Covering 25 hectares and costing an initial VND40 billion, the Ba Vi dairy farm model includes a cow raising section, a feeding section and a milking section using hi-tech equipment imported from Sweden’s DeLaval.

The dairy farm will help farmers establish a new farm model in an efficient way. IDP will offer free training courses to bring new farming techniques to farmers, small and medium-sized dairy processors, said Phan Si Minh, vice general director of IDP.

The company will supply quality breeder cows for farmers and local dairy farms and an interest-free loan of VND20 million per head, which will be repaid by the milk they get from their cows. It will offer training courses to students of husbandry, Minh added.

Vietnam’s per capita milk consumption is 14.5 liters a year, lower than in regional countries such as Thailand and China with a range of 26 and 30 liters per person a year, according to Minh.

The number of dairy cow farming has grown by 35-40% but milk output has yet to meet domestic demand. But opportunities abound for investors interested in tapping the local fresh milk market.

IDP has been operating three dairy projects over the past few years. The company has invested VND84 billion to raise 20,000-25,000 head by 2015 in Ba Vi Mountain and neighboring areas.

It is also working on a project to enhance food hygiene in husbandry at a total cost of VND45 billion and another to open a training center for local dairy farmers.