In Hanoi pig-raising is not only a lucrative venture, it is also a means of disposal of the large amounts of organic wastes produced by the city. As part of research and development work on urban and peri-urban pig-raising systems in Hanoi conducted by Urban Harvest and Vietnamese scientists, a recent rapid assessment of pig fattening has found that peri-urban households make use of the massive amounts of restaurant wastes generated in Hanoi as their major source of pigfeed.  Although use of domestic and commercial food wastes has long been a common source of feed for households with one or two pigs within Hanoi, only in the past four or five years have these organic residues become a common source of feed among larger-scale household producers in the peri-urban areas.  This feed revolution has occurred thanks to the arrival of the motorbike. A member of the pig–raiser family collects the organic waste from restaurants or institutional canteens by motorcycle. The pig raisers attempt to reduce costs by maximizing the load they carry: up to three barrels of kitchen waste and smaller additional containers, weighing 250 kilos. .   Carrying this kind of unstable, liquid weight on a small motorbike for 20 to 25 kilometers of congested roads and unpredictable traffic behavior is demanding physical work, which is more frequently done by men.

 The amount paid for residues varies with the type of outlet and the form of payment: factors such as when the arrangement began, the stability of the source, the quality of the waste and the flexibility of payment enter into the price formation. At present, there is more demand for residue than supply, and restaurant and canteen owners frequently renegotiate more favorable terms for themselves, which the pig-farmers are obliged to accept.

The labor demands of this type of feed sourcing means that pig-raisers prepare the feed twice rather than the recommended three times a day. Families prepare the pigfeed by cooking the organic waste together with other ingredients for about 1.5 hours.  A forage source, usually sweetpotato vines or water hyacinth, is always cooked with the residue, to avoid burning. No pig-raiser expressed any worries about negative health impacts on the pigs from using residues, although there are some concerns that large amounts of chili in the waste is unpleasant for the pigs. 

Some farmers supplement insufficient restaurant waste with tofu residue, which can also be purchased from the many small-scale tofu enterprises in Hanoi. Although, tofu residues are more readily available, they are more expensive, and are of poorer nutritional quality.  Therefore, pig raisers will always prefer restaurant waste if they can get it. The peri-urban pig industry in Hanoi is a marvelous example of how integrated this type of agriculture is with the life of the city.  This closed system avoids the loss of energy or waste by recycling waste into feed, which at the end of the production cycle becomes a delicious dish of pork in your favorite Hanoi restaurant.

Urban Harvest would like to recognize their investment partners for making all possible.BMZ, CIDA, DFID, IDRC, INIA, World Bank, Comunidad Madrid