World Bank Helps Vietnam to Raise Competitiveness of Livestock Sector

The World Bank (WB) and the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, inked a credit agreement worth $65.26 million for a project to improve competitiveness of husbandry industry. The project, totaling $79.03 million, will improve a competitiveness of Vietnam’s husbandry industry by increasing livestock yields, quality, food safety and hygiene and reducing environmental pollution, the Vietnamese government said on its website. Governor Nguyen Van Giau of the SBV said that the project is the biggest of its kind supported by the World Bank that will help Vietnam’s husbandry industry increase production efficiency and competitiveness. The six-year project will start in 2010 in twelve provinces into three phases: supporting husbandry households; strengthen husbandry and veterinary extension; project management and evaluation. The local husbandry industry takes 27% of the country’s revenues from the agricultural sector that contributes 22% to GDP and employs 60% of the country’s labor force.