In reality, through cooperatives, farmers are provided with seeds, materials, science and technology, etc., and are supported in finding markets and promoting trade. From there, people not only have more income and improve their quality of life but also create motivation to build new rural areas.

Effective models

Over the years, Dong Thap Province has become a trusted address for domestic and foreign consumers thanks to the large supply of fruits such as mango, durian, seedless lemon, etc., to the market. The whole province has 38 fruit cooperatives out of a total of 208 agricultural cooperatives. In Pham Van Niem’s seedless lemon garden of more than 8,000 m2, the plump lemons are grown in an organic direction and have been certified as “Cao Lanh Lemon”. It is worth noting the determination to turn seedless lemons into a hunger-reducing tree and reduce poverty for local people of My Long Agricultural Service Cooperative, Cao Lanh District, Dong Thap and Niem.

Niem said, at first, when planting seedless lemons, the members of the Cooperative and I did not understand much about this new variety of trees. During the cultivation process, instead of fertilising with organic fertilisers (according to the characteristics of the tree), the members were fertilised with inorganic fertilisers, which made the lemon peel dull and unattractive. When it came to consumption, people in other places were not used to using seedless lemons, many families had to package them and bring them to Ho Chi Minh City to sell.

Thanks to the production linkage, through My Long Agricultural Service Cooperative, seedless lemon products of Niem and the members of the Cooperative have been purchased at prices equal to or higher than the market price by 3,000-4,000 VND/kg. Currently, the Cooperative’s seedless lemons are shifting to production according to the Global GAP process for export to Europe. This is a new starting point for more than 300 cooperative members to bring seedless lemons to conquer demanding markets.

Choosing the direction of specialised production and implementing chain linkage in fruit tree production is the right choice for agricultural cooperatives in Ben Tre Province. Out of 145 agricultural cooperatives and a Union of Agricultural Cooperatives in the whole province, 75 cooperatives have participated in building production areas associated with the value chain of key agricultural products.

Ben Tre has formed 17 domestic growing areas with an area of over 800 hectares. Which, 43 export-growing areas have been granted 93 codes and are operating with an area of over 700 hectares. At present, the province has six enterprises granted export packaging facility codes. The proportion of the value of key agricultural, forestry and fishery products produced according to good manufacturing practices (GAP) and equivalents reached 25.6% (24,640 hectares), and the area of linkage reached 20.6%.

At Phu Phung Agricultural Cooperative, Phu Phung Commune, Cho Lach District (Ben Tre), more than a dozen workers urgently pack rambutan products for export. This year, Thai off-season rambutan costs 70,000 to 80,000 VND/kg. Vo Tan Truyen, a member of Phu Phung Agricultural Cooperative, who is cultivating 8,000 m2 of rambutan, said: “Previously, people grew rambutan and sold it to traders at unstable prices, making it very difficult to sell, especially in the favourable season.

Since joining the Cooperative, I have been trained in growing techniques according to VietGAP standards, have been given a growing area code for export, and the Cooperative has guaranteed output at a stable price, 2,000-5,000 VND/kg higher than the market price, so people are very excited. Most members apply processing techniques to produce off-season fruit, so profits are 2-3 times higher than producing rambutan in the favourable season.”

Tran Huu Nghi, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Cho Lach District, said: The district has 14 cooperatives, of which two fruit cooperatives operate very effectively. Typically, the Phu Phung Agricultural Cooperative model produces according to a tightly linked chain, bringing high efficiency to its members. This is a typical local cooperative with rambutan products meeting 4-star OCOP standards and is developing OCOP-standard durian products to serve the domestic and export markets.

Improving the quality of activities

With the great potential and value of fruit trees, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has approved the Project on Developing Key Fruit Trees for 2025, with a vision for 2030. The project strives to achieve a fruit tree area of 1.3 million hectares nationwide by 2030, with an output of more than 16 million tons, and an export turnover of about 6.5 billion USD. The role of cooperatives is identified as the “key” to opening the door to linkages, ensuring input and output for local agricultural products, and avoiding the situation of good harvests and low prices.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Ben Tre, Huynh Quang Duc, said that the agricultural sector has been supporting cooperatives to apply high technology and produce according to good agricultural practices. Support content includes: Support and training to develop human resources for cooperatives (management and professional human resources) with sufficient capacity to meet the requirements of deploying high technology in production.

The agricultural sector has been supporting cooperatives to apply high technology and produce according to good agricultural practices.

Deputy Director of Ben Tre Department of Agriculture and Environment Huynh Quang Duc

At the same time, supporting the promotion and introduction of products, and promoting connections to develop product consumption markets. Building agricultural models applying high technology in cooperative production such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and organic.

Chairman of the Dong Thap Province Cooperative Union Le Quang Cuong said that it is necessary to create conditions for cooperatives to produce goods in a concentrated direction, apply high technology, improve the quality and value of products associated with promoting the processing industry, connect product consumption according to the value chain, paying attention to intellectual property rights for products, community brands, building highly competitive brands, expanding the market for the province’s key products.

Chairman of the Vietnam Cooperative Union Cao Xuan Thu Van commented that for agricultural cooperatives as well as fruit-growing cooperatives to develop sustainably, there needs to be appropriate capital investment, premises to build warehouses, workshops, and equipment for deep processing.

At the same time, upgrading transport infrastructure and optimising logistics processes to reduce transportation costs, creating healthy competition between fruits of the same type in the domestic and export markets, etc.

Sharing the same view, from the perspective of policy proposals, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association Dang Phuc Nguyen said that the Government needs to continue negotiating to “open” more markets for agricultural products and have a mechanism to support businesses to invest in production and processing technology according to international standards. It is important that in the current period, it is necessary to focus on sustainability, the impact of climate change, and strengthen sustainability certifications on social and environmental responsibility of products, etc.