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This study assessed the goat-fattening system among households, its economic efficiency, and farmers` constraints in goat fattening. A survey was conducted with 30 goat farmers randomly 21 selected in Nghe An province. The results showed that goats are kept confined and fed a high level of commercial concentre (46-60%) in the diet. Two types of goats have been used for fattening: growing goats and culled female goats and two types of breeds (Co breed/Lao goat and Boer crossbred). The average fattening farm size was 88.2 goats/period. The weight of fattened goats for selling was from 29.0 to 38.3kg/head and live weight gain was from 3.7-5.4 kg/head/month. The profit of goat fattening was relatively good, from 494-590.8 thousand VND/goat/period (2-4 months). The goat fattening was a profitable alternative income opportunity for farmers in the study areas. Most of the farmers are facing difficulties in disease control, high prices of commercial concentrate, and unstable markets. The study suggests that extension programs need to improve the capacity of farmers in goat fattening techniques and disease management, as well as establish a sustainable linkage in the goat value chains for the sustainable development of goat farming.

This study explores the use of mobile phones for farm-related activities of ethnic minority farmers in Quang Tri province, Central Vietnam, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. A random sampling strategy was used to select 180 ethnic farmers, different by gender, age, and education level, to interview using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results indicate ethnic minority farmers used mobile phones for various purposes related to agriculture through phone calls and social media platforms (Facebook, Zalo, YouTube, etc.). Mobile phones have become essential for farmers to access and exchange market information, receive weather information, get extension advisories, learn new farming practices and technologies, contact and buy farm inputs, etc. There was a statistically significant association between gender, age, and education level with the purposes of mobile phone usage. Young and highly educated farmers should be prioritized in digital service development strategies since they are the pioneers who will be the leading groups of farmers in terms of using mobile phones for farm-related activities. Furthermore, the significance of female farmers' mobile phone use should not be overlooked, as when women have access to these devices, they can use them for various farming tasks to improve their agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cattle manure value chains play important biological and economic roles in smallholder crop–livestock systems in developing countries, but relative to other livestock products our understanding of the nature and impact of manure sales is limited. In regions with an active manure trade, farmers face a choice between manure use on-farm and sales, which affects nutrient flows and participant incomes. We analyzed the manure value chain operating in south-central Vietnam as an example of the function and role of manure trade in crop–livestock systems. Lowland cattle farmers sell manure through a network of chain participants, including small-scale collectors, lowland and highland traders, to pepper, coffee, dragon fruit and rubber farms in the central highlands and southeast coast. We collected and summarized quantitative data (e.g., manure-related labor, manure transactions, and fertilizer and manure use) gathered in semi-structured interviews with value-chain participants [lowland cattle owners (n = 101), traders (n = 27) and end users (n = 72)]. Lowland cattle owners were selected by stratified random sampling, and subsequent participants were identified in preceding interviews. One key finding concerns the seasonality of the manure value chain: most manure flowed between February and August (lowland dry season and period of peak highland demand) from lowland communes to highland coffee and pepper farms for use as organic soil amendments. Fewer sales occurred, at a lower price, to southeast coastal dragon fruit farms and rubber companies. Value addition to manure occurred via drying, bagging, collection, transport and composting. The presence of local traders facilitated market sales for smallholder cattle owners, and prices through the value chain generally reflected costs for value addition. The geographic distribution of cattle relative to agricultural land influenced the flow of manure, with net outflows from regions with higher animal density to regions with lower density and higher value crop production. Manure trade was an important source of supplementary income for farmers and a primary livelihood activity for traders. Value chain participant net incomes ranged from near US$100 yr−1 for lowland farmers to over US$13,000 yr−1 for traders, and returns to labor were just over US$0.50 h−1 for lowland farmers and US$2 h−1 for traders. The quantitative information generated during our descriptive assessment provides an important first step toward manure value chain improvement, indicates survey methods that can be applied in other areas, and identifies next steps necessary to evaluate chain evolution and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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In a community-based cross-sectional survey among out-of-treatment male opiate injecting drug users (IDU) aged 18-45, data on non-fatal overdose were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. From August to September 2003, 299 IDU were recruited in two districts of Bac Ninh, a semi-urban province in North Vietnam. Prevalence of lifetime and recent non-fatal overdose were 43.5 and 83.1%, respectively. Logistic regression analyses showed associations between non-fatal overdose and younger age, unemployment, residence in the provincial township, frequency of injecting, injecting heroin mixed with valium, and history of drug treatment. While recognizing the limitations of this study, it is the first in Southeast Asia to report on prevalence of drug use-related overdose. Future research is recommended on occurrence of fatal overdose in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper elucidates the social context of HIV risk behavior and intra-couple risk communication among injecting drug users (IDUs) and their main sex partner. Data on shared injection equipment, unprotected sex with multiple partners, unprotected sex with a main partner and couples’ dynamics and risk communication were gathered through separate in-depth interviews with 11 active male IDUs and 11 of their primary female sex partners in northern Vietnam. The majority of IDUs’ sex partners does not inject drugs and is monogamous. In contrast, most IDUs reported a wide range of risky practices including needle sharing and unprotected sex with multiple, often concurrent, sex partners. Men rarely used condoms with primary partners. Many IDUs worried about their HIV-status, but none disclosed their injecting or sexual practices to their sex partners, leaving their partners unaware of their HIV risk. Among women who worried about HIV/AIDS, the vast majority was unable to influence their partner''s needle sharing or extramarital affairs and most would not initiate condom use because they feared their partner''s reaction. Couple-based interventions to facilitate risk communication combined with programs to promote condom use among male IDUs, may help to reduce HIV transmission from IDUs to their primary partners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]