Flowers and ornamental plants are cultivated by members of the Pho Tho Flower and Ornamental Plant Cooperative in Can Tho city (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Farmers' incomes in the Mekong Delta have risenas a result of membership in agricultural cooperatives, but the effectivenessof the groups is still limited, experts have said.
Dong Thapprovince, for example, has good linkages between cooperatives and companies.Set up in 2013, My Dong 2 Agricultural Service Cooperative has more than100 members and has contracted with the Southern Seed Corporation inHo Chi Minh City to farm rice for 16 consecutive rice crops.
Ngo PhuocDung, director of My Dong 2, said the cooperative’s members are guaranteedoutlets and have stable profits higher than rice farmers without farmcontracts.
TheMekong Delta, the country’s largest rice, seafood and fruit producer, has morethan 1,800 agricultural cooperatives, accounting for one-third of the total inthe country. They have more than 230,000 members, or 15 percent of the delta’sfarming households.
The deltaalso has more than 11,700 cooperative groups with more than 260,000 members.
All ofthe cooperatives have helped the agricultural sector meet market requirementsfor large quantity and standard quality. Members, for example, have receivedinstruction in advanced farming techniques to deal with climate change,including production of high-quality seeds and disease management, according tothe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Department of CooperativeEconomics and Rural Development.
Thoughthe delta’s cooperatives have links with companies under value chains, there isstill a lack of investment capital and information about market outlets,according to experts.
Le Duc Thinh,Director of the Department of Cooperative Economics and Rural Development,said that poor management had stifled operational effectiveness ofcooperatives.
Mostdirectors of cooperatives are farmers or agricultural engineers who do not haveknowledge and skills in management, trade and markets, he said. The cooperativesare also small scale and find it difficult to access loans.
Nguyen PhuocThien, Deputy Director of Dong Thap province’s Department of Agriculture andRural Development, said that lack of market information and incomplete legalregulations for farm contracts had hindered linkages between cooperatives andcompanies.
About 40percent of rice contracts between farmers and companies in the delta aresuccessfully implemented, a higher rate than other agriculturalproducts, according to the Department of Cooperative Economics and RuralDevelopment.
To improveprofits, the Department of Cooperative Economics and Rural Development hasensured that farmers will have access to soft loans and receive advancedtechniques and effective farming models such as intercropping of shrimp orfish, or rotation of crops in rice fields.
Theagency will also be responsible for improving the skills of cooperativemanagers.
Othermeasures include working with international organisations to help farmers and cooperativescope with climate change in the delta.
Ca Mau provinceplans to establish 20 new cooperatives, 100 cooperative groups and two to threecooperative unions each year from now until 2030.
Do Van So,Chairman of the Ca Mau Cooperative Alliance, said the province would focus ontraining human resources and instructing legal regulations for developing cooperatives.It will also create favourable conditions for cooperatives to access supportpolicies on advanced techniques, building brand names, and trade promotions.
In HauGiang province, the provincial People’s Committee has ordered relevantdepartments and agencies to provide financial support for cooperatives toinvest in infrastructure. The province has 21 agricultural cooperatives thatmeet conditions to receive support for developing infrastructure with a totalcost of 25 billion VND (1.07 million USD), according to its Department of Agricultureand Rural Development./.
VNA
