Mekong Delta innovates, improves quality of agricultural cooperative economic development

On the morning of August 1, 2024, in Can Tho, the Department of Cooperative Economics (Ministry of Planning and Investment) in collaboration with the Sustainable Food Systems Agency of Ireland in Vietnam (SFSI) and the Embassy of Ireland organized an international workshop on "Developing cooperative economics in agriculture through innovation and quality improvement".

Mr. Vu Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Planning and Investment spoke at the Workshop

In his opening speech, Mr. Vu Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation (Ministry of Planning and Investment) emphasized that the workshop is within the framework of the Ireland-Vietnam Agriculture and Food Partnership sponsored by the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam, aiming to implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2024 between the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Maritime (DAFM) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment on enhancing cooperation in the fields of enterprise development, cooperatives (HTX) and agricultural and food innovation between the two countries.

The workshop aims to develop capacity within agricultural cooperatives to enhance cooperative governance, marketing, innovation and quality management. The workshop opens up opportunities for knowledge exchange on agricultural and food cooperative development and experience sharing between Ireland and Vietnam to develop green, safe, climate-resilient, low-carbon and high value-added agriculture...

Ms. Ha Lan Anh - Global Director of Sustainable Food Systems Ireland in Vietnam (SFSI) said that the cooperative movement in Ireland has a proud history, starting in the 1880s, before Ireland gained independence. Over the past decades, cooperatives have played an invaluable role in the socio-economic development and prosperity of Ireland.

Like Vietnam, Ireland is aware of this important heritage, and also sees the need to provide a legal framework and innovation ecosystem to help the agricultural cooperative sector develop further. The experience and achievements of the cooperative economy over the past hundreds of years, together with the dedicated sharing from SFSI experts in this Workshop, will contribute significantly to the development orientation of the cooperative economy in agriculture in Vietnam, especially in the Mekong Delta provinces, a key agricultural region, where nearly 70% of cooperatives operate in the agricultural sector.

Experts from SFSI share experiences in developing cooperative economy with leaders, functional sectors and cooperative management in the Mekong Delta region.

According to the Department of Cooperative Economics, 2024 will continue to be a year of development in the cooperative relationship between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Irish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Maritime Affairs through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperative and agricultural enterprise development in June 2024; a number of workshops on sustainable development of the agricultural cooperative economic sector associated with green, safe production, and adaptation to climate change.

Resolution 20-NQ/TW of the 13th Party Central Committee dated June 16, 2022 continues to affirm that the collective economy is an important economic component, along with the state economy, increasingly becoming a solid foundation of the national economy; developing the collective economy is an inevitable objective trend, a task of the entire political system.

At the 5th session, the 15th National Assembly passed the Law on Cooperatives 2023 with many outstanding new points, creating a clear legal corridor to promote the development of the collective economic sector and cooperatives in Vietnam; The Law has specified 8 groups of support policies for cooperatives, including support policies specifically for agricultural cooperatives in the coming time...

Currently, Vietnam has about 22,000 agricultural cooperatives out of a total of 34,000 operating cooperatives, accounting for 65% of the total number of cooperatives, with about 3.8 million members and participating households, playing an important role in the agricultural and rural sectors. However, the quality of operations is still low, most agricultural cooperatives only provide a few services to members; lack of close connection with members and businesses; limited application of science, technology and technology; small-scale production; unable to build a linkage chain...

In addition, agricultural cooperatives also face many challenges such as: the impact of climate change, increasingly high market demands for product quality, the tense and complex world situation... Requiring cooperatives to take strong steps, focusing on two core factors: innovation and quality improvement. Innovation in agriculture does not stop at applying advanced technologies, but also includes innovation in management thinking, production and business methods. State agencies, domestic and international organizations, and cooperatives need to focus on research, innovation, creativity, and application of science and technology into practice. In particular, it is necessary to focus on building sustainable value chains, from production to consumption, ensuring harmonious benefits for all parties involved.

"In particular, improving the quality of agricultural products is also a key and urgent factor. Cooperatives need to promote the application of international quality standards, improve production processes and strictly control quality, improve food hygiene and safety and traceability, and build brands for Vietnamese agricultural products that are competitive enough in the market and exported to the world," emphasized Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation Vu Manh Hung.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/dong-bang-song-cuu-long-doi-moi-nang-chat-luong-phat-trien-kinh-te-hop-tac-nong-nghiep-d221367.html