Bio-diversity

Highland yellow ox (scientific name Bos indicus), the other name of H mong or Meo ox is an ox race well adapted to the cold climate of the high mountainous areas. This highland yellow ox is a special, valuable and rare domestic animal that has been conserved and exploited since 1990. The highland yellow ox is being used in Ha Giang, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Nghe An Provinces. In there, the highland districts in Ha Giang Province such as Dong Van, Meo Vac, are considered as the places of origin of this ox race. The yellow ox can stand severe natural conditions like cold climate in winter, hard-to-access terrain, high slope. It can live in areas where water is scarce and natural water resources are very limited, especially in the dry season, when food is scarce. The meat of this ox is sweet-smelling, delicious, tender, and favored by consumers. People in the highland areas breed ox for ploughing and pulling, they also breed ox to supply beef for the market to increase the income, and to serve the spirits worship. The ox is big assets in a farmer household. The highland ethnic groups people breed ox in stables with natural food, the forest leaves being the main food. A group of oxen is kept in each household for many years. This results in high full-blood rate in the herd, the size of the valuable ox is being degraded, and its vitality is decreased. No bulls are chosen to be seed bulls. Furthermore, the oxen are bred in the stable so there are not many occasions for bulls and cows not being consanguineous to meet each other. This is the main reason for the degradation of the highland ox. In addition, the negative selection process is happening in the ox breeding localities, that means the big size purebred bulls of the highland yellow ox race are sold at the market to get money. While bulls of a small stature with low quality are kept for ploughing, pulling and breeding. Developing the ox herd for intensive cultivation raises the problem that the seed bull s quality must be improved, because the highland yellow ox has many valuable characteristics. The important thing in each ox-breeding community is the fact that it must have good bulls as the bull has effects on the future productivity of the whole herd. The other important challenge is the lack of good quality vegetables to develop the ox breeding activities in Dong Van District. The long term goals of the project: - Conserving and developing the highland yellow ox, contributing to improving the living standards and to alleviate the poverty for the remote community. The short term goals: - Developing the highland yellow ox conserving model in the farmer household. - Developing the intensive cultivation breeding model for breeding the yellow ox. - Summarizing, evaluating, and drawing of the experiences and lessons, compiling the technical manuals about the demonstration model aimed to multiply model in localities having the similar condition. Main activities: Conservation: - Carrying out the investigation and survey activities about the ox breeding situation in Thai Phin Tung Commune belonging to the project area. - Selecting the seed bull at the locality and from the areas outside the district, making the agreement with the ox breeding owner at each village, this owner has responsibility for free propagation for the herd of cows in according to the mechanism agreed within the community. - Advocating the role of the seed bull with the reproduction of the ox herd within the community. To develop suitable mechanism aimed to encourage the use of the good bull for the investment project. - Organizing propagation, it is estimated that 70-90% of the cows in villages are propagated with the selected bull of the project. - Collecting and making documentation of the traditional knowledge on the breeding technology, food resources, the stable, medical treatment, and the way to exchange, to develop the yellow ox herds of H mong people in the highland areas. Model development: - Organizing training courses on the technology in breeding beeves, planting grass, and processing as well as reserving a raw, green food to breed ox. - Developing model of households that breed the reproductive cows aimed to increase the family s income under the mechanism of loan and unreturned aids managed by the District Level Women Association combined with Commune Level Women Association. - Encouraging the households to plant more grass and salvage the maize plants in the harvest to breed ox.

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