in communes, and large livestock farms and enterprises to update the database, according to Mr. Tien.

“Once digital transformation is successful, we know the demand of the market, even each specific market to meet and balance production. This is the basis for building production, processing and market plans. This is a decisive factor to determine the efficiency and competitiveness of the livestock industry,” Mr. Tien explained.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development told the online conference on digital transformation in agriculture and rural development held in June, 2021, that "We definitely do not miss the Digital Transformation train. Missing that train is a guilt towards millions of farmers and is irresponsible for the future of agriculture."

Echoing the view of the leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, many experts and managers in the livestock sector and digital transformation believe that digital transformation is an important step in the overall digital transformation process of the Vietnamese economy.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said that the implementation of Livestock Industry  Information and Database System will develop the livestock industry in the coming time.

“The introduction of the information and database system for the livestock industry will lay the foundation for the digital transformation of the agricultural industry in which data is the key," said Dung.

He added, "Once there is data, State management agencies can identify the managed objects, optimize the operation, and gradually use artificial intelligence to the industry’s modernization process. Data is determined as the most important factor and data infrastructure must go one step ahead to create spill-over."

According to the national animal husbandry development strategy until 2030 with a vision to 2045, the annual growth rate of the production value will be from 4 to 5% per year between 2021 and 2025. This is a big goal for the sector, requiring different solutions including digital transformation to achieve it.

Digital transformation is believed to accelerate the industrialization, modernization, and development of the husbandry industry in a comprehensive and sustainable manner.

It’ll help the sector adapt to climate change in association with developing value chains, increasing added value, ensuring biosecurity, epidemics and the environment.

Digital transformation will help farms and breeding households turn out livestock products meeting quality and food safety requirements of domestic and export markets, thus increasing people's income.