The true new cooperative models in Thua Thien - Hue

Everything is run for the benefit of members

Mr. Pham Van Tan, head of the Thua Thien – Hue Rural Development Sub-department, reports that the province has established around 218 new model cooperatives since the reform, although many of them continue to function under the old model, which used to run without the use of manufacturing materials, relying heavily on input service.

In this setting, Thua Thien-Hue witnesses the creation of truly new model forestry cooperatives, which is seen as a fresh wind blow, novel in every aspect of operation, production organization, and business. The new ones are laying the foundations for a huge level of truth for cooperative members.

Hoa Loc sustainable forestry cooperative was created in 2018 in Loc Bon commune, Phu Loc district. It works according to sustainable forest management principles, has FSC forest certification, and follows the big timber plantation forest value chain. The operational objectives are stated plainly: "all for the benefit of members."

Before our visit, we had heard some tales about the cooperative and recognized the critical factor that changes Hoa Loc into a truly new model cooperative.

The first story revealed that this is a cooperative system run by its members. While it is structured in the manner of an organization, it includes members of the Party Committee and the Commune People's Committee, none of them are permitted to meddle in the cooperative's organizational activities.

The second story is about operational restrictions, specifically expenditure regulations. It is prohibited for Hoa Loc Sustainable Forestry Cooperative to welcome visitors who are not there for production or commercial goals, as well as to prevent wasting money on nonsense.

Additionally, this is the first forest of its sort to charge visitors. These brief stories illustrate the enormous shift in awareness about the operation of Hoa Loc Sustainable Forestry Cooperative, as well as the cooperative's more visible and important improvements in operation and economic operations.

Thua Thien - Hue province approved the Sustainable Forestry Cooperative Development Scheme for the period 2021-2030 in March, with the goal of having around 29,000–30,000 ha of FSC-certified plantations and 6,400–6,700 forest owners participating by 2030. One of this project's objectives is promotion and lobbying in order to improve forest farmers' mindsets and awareness, but that "issue" in Hoa Loc has been resolved.

Mr. Ho Da, director of Hoa Loc Sustainable Forestry Cooperative, said during the Deputy Minister's visit that large-scale wood afforestation no longer required communication or marketing since forest planters are well aware of the policy's advantages.

Since its founding, the cooperative has maintained that a large timber forest is the objective and that all business activities must be carried out in a chain, beginning with the incubation of high quality and environmentally friendly seedlings, followed by the planting and tending of forests by technical standards, and finally, the purchasing and processing of plantation timber to ensure output for members... Hoa Loc is also the first cooperative in Thua Thien - Hue to arrange the production and afforestation of FSC certified big wood, having certified 690ha of large timber forest out of a total of 804ha of planted forests after two years. These are all woods that do not burn, have no plant protection pharmaceutical packaging, and do not use plastic bags, fully complying with very stringent international requirements.

Mr. Ho Duc Lang is one among the farmers who profits handsomely from the massive wood afforestation in Hoa Loc. With a 30ha area, his family was compelled to pay prices during the harvest season in prior years when he was still growing little wood forests. Mr. Lang chose to convert all small wood plantations to huge FSC-certified timber plantations after joining Hoa Loc Sustainable Forestry Cooperative.

Not only member families such as Mr. Lang have partnered with cooperatives and companies, but forest planters in Hoa Loc who are not yet eligible to join have also partnered with cooperatives and businesses to continue expanding the enormous wood plantation area. Hoa Loc Sustainable Forestry Cooperative has invested in workshops, wood processing machinery and equipment, a 700m2 construction area valued at VND 1.2 billion, and a nearly 2ha nursery of high-quality seeds, ensuring a steady supply of between 500,000 and 1 million seedlings to serve the community.

Connect to achieve greater heights together

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's pilot project to develop an area of agricultural and forestry raw materials meeting standards for domestic consumption and export between 2021 and 2025 determined that approximately 10,000 ha of the forest will be planted in Thua Thien - Hue during the next period. Thua Thien - Hue province has established 25 sustainable forestry cooperatives that are linked throughout the value chain to Scansia Pacific Co., Ltd. to plant and process forest wood. Growers who are FSC certified for export.

Although the province as a whole has just 473 members of cooperatives that are FSC certified forest owners with an area of around 5,172 hectares, the model has been successful due to existing practices and legislation. If this is the case, the objective of developing a plantation material area of world standards in Thua Thien - Hue will almost certainly be accomplished.

"We selected the structure of our group to develop together. Linkages between individuals, cooperatives, and enterprises, and links between cooperatives, since a chain can only be formed through links. And cooperatives such as Hoa Loc will serve as the locomotive and focal point for these connections "Mr. Pham Van Tan, Director of the Thua Thien-Hue Rural Development Sub-Department, confirmed this.

Specifically, via the cooperation of cooperatives and businesses such as Scansia Pacific Co., Ltd., another ostensibly tough issue in the policy of vast wood plantations is resolved: the long-term income of people.

Scansia Pacific provides policy assistance and 50% financing to all newly founded sustainable forestry cooperatives in Thua Thien - Hue in order to act as a "midwife" for forest farmers. As a consequence, the cooperative's operational charter provides that if members are obliged to sell forests before to the anticipated harvesting age, the cooperative will acquire them at market rates. After removing the cost of purchasing the forest plus interest, the remaining difference is 50% of the difference between the cooperative and the forest farmer.

This contributes to ensuring that not a single major piece of wood plantation in Thua Thien-sustainable Hue's forestry cooperatives gets harvested less than expected.