Linking agricultural product consumption: Need a "handshake" between businesses and farmers

Currently, many cooperatives in the province have linked up with households to promote tea production and consumption. In the photo: Tea processing at La Bang Tea Cooperative (Dai Tu).

In the spring crop of 2025, with the support of the Agricultural Service Center of Dinh Hoa district, Dai Thang Crop and Poultry Cooperative (Tu Thinh commune, Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang province) "joined hands" with 38 households in the communes of Lam Vi, Binh Yen, Son Phu, Trung Luong, Bao Cuong, Dong Thinh and Thanh Dinh (Dinh Hoa) to grow 6 hectares of sticky cucumbers.

Mr. Phung Duc Tuan, Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Dinh Hoa district: Participating in the model, households are committed to purchasing products by the cooperative with specific contracts, so people are very secure and excited.

The biggest plus point is that along with following the process of planting and caring for cucumbers to ensure technical standards on the family's land to create safe products, people only need to put effort and focus on the melon field. The remaining work such as melon seeds, fertilizers and supplies are taken care of by the cooperative. The best part is that after harvesting, all of this investment cost is deducted from the product and people only need to keep the profit...

Not having to worry about the output of the product, and with the guidance of the staff of the Agricultural Service Center of Dinh Hoa district, the people were very active in fertilizing their family's melon fields. After only 65 days, the entire melon area was ready for harvest. According to the signed contract, the representative of Dai Thang Cooperative of Cultivation and Poultry Farming sent a car to the field to purchase and consume the products.

With a yield of 41.5 tons/ha and an average selling price of 8,000 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, people earned a profit of 257 million VND. Local households shared that this income is much higher than growing other crops in the area and expressed their desire to continue to "join hands" with the cooperative to grow sticky cucumbers in the next crops...

It can be seen that when there is a stable output and the "guidance" of professional staff, people, even in mountainous and highland areas such as Dinh Hoa and Vo Nhai, can meet all requirements on fertilization techniques, productivity and product quality. However, in the past, in Thai Nguyen, there have not been many linkage models in the production and consumption of agricultural products between enterprises and farmers like the model mentioned above. Most farming households are still "groping" to find output for their products. This is the reason why at the end of 2024, green vegetables, Dien grapefruit, etc. in Thai Nguyen had a good harvest but low selling prices, causing people to suffer losses.

From the connection between businesses and people, many agricultural products of Dinh Hoa district people have been conveniently consumed, achieving high economic efficiency.

Enterprises have not been really bold enough to "join hands" with farmers to produce goods according to the value chain associated with product consumption. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Ha Thai Tea Joint Stock Company (Ha Thuong Commune, Dai Tu District), said that the association is beneficial for both people and enterprises. However, many enterprises are still worried that people are used to the old way of thinking about production, so they have not met the requirements of cultivation and intensive farming techniques to create products with the quality as committed.

Therefore, to have a strong connection in the production and consumption of agricultural products, both farmers and enterprises must play their "full roles". Mr. Nguyen Ta, Head of the Provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said: On the part of farmers, they must always be proactive in learning to quickly absorb scientific and technical advances applied to the fields. From there, they will create agricultural products that ensure both quality and quantity, meeting food safety regulations.

In particular, when signing a contract with a business or cooperative, farmers are not allowed to arbitrarily "break" the contract when the selling price on the market is higher than the price of the purchasing units. On the part of businesses, they also need to keep their "trust" by accompanying farmers in the production process (sending staff to provide technical guidance to farmers); ensuring the purchase of products according to the original commitment... - Mr. Nguyen Ta

Along with the efforts of farmers and enterprises, there is also a need for active support from managers. The planning, orientation and implementation of large-scale concentrated production associated with linking agricultural product consumption according to the industry value chain should be implemented closely and systematically by all levels and functional sectors in the province. At the same time, it is necessary to combine and promote trade promotion, especially sales through e-commerce platforms.

Along with that, units, mass organizations, cooperatives, and local authorities should also participate in promoting linkages in production and consumption of agricultural products for people. Particularly for the Agriculture and Environment sector, in addition to promoting propaganda work, raising awareness of the importance of linking agricultural production in chains and the role of cooperative economy in the entire political system, people should continue to proactively invite enterprises and cooperatives with sufficient resources, prestige, and ensuring stable output to build and replicate models of linkages in production and consumption of agricultural products...

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/kinh-te/202504/lien-ket-tieu-thu-nong-san-can-cai-bat-tay-cua-doanh-nghiep-va-nong-dan-a091eb9/