Towards sustainable beef enterprises in the northwest highlands of Vietnam

In Vietnam, approximately 5% of cattle are in the North West region, increasing from 149,510 head in 2006 to 191,300 head in 2010 (Son La Statistic year book 2010). About 90% of these cattle are found on small household farms and the remainder in commercial operations (National Livestock Department’s report for 2001 – 2005). In order to establish a baseline for comparing and evaluating sustainable production practices to overcome technical and market constraints to the emergence of profitable beef enterprises in the northwest highlands, a survey was conducted in two communes in Sõn La province.