doi:10.1017/S0043933915000380

Small-scale Family Poultry
Production
Traditions and local use of native
Vietnamese chicken breeds in sustainable
rural farming
T.N. LAN PHUONG*, K.D.T. DONG XUAN and I. SZALAY
Research Centre for Farm Animal Gene Conservation – HáGK, Isaszegi ut 200, H2100, Godollo, Hungary; Association of Hungarian Small Animal Breeders for Gene
Conservation (MGE), Isaszegi ut 200, H-2100, Godollo, Hungary
*Corresponding author:
Vietnam enjoys the richest natural resources and favourable conditions for
agricultural development including poultry production. Backyard chicken
production is considered as a traditional system in Vietnam, as it has a short
production cycle and requires low investment. Despite the increase of semiintensive and intensive farming, the self-sufficient backyard farming system is
still practised by 84-85% of rural families in the Northeast-Northwest of Vietnam
and approximately 42-71% of those in the Southeast-Mekong River Delta regions.
Breeds raised in such systems are mostly popular local chicken breeds which
accounted for over 70% of the country's total chicken population in 2007. In this
paper, more than 30 native Vietnamese chicken breeds with their origin and
endangered status are listed and the breeding traditions related to these native
breeds are discussed. Moreover, some proposals are given for a particular
conservation strategy regarding the possibilities to utilise the native Vietnamese
chicken breeds in sustainable rural farming. It has been concluded that
governmental conservation efforts should meet the natural way to save the local
native breeds by local inhabitants. In this way, a sustainable on-farm chicken
conservation pattern can be elaborated not only for Vietnam but also for the
countries or regions which have similarly rich, valuable biodiversity, agrobiodiversity and agricultural traditions. For this, local researchers should be
encouraged to study economic traits, veterinary status, and all special
characteristics of the local breeds in the frames of an official, national gene
conservation programme.

Keywords: conservation; culture; economy; native chicken; sustainability; tradition;
Vietnam
© World's Poultry Science Association 2015
World's Poultry Science Journal, Vol. 71, June 2015
Received for publication August 13, 2014
Accepted for publication February 6, 2015

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Native Vietnamese chicken breeds: T.N. Lan Phuong et al.

An overview of poultry production in Vietnam
Vietnam, a country located in Southeast Asia, has a small total land use area of
approximately 33,095,000 ha, of which, approximately 10,151,000 ha is used for the
agricultural production including crop land and animal raising land (GSO, 2013). With a
subtropical monsoon climate, abundant water resources and regular long day lengths,
Vietnam has favourable conditions for agricultural development including poultry
production. Vietnam is listed among the countries where multiple domestication
events of the Red Jungle Fowl may have taken place more than 7000 years ago
(Eltanany and Distl, 2010). Many statues of chickens in Vietnam, from the early
Bronze Age and the early Stone Age have been discovered by archaeologists,
showing the importance of chickens in Vietnamese civilisation (Vo, 1978; Higham et
al., 2011). Poultry rearing in Vietnam was reported to have started in the Tam Dao valley
and the mountain of Ba Vi, which currently belongs to Vinh Phuc and Ha Noi provinces
(Duc and Long, 2008). According to the perception of Vietnamese people, local poultry
farming is not easily replaced by others since it requires low investment, has short
production cycle, and high marketing value. Gradually, poultry production became a
traditional occupation in Vietnam. In 2013, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam
reported that the poultry meat production in 2012 yielded 724.9 thousand tons, and

was ranked the second largest after pork. In addition, egg production in 2012 reached
7299 million pieces (GSO, 2013).
VILLAGE CHICKEN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Traditional extensive backyard poultry production system, classified by FAO in 2004,
which is defined as ‘village farming system’ by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development in 2006 was by far the most common production system across
the country (Burgos et al., 2007). This system is practised by 84-85% of rural families in
the Northeast-Northwest of Vietnam and between 42-71% of those in the SoutheastMekong River Delta regions (Epprecht and Robinson, 2007). The system is continuous
and considered to be small scale, with flock sizes less than 50 birds. Farmers remove
birds from flocks either for self-consumption or for sale to nearby markets and urban
areas through informal channels, while simultaneously introducing new ones (Ifft and
Zilberman, 2012). However, farmers hardly know exactly how many birds they own and
rarely document. Their knowledge to rear chicken in this system is often passed from
generation to generation (Duc and Long, 2008). Rural families living in South Vietnam
tend to keep more chickens in an intensive and market-oriented production system with
higher inputs (Epprecht and Robinson, 2007). Burgos et al. (2007) proposed to divide
this kind of system into two categories, the semi-intensive commercial poultry production
system and the intensive industrial poultry production system. In this case, birds are
selected to grow fast in small spaces and under a diet of concentrate feed. Some of final
products are sold in traditional markets, but much of it is sold in supermarkets or to food
companies. Mixed farming systems such as a garden-fish pond-chicken cages system
(Viet Ly, 2004) or an integrated crop-chicken production system (Devendra, 2007), are
also common in the rural areas.
LOCAL VIETNAMESE CHICKEN BREEDS AND THEIR RELEVANCE
Backyard flocks represent around 80% of poultry stocks in many developing countries
(Pym et al., 2006), and often consisting of free indigenous, unselected breeds of various
ages, mixed in the same flock (Gueye, 2005). Adopting the breed definition of FAO in
2007, Vietnamese researchers detected more than 30 native chicken breeds. Place of
origin and the endangered status of these chicken breeds are listed in Table 1 with related
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references. The terms ‘normal’, ‘vulnerable’ and ‘extinct’ are used according to FAO
definitions. These breeds are popular in either village farming or mixed farming systems.
They vary in size but generally exhibit low performance (Minh et al., 2006; Duc and
Long, 2008). Local breeds start their productive life between the 28th and 32nd week
(Teufel et al., 2010). They grow slowly, generally require few inputs and are known for
being able to handle a free-range environment (Ifft and Zilberman, 2012). Adult body
weight and egg production of some local Vietnamese chicken breeds with related
references are described in Table 2. In 1998, Viet Ly reported that local Vietnamese
chicken breeds made up more than 80% of the chicken population in the whole country
and in 2007, local Vietnamese chicken populations still accounted for more than 70% of
the country's total number of chickens (Hong Hanh et al., 2007). It is in accordance with
the data of Tieu et al. (2008) who also reported that 75% of eggs are produced by local
chicken breeds. Although the population of imported exotic chicken breeds and
crossbreeds between local and imported ones with higher productivity (Vang et al.,
2001; Coi et al., 2006; Nga et al., 2006) increases year by year, the local Vietnamese
chickens seem to remain popular and keep a wide diffusion role in achieving various
goals of individual smallholders living in underdeveloped and underprivileged regions.
Table 1 List of 37 Vietnamese native chicken breeds with origin and endangered status.
Breed

Place of
origin

Endangered
status


References

Ac

Vinh Long

Normal

Banhlai Damprong
Choi
Cup
Dong Tao

Gia Lai
Binh Dinh
Lam Dong
Hung Yen

Vulnerable
Normal
Vulnerable
Vulnerable

Dwarf chicken
Feather leg chicken
GF chicken
GT chicken
Hac Phong
Hmong Black

Hmong Brown
Hmong White
Ho

Yen Bai
Ha Giang
Ha Tay
Ha Tay
Quang Ninh
Son La
Son La
Son La
Bac Ninh

No data
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Vulnerable

Hre
Lien Minh
Man
Man Dien Bien
Mia
Mong

Oke
Phu lu Te
Ri

Quang Ngai
Cat Ba
Quang Ninh
Dien Bien
Son Tay
Ha Nam
Ha Giang
Ha Tay
North Vietnam

Normal
No data
Normal
Vulnerable
Normal
No data
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Normal

Sao Trang
Sao Vang
Six toes chicken
Smooth feather
chicken
Tau Vang


Long An
Long An
Lang Son
Ha Giang

Vulnerable
Normal
Vulnerable
Vulnerable

Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Tieu et al., 2008;
Vang, 2003; Tieu et al., 2008;
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009

Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008
Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004
Vang, 2003
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009

South Vietnam

Normal

Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009

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Native Vietnamese chicken breeds: T.N. Lan Phuong et al.
Table 1 Continued
Breed

Place of

origin

Endangered
status

References

Te Dong Bac
Te/Lun
Tien Yen
To
Tre

Lang Son
Ha Giang
Quang Ninh
Thai Binh
-

Vulnerable
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal

Troi
Van Phu
Vu Quang
Xuoc


Quang Ninh
Yen Bai
Ha Tinh
Ha Giang

Normal
Extinct
Vulnerable
Vulnerable

Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Su et al., 2004; Tieu et al., 2008;
Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008; Tieu, 2009
Vang, 2003; Tieu et al., 2008
Tieu, 2009
Tieu et al., 2008

Table 2 Adult body weight and egg production of popular local Vietnamese chicken breeds.
Breed

Adult body weight (kg) Egg yield/year
Male

Ri
Mia
Dong Tao

Ho
Hmong
Ac
Tau Vang
Choi
Tre

1.8
3.0
3.8
3.5
1.2
0.7
1.1
1.3
1.2

-

2.3
3.5
4.0
4.0
1.7
0.7
2.4
2.8
1.3

Female


(egg)

1.2
2.0
2.5
3.0
1.1
0.5
0.9
0.9
0.8

90
55
55
50
66
80
90
20
40

-

1.8
2.5
3.0
3.5
1.2

0.6
1.8
2.4
0.9

-

120
60
65
60
92
105
120
54
70

References

Le, 2009
Lung and Long, 1994; Le, 2009
Lung and Long, 1994; Le, 2009
Thien et al., 1994; Anh and Thuy, 2008; Le, 2009
Thieu et al.,2008
Phuong and Thien, 2008; Le, 2009;
Tien et al., 2001
Anh et al., 2008; Le, 2009
Le, 2009

Conservation traditions of native Vietnamese chicken breeds

SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECTS
In several countries, poultry rearing and consumption are linked to socio-cultural
factors (Aklilu et al., 2008; Wilson, 2010). Particularly in Vietnamese agriculture,
chicken is an indicator of civilisation and culture. Various local chicken breeds have
appeared in Vietnamese poetry and folk paintings with the meaning of peace and
prosperity. For hundreds of years, local chickens have been given as a gift for
maintaining relationships that are not economic in nature but rather based on
exchange and reciprocity which reinforces the social bond within the family and
community. According to the Vietnamese historians, the peasants used to offer the
specially raised Mia chickens (Duong Lam village), Ho chickens (Dong Ho village)
and Dong Tao chickens (Hung Yen) to the King. They also give away a live
backyard chicken to relatives and neighbours as a gesture to thank them for helping
with agricultural work or as a special present to ill people. Meanwhile, the local chickens
are also consumed as part of ritual and secular celebration. They are sacrificed for
honouring the ancestors, for worshiping heaven and earth, for exchange related to
marriage. Some traditional ceremonies of Vietnamese in the northern regions require a
chicken with particular colour, such as Ri chicken with yellow skin (Moula et al., 2011).
Chickens that satisfy these unique requirements are the found at the local market. In

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addition, the local chickens obviously illustrate the rich human-animal relationship.
Chicken ownership can be a measure of social status, competence and prestige of
farmers in the rural area. Choi chicken is a classic sample. This chicken is raised to
target traditional cock fighting events, held annually. Choi is selected for its strong shank
with sharp heel. The performance of these cocks provides not only social entertainment,

but also represents the owner's honour and strength. Furthermore, the importance of
keeping backyard chickens for Vietnamese women has been reported in several
articles (Cuc et al., 2006; Burgos et al., 2008). Backyard chickens are generally
accepted as one of the ‘women's capital’. Vietnamese women act as a day-to-day
manager of backyard chickens with help from their children and family elders.
Vietnamese women are the ones who feed the chickens, clean the coops and apply
veterinary treatments (Tung, 2005). On one hand, keeping backyard chicken is a
suitable income-generating activity that Vietnamese women can carry parallel with
other domestic duties. On the other hand, it requires low investment and generates
quick returns, which fits well in the picture of women's day-to-day expenditure as a
household caretaker. As a consequence, chicken offer the Vietnamese women a chance to
earn respect for their contribution as a family labour as well as create an at-home job for
the elderly.
ECONOMIC ASPECTS
The backyard chicken systems take advantages of not only family labour but also feed
resources which have no or partial value. All family members are partly involved in this
system and women usually play the main role in management (Moula et al., 2011).
Backyard chickens are allowed to wander freely and scavenge for most of their food. The
basis of backyard chicken feeding are rice (cooked grains, meal or bran), maize, cassava,
aquatic plant (Ipomoea aquatic), and kitchen residues. The amount of feed taken depends
heavily on the need of chickens and availability of grains that the owners have in their
storage. Chick replacement is generally hatched from the farmer's own stock eggs and
rarely purchased from the local market. These facts result in low input and low labour
requirement, a very characteristic feature of backyard chicken keeping. According to the
perception of Vietnamese famers, backyard chicken farming has a short production cycle
and high marketability with low exclusion risk (Hong Hanh et al., 2007). The low
exclusion risk means the Vietnamese local chicken breeds are not easily replaced by
other farm animals. The farmers can utilise the backyard chickens as a cheap but high
quality source of protein for home consumption. Meanwhile, they can gain some amount
of cash income by selling various backyard chicken products such as meat, egg, viscera,

feather and even chicken manure, at different stages of production throughout the year
easily to traders, to other farmers in the vicinity. Thus, backyard chickens can be
considered as a form of saving. Although this form of saving is small and limited, it
can be converted into cash rapidly and efficiently with relatively low transaction costs
(Gueye, 2005). It contributes about 35% of the household's income originating from
animal husbandry (Cuong, 2010) and can reach more than 30% of the total household
income (Burgos et al., 2008). This contribution is essential for the households living
below the poverty level in rural areas, this contribution is essential. In the poorest
Vietnamese households, a few backyard chickens may be the only valuable asset that
they can use to cover some immediate but small expense. The lower the income group,
the higher and more important the average contribution to income made by poultry
(Epprecht, 2005).
VETERINARY ASPECTS
There are very limited data regarding the veterinary status of local chickens, and
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Native Vietnamese chicken breeds: T.N. Lan Phuong et al.
therefore its effect on the production and liveability of many breeds is hard to evaluate. In
1956, Newcastle disease (ND) was first recognised in Vietnam. Although, vaccination of
ND is available such as Australian I2 vaccine strain which maintains its potency even if
not transported and stored under refrigeration (Tu et al., 1998), a survey conducted in
Hau Giang province showed that the effect of ND causing mortality is higher than that of
other diseases in village chickens (Thu, 2012). At the beginning, ND appeared to be
seasonal and occurred most often between November and March. However, this is no
longer true in regions where new poultry production enterprises have been established
(Dung, 1992; Vui et al., 2002). ND is a significant problem on the outskirts of big cities,
whereas it is not so serious in remote regions where native chickens breeds are usually

kept (Dung, 1992). Survival rate of local chickens still seems to be normal, and levels
reported for some of the popular breeds were 91-99% for Hmong chicken (Thieu et al.,
2008); 97-98% for Tau Vang chicken (Thanh et al., 2008); 86% for Mia chicken (Dat et
al., 2008); 70-85% for Ho chicken (Anh and Thuy, 2008).
In 2004, the emergence and spread of a zoonotic virus Highly Pathogenic Avian
Influenza (HPAI) subtype A/H5N1 (Fauci, 2006; Van Kerkhove et al., 2011), added
public health dimension to the economic impact of poultry diseases. HPAI-A/H5N1
viruses were considered enzootic in at least six countries, including Vietnam (FAO,
2011). During the HPAI epidemic, many native Vietnamese chicken flocks were
destroyed (FAO, 2014). In total, 59.3 million of heads of poultry were culled due to
HPAI epidemic control (Burgos et al., 2008). Direct losses from culled birds, lost
production, costs of culling and disinfection in 2004, estimated by the Government of
Vietnam, was US$205 million (GSO, 2004) and the average loss per farm was US$1702
(Otte et al., 2008). Inadequate hygiene, live poultry trading and lack of scientific
knowledge are often viewed as risk factors of HPAI in backyard systems (Permin and
Detmer, 2007; Thang et al., 2010; Desvaux et al., 2011; Thang et al., 2013), not the
breeds themselves. Before introduction of HPAI vaccination, some scientists reported that
6% of 379 Vietnamese backyard chickens tested survived after exposing to HPAI and
developed antibodies against HPAI virus (Phuong et al., 2006). In 2006, GRAIN (a small
international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social
movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food
system) suggested that native chickens may be less susceptible to infection with HPAI
viruses. Native breeds, which have more diverse gene pool than commercial strains, may
potentially provide greater protection against diseases (Hillel et al., 2003; Granevitze et
al., 2007). In order to minimise the economic loss due to such an infectious disease,
biosecurity measures should be adapted for backyard poultry flocks in low income
settings (Conan et al., 2012) and involving community members to raise awareness
should be recommended (Conan et al., 2013). Moreover, further works to determine
whether native chicken breeds display any natural resistance to infection or disease
caused by HPAI viruses may be useful.

GENETIC CONSERVATION ASPECTS
The conservation programmes such as collecting the Hmong chicken for breeding
purposes (Thieu et al., 2008); somatic cells’ preservation of Ri, Mia, Ho, Cho, Dong
Tao, Ac, Hmong, Tre, Tau Vang chicken (Thuy, 2008) and research studies of the local
chicken breeds such as Ho chicken (Anh and Thuy, 2008); Ac chicken (Phuong and
Thien, 2008); Dong Tao, Mia, Mong chicken (Dat et al., 2008); Tau Vang chicken
(Thanh et al., 2008) were present but very sporadic and unsystematic. The small
amount of subsidy provided to the farmers by local government to keep rare breeds
might not prevent the loss of traditional Vietnamese genetic resources. However, the
traditional Vietnamese chicken breeds are rather conserved naturally as backyard
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chickens in family farming than in the official conservation programmes. By this means,
the chicken smallholders participate in maintaining the traditional, native Vietnamese
chicken breeds without being aware of their important roles.

Utilising native Vietnamese chicken breeds in sustainable rural
farming
Definitions and concepts of sustainable agriculture cited by Keeney (2013), which is
resting on the principle to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs, is also valid for poultry production.
According to multicriteria approach, suggested by Castellini et al. (2012), in which
they combined social, cultural and economic indicators into the many dimensions of
sustainability to evaluate better sustainable farming systems, all the characters of local
Vietnamese chicken breeds seem to fit well into the framework of sustainable agriculture.
However, the relevant questions are, how to reach equilibrium between social, cultural

and economic performance of these breeds and how to integrate them efficiently into
sustainable farming along with the rapidly changing domestic poultry industry. From this
point of view, it is essential to start with different strategies specifically designed for the
extensive keeping system using improved old chicken breeds that maintain adaptability to
the natural environment while simultaneously having acceptable productive efficiency.
The Association of Hungarian Small Animal Breeders in Hungary (MGE) once suggested
that the utilisation of Vietnamese local chicken genetic resources in sustainable rural
development can be considered at three levels: (1) high quality product and natural
production oriented farming; (2) ecology oriented farming; (3) agro-environment
oriented use of local breeds (Szalay et al., 2003). According to conservationists, the
resistance and tolerance to the environment of old breeds are much higher and lower
performance is compensated by special quality and cultural importance. The evolution
and formation of local breeds is the result of natural adaptation process of animals to the
local natural and human environment, which is the basis of their sustainable existence in
the present agricultural practice of Vietnam. On contrary, the commercial breeds adapted
in intensive/semi-intensive keeping system, are mainly imported from abroad, and
selected for production within a narrow frame of artificial and uniform environment
where disease resistance and tolerance can be overcome by application of appropriate
technologies. On one hand, they cannot be used efficiently and sustainably in natural
condition (Steinfeld et al., 1997). On the other hand, both over-selection and providing
‘artificial’ environments is leading industrial production towards the ‘safe and free of
everything’ status, and at the same time changes the traditional taste of chicken products
(Szalay and Dong Xuan, 2007). This might be why domestic markets still place a
premium on special traditional chicken varieties compared to the industrial ones. In
urban or suburban regions, where both income and the consumption of animal protein
is increasing as markets have become saturated, the Vietnamese tend to look for native
chicken products with specific quality and they are willing to pay higher price for them
than for industrial chickens. In 2011, Ifft reported that a significant willingness to pay for
free range chicken in Hanoi was approximately a 10-15% premium. As such, the low
performance of these native chickens can be compensated by the higher price.

Vietnamese poultry production is under globalisation pressure to change into the new
and intensive system which tends to focus on a short-extent profit instead of the longterm ‘sustainability’. Although the transition to larger scale industrial production of part
of Vietnam's poultry sector is inevitable, many domestic markets provide opportunities

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Native Vietnamese chicken breeds: T.N. Lan Phuong et al.
for traditional small producers (Hong Hanh et al., 2007), therefore the relation of
consumers to the local chicken breeds and their products still remain positive.
In rural regions, where the poor are preoccupied with day-to-day survival, quantitative
food production tends to take precedence over qualitative concerns. The rural dwellers
have a very limited scope to make long term investments in natural resources or consume
good quality products. Instead, they keep backyard chickens as an additional income or a
small-unit saving. Based on recent agricultural conditions, Vietnam has a great chance to
develop family-scale ecological type production by utilising the local chicken breeds
along with backyard systems as a unique, well-recognised brand. The entire production
line should be ensured by full involvement of the government, educational units, financial
supports, and the educated local breeders and consistent with overall social objectives. A
complete, well-organised and market-driven strategy must be instructed, in which the
whole input including animal resources, feeds, houses, slaughtering facilities and the
veterinary services should be covered by financial sponsors. Since the adaptation of local
chicken breeds to backyard farming requires relatively small input and subsidy, the local,
regional or national governments may offer this support to start with. The rural dwellers,
especially women, can be used as extension workers and trained to become local
breeders. Meanwhile, they can be involved in various other regional developmental
projects such as on-farm selling of local products, rural tourism. As long as this
natural and traditional production is under strictly controlled regulation established by

the government, the final products can be certified and classified as safe, high quality
premium local products. Certification is the determining factor that improves the
product's market price as well as increases the scope for national chicken product and
industrial diversification. The system may utilise pure local chicken breeds which can be
commercialised in a way that make consumers recognise their specific appearance and
characteristics such as the ‘big shank’ of Dong Tao chicken, ‘black meat’ of Hmong
chicken, ‘traditional tonic’, a medication prepared from Ac chicken or typical colour of
skin and egg yolk, tenderness of the meat. The other proposed solution is to elaborate
crosses of indigenous breeds with intensive ones which produce well under natural
conditions. If the optimal balance of quality and quantity and the outlet of the final
products are ensured, this family-scale ecological type chicken production will be
effective for sustainable rural development in Vietnam (Szalay et al., 2003).

Conclusions
It was believed that the chances for lowering the overall demand of the domestic
population of Vietnam to accept the low performance of local chicken breeds are not
high and that the right of Vietnamese government to choose a short term profit of mass
chicken production to feed its population of more than ninety million people should be
respected. Likewise, the lessons learned from European countries regarding management
and production should be taken into consideration in order to make suitable decisions.
Simply copying the poultry production model of developed countries, however, will not
help reduce poverty. Hodges (2006) characterised the western situation that the close
symbiotic relationship of man and domestic animals is changing. Subsequently,
understanding of sustainability together with the related historic culture among urban
communities is getting lost. Therefore, present day Vietnamese conservation programmes
must consider rural culture, agriculture, traditions and needs, and should act to develop
traditional farming in a sustainable way. In contrast to pigs, which is the most important
backyard livestock in term of the income generation and meat production for the export
market (Maltsoglou and Rapsomanikis, 2005), chickens contribute primarily to the
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household economy through home consumption and local markets. It fulfils very special
roles in other household economies, thus providing a distinct mode of poverty alleviation.
Therefore, the policies which address local livestock in connection with rural
development should be flexible, site-specific and well-targeted according to the ‘real’
situation of each region across the country. The interactions between local chicken breeds
within traditional backyard farming systems and rural development has attracted some
attention, is still underestimated. If development of high quality premium local products
from native chicken breeds and a certification system is considered and the strategy of
chicken production, based mainly on available local resources, is applied correctly, it can
increase the production value added products and contribute to generate acceptable
income of rural dwellers. As a result, the rural people will not leave the countryside
for urban areas (Dong Xuan and Szalay, 2003). This strategy, on one hand, can lay a
basic foundation for a consistent financially self-maintaining chicken production later in
rural regions of Vietnam. On the other hand, it can slow down the recent urbanisation
process which is damaging the agricultural traditions. More importantly, it can be a
potential tool for the poor of Vietnam to improve the quality of their life as well as
for long term genetic conservation of the traditional Vietnamese chicken genetic
resources. The natural way of conservation, i.e. local farmers’ insistence on their own
breeds and varieties, which is even more emphasised in the local ethnic groups, still
provides the most important basis for local chicken diversity throughout the country. If
governmental conservation efforts meet the natural way to save the breeds by local
inhabitants, villages or micro-regions, a unique and sustainable on farm conservation
pattern can be elaborated not only for Vietnam's chicken diversity but for the majority of
local farm animal genetic resources of many countries or regions being in the possession
of similarly rich and valuable biodiversity, agro-biodiversity and agricultural tradition. To

achieve this goal, local researchers should be encouraged to study economic traits,
veterinary status, and all special characteristics of the local breeds in the frames of an
official, national gene conservation programme.

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