Veterinary technicians have to wash dishes to make a living.

To meet Ms. Pham Thi Ai Nga, a veterinary technician in Trieu Thuong commune (Trieu Phong district), we had to wait until she returned from her part-time job washing dishes.

Mr. Tran Thanh Son, Head of the Livestock and Veterinary Station in Trieu Phong district, mentioned that, driven by her passion for the profession, Ms. Nga and her husband have been working as veterinary technicians and village veterinary collaborators for over 12 years.

By the end of 2021, when the policy for village veterinary collaborators ended, her husband had to take up a job as a construction worker, while Ms. Nga continued as a veterinary technician in Trieu Thuong commune. To make ends meet, Ms. Nga has had to use her free time to wash dishes. She earns 100,000 VND per day washing dishes, but it is not always possible for her to work every day. As a result, her monthly income from this side job is only about 1 million VND.

In 2010, after graduating from intermediate veterinary school, Ms. Nga began working as a part-time veterinary technician in Trieu Thuong commune. At that time, she received a stipend of 700,000 VND per month and was supported with social insurance contributions.

Although her income was low, she accepted the job, believing that being close to her family and having the opportunity to engage in livestock and poultry services would help sustain her livelihood. However, things did not turn out as she had hoped.

By 2017, part-time employees like Ms. Nga became contract workers. The workload increased significantly, and the pressure was immense, especially with the rising number of animal diseases. Many days, she had to capture 5-6 thousand ducks or chickens from infected farms from 5 PM until morning to cull them.

There were days she had to personally cull hundreds of pigs infected with African swine fever. At times, she spent an entire month working with the commune on livestock and poultry vaccinations, disinfecting, and spreading lime on roads.

Despite the hardships, Ms. Nga cannot bear the thought of quitting her job. At her age, she wonders what else she could do if she left. Veterinary work was a dream she had to convince her parents to support. She still loves her profession deeply and cannot give it up. She only knows how to make use of her scarce free time to wash dishes.

However, since the beginning of 2022, according to a resolution from the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Council, each commune will only have one veterinary technician, without social insurance support or village veterinary collaborators. The pressure on veterinary technicians continues to grow, and Ms. Nga cannot imagine how she will cope if diseases emerge as they have in the past.

“Disease outbreaks put us under tremendous pressure. While the government provides support for vaccinations, disease control, and culling, we end up doing the most work ourselves. Many days, both my husband and I have to work from the afternoon until dawn before going home. Meanwhile, the stipend is just too meager. Having fallen in love with the profession, I don’t know what else to do now,” Ms. Nga said, with tears welling up.

Recruiting veterinary technicians is as difficult as sifting through sand to find gold.

After the merger of the Veterinary Station, Agricultural Extension Station, and Plant Protection Station into the Agricultural Service Center, some provinces have ceased to maintain local veterinary staff, making disease control increasingly challenging.

However, in some provinces that still retain local veterinary staff, difficulties persist due to low allowances, high pressure, heavy responsibilities, and inadequate benefits, making recruitment very challenging. Quang Tri is one such province.

Trieu Phong is one of the districts with the largest livestock numbers in Quang Tri province. However, with many communes lacking veterinary staff, disease control in this area has become more critical than ever.

In April 2022, the Triệu Phong District People’s Committee approved 13 local veterinary technicians. This means that Triệu Phong will still be short of 5 veterinary technicians. This situation is causing significant concern for Mr. Tran Thanh Son, Head of the Livestock and Veterinary Station in the district.

“Some veterinary staff in certain communes are ill, and we cannot find replacements. Some people who want to become veterinary technicians do not meet the qualification requirements. Others meet the qualifications but refuse the position due to the very low income and instead choose to work at farms where they earn 8-10 million VND per month. The communes are large, but with only one contractual veterinary technician and no more village veterinary collaborators, many people are deterred by the pressure and decline the position. With the increasing complexity of diseases, this situation is very problematic,” Mr. Son expressed his concern.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Hau, Head of the Livestock and Veterinary Sub-Department in Quang Tri Province, explained that, according to regulations, in border areas and difficult regions, veterinary technicians are only required to have basic qualifications. The Veterinary Law does not specify qualification requirements for veterinary staff. However, since veterinary work is specialized, proper training is essential.

The Quang Tri Provincial People’s Council resolution mandates that local veterinary technicians must have at least intermediate qualifications and can no longer be part-time staff. Additionally, they are not provided with insurance support. As a result, recruiting veterinary technicians is extremely challenging, especially in remote, expansive, and difficult-to-access areas.

“Previously, village veterinary collaborators received an allowance of 0.5 of the salary coefficient. However, with the discontinuation of village veterinary collaborators, the wide and complex areas make recruiting veterinary technicians very difficult. The risk of the veterinary sector losing its ‘extended arm’ is now a reality,” Mr. Nguyen Trung Hau stated

According to Mr. Hau, Quang Tri Province has not yet developed any disease-free livestock zones.

21 communes have not yet been able to recruit veterinary technicians.

According to statistics from the Livestock and Veterinary Sub-Department of Quang Tri Province, although the recruitment notice for veterinary technicians was issued in April 2022, there are still 21 communes in the province that have not managed to fill these positions. Notably, these communes are located in areas with large livestock populations.

The shortage of veterinary staff has also affected the implementation of a resolution passed by the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Council in 2019 regarding the development of organic livestock farming. The resolution included budgetary support for feed, livestock, and other costs. However, this resolution has nearly not been implemented to date.

.