Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the financial impact of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in cattle at the farm-level and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) of biannual vaccination strategy to prevent and eradicate FMD for cattle in South Vietnam. Production data were collected from 49 small-scale dairy farms, 15 large-scale dairy farms, and 249 beef farms of Long An and Tay Ninh province using a questionaire. Financial data of FMD impacts were collected using participatory tools in 37 villages of Long An province. The net present value, i.e., the difference between the benefits (additional revenue and saved costs) and costs (additional costs and revenue foregone), of FMD vaccination in large-scale dairy farms was 2.8 times higher than in small-scale dairy farms and 20 times higher than in beef farms. The BCR of FMD vaccination over 1 year in large-scale dairy farms, small-scale dairy farms, and beef farms were 11.6 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 6.42–16.45], 9.93 (95% CI 3.45–16.47), and 3.02 (95% CI 0.76–7.19), respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that varying the vaccination cost had more effect on the BCR of cattle vaccination than varying the market price. This benefit-cost analysis of biannual vaccination strategy showed that investment in FMD prevention can be financially profitable, and therefore sustainable, for dairy farmers. For beef cattle, it is less certain that vaccination is profitable. Additional benefit-cost analysis study of vaccination strategies at the national-level would be required to evaluate and adapt the national strategy to achieve eradication of this disease in Vietnam.
Highlights
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is recognized to heavily impact livestock production (1)
It suggests that high foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccination coverage may be more difficult to reach in the beef cattle sector than in the dairy cattle sector since the expected financial profit from FMD vaccination is much lower in farms of the former category
The government incentives for vaccination were not taken into account in this analysis in order to simplify the formula and make it conservative. Excluding such subsidies in our analysis enabled us to show that even if vaccination costs are fully supported by farmers, it still generates a positive net return
Summary
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is recognized to heavily impact livestock production (1). According to the epidemiological situation, provinces of Vietnam are classified into two zones: high-risk (subdivided into control and buffer) and low-risk zones (9, 10). In the control and the buffer zones, vaccine fees are financed up to 100% (free vaccine twice a year) and 50% (free vaccine for the first campaign in March–April, vaccine bought by farmers for the second campaign in September–October) of their costs, respectively, by the national budget, while the labor cost of the commune’s veterinarian is paid for by the local authorities. In low-risk zones, these fees are paid for by the local authorities (9, 10) This strategy is facing many logistical and economic constraints, i.e., lack of strict implementation and sustainability at the farm-level and reduced perception of FMD risk after several years without outbreak. Its effectiveness, in terms of vaccine coverage and disease control, has not been achieved, i.e., outbreaks are still continuously recorded (9, 10)
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