Promoting the role of cooperatives in building advanced and exemplary new rural areas

In recent times, cooperatives have made efforts to innovate their methods of operation, production, and effective business, forming production value chains, increasing income for members; actively participating in environmental protection activities..., contributing to building new rural areas in the integration period.

Promoting the role of cooperatives in building advanced and exemplary new rural areas

Taking care of custard apples according to VietGap standards at Phu Long off-season custard apple and safe fruit consumption cooperative (Phu Long commune, Nho Quan district).

Ninh Binh province currently has 516 cooperatives, of which 409 operate in the agricultural sector and 68 operate in the non-agricultural sector. The total number of members and employees in cooperatives is over 85,000 people. In order to promote the role of cooperatives in building advanced and exemplary new rural areas, in recent years, the province has had many policies to encourage land consolidation, plot exchange, land accumulation, planning concentrated production areas, creating conditions for cooperatives to boost production and business; reorganizing the activities of cooperatives according to the 2012 Law on Cooperatives, developing new cooperative models with effective operations. The provincial Cooperative Union has supported cooperatives in trade promotion activities; building production models associated with value chains.

Mr. Bui Van Thinh, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Ngo Dong Agricultural Cooperative (Gia Phu Commune, Gia Vien) said: Implementing the direction of the Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee of the commune on implementing the criteria for building advanced and model new rural areas, Ngo Dong Agricultural Cooperative has planned concentrated production areas. Currently, the Cooperative has a total area of 127 hectares, of which the winter-spring crop area accounts for 80 hectares, producing according to large-scale fields. The Cooperative has changed rice varieties, production techniques, increased productivity, product quality, supplied seeds, fertilizers, and tested plant protection products, bringing the productivity to 2.6-2.7 quintals/ha. At the same time, the Cooperative signs contracts with businesses to find stable output for products. In addition, the Cooperative is interested in promoting farm economic development, increasing income for members...

Along with promoting production, increasing income for members, in participating in building advanced and exemplary new rural areas, cooperatives also focus on protecting the environment to develop agriculture in an effective and sustainable direction. In which, they regularly propagate and raise awareness for members about converting traditional production methods to clean, safe and sustainable agricultural forms such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic agriculture; organize for members to visit high-tech production models in and outside the province.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thuat, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Phu Long Off-Season Custard Apple and Safe Fruit Consumption Cooperative (Phu Long Commune, Nho Quan) said: Since the province, district, specialized agencies, and the Provincial Cooperative Union have supported Phu Long Off-Season Custard Apple and Safe Fruit Consumption Cooperative to develop from small-scale production to a large-scale model, from 47 hectares of custard apples to nearly 200 hectares according to VietGAP standards.

The cooperative has strictly followed the process of fertilizing, caring, pruning, pollinating, and shaping the flowers on the trees. Custard apples exported to the market have clear origins and addresses; consumers can verify through stamps and product packaging designs, ensuring food safety and hygiene with the cooperative's products. Custard apples of the cooperative have achieved 4-star OCOP. With a yield of 300-350 million VND/ha, the cooperative's custard apple products contribute to the implementation of economic and income criteria in building advanced and model new rural areas in the mountainous commune of Phu Long.

In line with the national digital transformation, many cooperatives have deployed and implemented digital transformation, applied new and advanced technologies to production and business, creating high-quality products. To help cooperatives adapt to digital transformation, in recent times, the Provincial Cooperative Union has promoted propaganda activities to raise awareness of the importance of digital transformation in cooperative development for key staff and members of cooperatives. Organize seminars and workshops on digital transformation. Organize study tours, exchange experiences, introduce cooperative models in and outside the province that have successfully implemented digital transformation. Conduct surveys and synthesize registration of needs for building product brands, product origins and build electronic information pages for cooperatives to send to management agencies for implementation...

Promoting the role of cooperatives in building new rural areas to improve models — Dong Son Medicinal Materials Cooperative (Tam Diep city) has digitized the production process using a traceability system, ensuring complete information and production process of the product.

Ms. Dinh Thi Loan, Manager of Dong Son Medicinal Materials Cooperative (Tam Diep city) said: Determining digital transformation as an important solution and an inevitable trend for the cooperative to improve its competitiveness, production efficiency, and participate in the value chain, Dong Son Medicinal Materials Cooperative has digitized the production process using a traceability system. Consumers only need to scan the QR code attached to the NBC-Trace traceability stamp of the National Barcode Center to have full information about the product and its production process.

Since being supported to implement the traceability system, products have become more known to consumers, preventing counterfeit and poor quality goods; consumers can see the production process of the product from seeds, planting, care, harvesting, packaging, thereby helping customers feel secure when using the cooperative's products, facilitating the process of promoting products quickly and effectively.

In addition, putting products on e-commerce platforms has helped the cooperative expand its domestic sales market. On average, the cooperative sells 12,000-15,000 cajuput essential oil products and some medicinal products from peaches per year. The cooperative's annual revenue is about 2 billion VND.

In particular, cooperatives play a key role in linking farmers, cooperatives, and enterprises, forming production and consumption chains for a number of organic agricultural products, contributing significantly to increasing production value and increasing per capita income. Up to now, a number of product chains have been formed in the province, such as a chain of medicinal products; a chain of safe vegetables, tubers, and fruits; a chain of herbal goat, chicken, and pig products; a chain of loach cartilage; a chain of high-quality rice, pennywort powder, honey, snails, deer, etc., with the benefits for members being low input costs, high product quality, selling prices, and incomes increasing by 25-35%, and cooperative operations being more dynamic, creative, and effective.

The efforts in production and business of cooperatives have contributed to the results of building advanced and model new rural areas in the province. In 2023, the whole province had 8/8 districts and cities meeting the standards and completing the new rural tasks; 119/119 communes meeting new rural standards, 50/119 communes meeting advanced new rural standards, 18/119 communes meeting model new rural standards. In the first 6 months of 2024, Yen Khanh district was recognized by the Prime Minister as a district meeting advanced new rural standards.

Article and photos: Phuong Anh