Cooperatives help solve market uncertainties

Without cooperatives, agricultural production is still fragmented and small

On April 6, the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) cooperated with the Vietnam Union of Cooperatives (Cooperatives) to conduct a Seminar with the theme "Development of the collective economy and Cooperatives in the new period".

According to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, the National Assembly is discussing the revised Law on Cooperatives and Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022, the Fifth Conference of the XIII Party Central Executive Committee on Agriculture, farmers, and rural areas to 2030, vision to 2045; Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW, dated June 16, 2022, the Fifth Conference of the Central Committee of the Party, term XIII, on continuing to innovate, develop and improve the efficiency of the collective economy in the new period, has just been born is a turning point to turn agriculture into a national advantage.

Minister Le Minh Hoan said that if it is impossible to overcome the "curse" of fragmented, small, and spontaneous, the agricultural industry will be unable to overcome challenges from climate change, market fluctuations, and changing consumer trends.

"If people only produce in a single household with a small area without cooperatives, they will not be able to convert the agricultural production mindset to an agricultural economic one and will face difficulties such as high costs and high costs. Especially, with a small scale and output will not be able to form a commodity chain and create added value for Vietnamese agricultural products", the leader of the agricultural sector analyzed.

According to the Minister, many young cooperative directors nationwide have shown dynamism, commitment and access to new technologies. Therefore, it is necessary to have a program to improve the management capacity of the cooperative leaders because they are "leaders" in the rural community who can inspire farmers.

"Not only do we need to improve the capacity of the cooperative leadership team and intellectualize the cooperative members, but we also have to connect them with businesses to build raw material areas. Thereby creating motivation for people when they see the benefits such as reducing costs, having a stable market, being able to participate in the value of the chain of goods ... when participating in cooperatives", Minister Le Minh Hoan emphasized.

Focus on building mechanisms and policies for cooperatives

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong, currently, out of 29,000 registered cooperatives, there are more than 18,000 agricultural cooperatives, accounting for more than 70% of the total number of cooperatives in the country.

Over the past 10 years, the activities of cooperatives have achieved many positive results and gradually stabilized. The revenue of members and employees in the cooperative has increased by 107% compared to 2013.

However, Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong said that the operation of cooperatives still faces many difficulties and challenges because the Law on Cooperatives, as well as the guiding legal documents, are not suitable for the practical conditions of the domestic and international context; mechanisms and preferential policies on finance, capital, land, production premises, market access, science and technology... are not strong enough.

“The ministry has also worked with relevant agencies to develop a master program for collaborative economic development, including mechanisms, policies and resource regulations. Simultaneously, submit to the National Assembly to pilot mechanisms and policies to develop the cooperative federation model," said Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong.

“In the past, from the local authorities to the ministries and branches, there has been an interest and focus on the cooperative model. This has contributed to changing the perception of the whole society about the cooperative model, especially young people when more and more young people choose to start a business from the cooperative model”, shared Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Bao, Chairman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance.