Developing cooperatives: A boost from support programs

Workers at the Ban Quyen Agricultural and Forestry Products Production and Service Cooperative in De Tham commune, Trang Dinh district, are packaging products.

Thanks to the synchronized and appropriate solutions from relevant levels and sectors, the number of cooperatives in the province has increased rapidly from 2021 to the present.

The number of newly established cooperatives exceeded the target.

Prior to 2021, the cooperative sector, with cooperatives as its core, in the province continued to face many difficulties. The number of cooperatives remained limited; production and business activities were inefficient due to a lack of capital, limited management and operational capacity, and a narrow product market...

To support and address difficulties in the field of collective economic organizations and cooperatives, on May 23, 2021, the Provincial People's Committee issued Program No. 19 on supporting the development of collective economic organizations and cooperatives in the period 2021-2025. Along with this, relevant levels and sectors have developed plans to implement solutions related to innovating production organization forms, improving the capacity and efficiency of cooperatives in the new period, as well as implementing support policies according to Resolution 08 dated December 10, 2019 of the Provincial People's Council on specific policies to encourage investment, development of cooperation, production linkages and consumption of agricultural and rural products in the province in the period 2020-2025 (including the development of cooperatives).

According to Program No. 19/CTr-UBND dated May 23, 2021, of the People's Committee of Lang Son province on supporting the development of the collective economy and cooperatives in Lang Son province for the period 2021-2025, the specific objectives for the period 2021-2025 are as follows: relevant levels and sectors in the province will organize 200 training courses on the collective economy and cooperatives; organize 15 courses to support and advise on the construction or amendment of charters; support the establishment of 200-250 new cooperatives; organize 30 training courses for members and employees of collective economic organizations; support 50-60 young workers to work in collective economic organizations; support over 125 cooperatives to participate in fairs and exhibitions to promote products and trade; support the rental of venues and operation of some product introduction and sales points for 50 or more cooperatives. Providing support for quality certification, brand building, product origin, and traceability for 75 or more cooperatives; assisting over 30 cooperatives in accessing loans from the Cooperative Development Support Fund; supporting over 40 cooperatives in investing in infrastructure and product processing...

To implement the province's programs and plans to support the development of the cooperative economy and cooperatives, relevant levels and sectors quickly began to carry out specific tasks. Mr. Lieu Xuan Du, Chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Union, said: One of the first and most important goals in the program to support the development of the cooperative economy and cooperatives is to develop new cooperatives. To develop new cooperatives, in recent years, the Provincial Cooperative Union has coordinated with relevant agencies and units to promote propaganda, mobilization, and guidance for founders to establish cooperatives. Specifically, from 2021 to the present, the Provincial Cooperative Union has coordinated with the People's Committees of districts, associations, and organizations to hold 104 conferences to disseminate information on the Cooperative Law and guide the establishment of new cooperatives, with nearly 10,000 participants; The coordinated dissemination of information resulted in nearly 200 articles, news items, and reports related to the development of the cooperative economy across various media outlets... As a result, many households and founders gained more information and knowledge to establish cooperatives.

Ms. Vy Thi Chu, Director of Chu Tinh Organic Cooperative in Hoa Binh commune, Chi Lang district, said: After being informed about the cooperative model by the Provincial Cooperative Union and relevant agencies, the cooperative was established in April 2024 with 9 members. To date, in addition to the 9 members, the cooperative has partnered with 90 households growing chili peppers, and this year, the cooperative has planted 18 hectares. Because the cooperative acts as the coordinating body for the project with another unit, participating households receive technical training, 30% support for seeds and materials (worth approximately 700,000 VND/sao), and the cooperative guarantees the purchase of their products. The establishment and operation of the cooperative has initially created a value chain in production, while also playing a bridging role in providing additional resources for people to develop production.

Along with the Chu Tinh Organic Cooperative, through the propaganda and mobilization efforts of relevant levels and sectors, many cooperatives have been established in the province. Specifically, from 2021 to the present, the province has established 257 new cooperatives, bringing the total number of registered cooperatives operating in the province to 557. The number of newly established cooperatives each year has consistently met and exceeded the set plan.

Along with the increase in quantity, the quality of operations of cooperatives has also continuously improved.

Improving the quality of cooperative operations.

Besides developing new cooperatives, in recent years, relevant departments and agencies of the province have implemented many solutions to accompany and support the improvement of the operational efficiency of cooperatives in the area. Mr. Duong Huu Phong, Head of the Finance and Planning Department of Bac Son district, said: Implementing the program to support the development of the collective economy and cooperatives in the period 2021-2025, the specialized department has coordinated with relevant units to promote propaganda and guide cooperatives to access support policies. As a result, from 2021 to the present, relevant agencies and units in the area have supported the establishment of 17 new cooperatives; 3 young intellectuals to work at cooperatives; and supported 5 cooperatives in obtaining loans with interest rate subsidies and brand development... Thanks to the support resources from the State and the efforts of the cooperatives, the cooperatives in Bac Son district have now seen significant changes in their operations. Currently, there are 73 registered cooperatives operating in the district, of which over 26% are rated as good or excellent; the average revenue per cooperative reaches 1.85 billion VND/year, double that of 2021; the average income of workers reaches 6 million VND/month, an increase of 1.5 million VND compared to 2021.

In conjunction with Bac Son district, implementing Program 19 of the Provincial People's Committee, all levels and sectors have focused on deploying solutions to support and resolve difficulties and obstacles for cooperatives. Specifically, from 2021 to the present, relevant units have supported 65 members of 21 cooperatives in the province to access preferential loans from the fund totaling 6.5 billion VND to invest in production and business development; guided cooperatives in the province to borrow 4 billion VND from the Vietnam Cooperative Development Support Fund; and provided 850 million VND in support to cooperative members from the National Employment Fund.

From 2021 to the present, relevant departments and agencies in the province have organized 34 training courses for 2,500 cooperative leaders and members on topics related to digital transformation, cooperative management and operation skills, control and accounting; guided and supported the establishment of 143 new cooperatives with funding of nearly 2.9 billion VND; supported bringing young intellectuals to work in 30 cooperatives with funding of nearly 5 billion VND; supported 11 cooperatives in building product linkage and consumption chains with funding of over 2.6 billion VND; supported 9 cooperatives in implementing production models according to VietGAP standards with funding of over 2.2 billion VND... At the same time, each year, relevant units support 5-10 cooperatives to participate in trade fairs to promote and introduce products; organize 2-4 meetings and dialogues with cooperatives to understand difficulties and obstacles in order to find solutions.

Thanks to the close attention of all levels and sectors, and the proactive efforts of cooperatives to overcome difficulties, the cooperative and collective economic sector in the province has seen significant changes. In 2024, the average revenue of cooperatives in the province reached 1.35 billion VND/cooperative/year, an increase of 22.7% compared to 2021; the number of cooperatives operating well or successfully accounted for nearly 25% of the total number of active cooperatives; the average income of members and workers in cooperatives reached 4 to 8 million VND/person/month, an increase of 30% compared to 2021.

With the achievements made in recent years, it is believed that in 2025, the collective economic and cooperative sector in the province will continue to make even more significant progress, thereby contributing to the overall socio-economic development of the province.

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