Promoting the development of cooperatives in ethnic minority areas

(GLO)- In recent years, Gia Lai has devoted many resources to developing cooperatives in ethnic minority areas to exploit potential and advantages, create jobs, and increase income for people.

Although it was only established in 2023, Kon Ha Nung Agricultural Cooperative in Dak Rong Commune (Kbang District) is considered one of the most effective cooperatives, helping members increase their income, especially ethnic minority members. Currently, the cooperative has 21 members with a cultivation area of ​​over 100 hectares of coffee and macadamia.

Thanks to the support of science and technology as well as knowledge of market economy and brand management from the functional sectors, the cooperative has expanded into processing macadamia nuts and roasted coffee. Currently, the cooperative has 2 products from macadamia nuts that have achieved 3-star OCOP: Bazan Macadamia with cracked shell and Bazan Macadamia with honey.

Mr. Duong Dinh Kiet - Member of the Board of Directors of Kon Ha Nung Agricultural Cooperative - said: Since its establishment, the cooperative has received a lot of support from local authorities and agencies and departments in developing OCOP products. In particular, the Provincial Cooperative Union has supported the cooperative to participate in trade promotion programs, creating opportunities to promote products to the market conveniently and find potential customers.

As the first cooperative to successfully crossbreed and be recognized as the leading guava-flavored passion fruit variety, Tan Loc Phat Agricultural-Service-Trade Cooperative (Kon Chieng Commune, Mang Yang District) is expanding its links to build raw material areas with the expectation of targeting the export market. To achieve this goal, in addition to internal efforts, the cooperative has also received financial and technical support from local authorities and functional agencies.

In particular, in 2023, Mang Yang district supported the construction of the project of propagating guava-scented yellow passion fruit in greenhouses and planting models in the field in Dak Djrang commune. The project has a greenhouse scale of 2,500 m2, with a support budget of 400 million VND.

Mr. Tran Manh Hung - Director of Tan Loc Phat General Agricultural-Service-Trade Cooperative, shares experiences in caring for guava-flavored passion fruit. Photo: LT

According to Mr. Tran Manh Hung - Director of the Cooperative: After 2 years of implementation, the Cooperative has built 2 greenhouses with an area of ​​5,500 m2, of which one greenhouse is used to propagate guava-flavored yellow passion fruit and one greenhouse is used to grow lemons. In addition, the Cooperative also planted 2 hectares in the field and cooperated with households to grow more than 10 hectares of guava-flavored yellow passion fruit. On average, each year, the Cooperative cooperates with 3-5 households to grow passion fruit according to standards to ensure the output quality of the product.

Mr. Nguyen Mau Phong - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Union - said: Implementing the Socio-Economic Development Program for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas, in recent times, the Provincial Cooperative Union has coordinated with relevant agencies to focus on improving the management capacity of the management team of cooperatives in ethnic minority areas, supporting cooperatives to link production with the value chain, contributing to high efficiency in production and business.

Training to improve production and business efficiency for cooperatives in ethnic minority areas.
Photo: Minh Trung

According to statistics, Gia Lai currently has 55 cooperatives in ethnic minority areas, including many cooperatives in extremely disadvantaged villages and hamlets. Through assessment, cooperatives have exploited local advantages well and developed stably. Many cooperatives have affirmed the right direction and are gradually developing. However, in reality, many cooperatives still face obstacles in terms of mechanisms, policies, and lack of resources, especially capital.

Sharing about the difficulties that the cooperative is facing, Mr. Duong Dinh Kiet added: Because the cooperative is located in an ethnic minority area, it is difficult to mobilize people to participate in the cooperative, the cooperative's operating capital is low, so it is difficult to purchase raw materials as well as build a factory system, while accessing credit capital is still a problem. Therefore, the cooperative hopes that in the near future, there will be a policy mechanism to support the cooperative to access capital to expand production, build factories and invest in machinery and equipment, and improve product quality.

Not only facing difficulties in capital, the application of information technology in production, business and brand building of many cooperatives also has many limitations. Mr. Do Van Nam - Director of Phu Thien Safe Agricultural Products Cooperative (Chu Ai Thai commune) shared: As a cooperative in the ethnic minority area, the cooperative specializes in developing Japanese sweet potato growing areas according to VietGAP standards.

In order to increase the value of the product, the cooperative has established 80 hectares of growing area codes for Japanese sweet potatoes, and has actively linked with large domestic enterprises to seek export markets for sweet potatoes. Although the local government and relevant agencies have supported the cooperative with knowledge and established growing area codes, the cooperative still faces many difficulties in the process of building its brand.

To solve the above difficulties and problems, in addition to continuing to implement policies for cooperatives in ethnic minority areas according to the Socio-Economic Development Program for Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas, one of the solutions that is being promoted is the application of digital technology, improving competitiveness, and building brands for cooperatives in ethnic minority areas.

The Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial Cooperative Union added: In the coming time, the Provincial Cooperative Union will deploy training courses to improve the capacity of cooperative staff, organize tours to learn about the activities of cooperatives in ethnic minority areas to grasp the situation, thereby providing support that is close to reality.

At the same time, create all conditions for cooperatives to access loans from the Provincial Cooperative Development Support Fund. Help cooperatives in ethnic minority areas have more resources to develop, gradually improve their capacity and operational efficiency.

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-xa-vung-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-phat-trien-post330106.html