Ca Mau: Positive effects from digital transformation in cooperatives

In Ca Mau province, in recent times, the cooperative collective economic sector has been assessed to have many positive changes, gradually affirming its role in socio-economic development. In the context of strong digital transformation, to improve operational efficiency, cooperatives in Ca Mau province are implementing many solutions, focusing on linking value chains with digital transformation.

Learn to do digital transformation

Ca Mau province currently has over 600 cooperatives with 35,000 members, of which 480 cooperatives operate in the agricultural sector. According to the assessment of the Ca Mau Province Cooperative Union, the awareness of all levels, sectors and people about the position and role of the collective economy has been significantly raised.

This is an important factor for the number of cooperatives to increase steadily over the years. Accordingly, in the period 2020 - 2025, Ca Mau will increase by an average of 40 - 50 cooperatives per year. Notably, many cooperatives are associated with value chains, applying science - technology and digital transformation, including applying information technology and e-commerce to expand the market for goods consumption.

At Thuy Moc Cooperative (An Xuyen ward), to improve production and business efficiency, Mr. Nguyen Minh Phung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cooperative, said that the unit has built a marketing strategy suitable for business goals and customer targets; using effective communication channels such as email, zalo, facebook, tiktok, marketing, online and direct advertising.

Using media channels to advertise and sell products online. (Photo: Huynh Phuc Hau/VNA)

Thuy Moc Cooperative uses technology and management software to optimize sales processes, manage customers and predict sales trends, helping to increase work efficiency, improve management processes and enhance customer interaction.

The Cooperative also focuses on building a system to monitor and manage the quality of products and services. Accordingly, the quality of products and services must meet customer expectations and be commensurate with the price.

The Cooperative has built a strict product quality monitoring and management system; using management software to monitor, manage and control products and services, thereby developing appropriate policies and strategies to meet customer requirements.

Similarly, at the Ba Khia Dam Doi Cooperative (Quach Pham commune), Ms. Tran Thi Xa, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and Director of the cooperative shared: Initially, no one in the Cooperative knew how to livestream or post product introductions on social networks. However, with the spirit of daring to do, the cooperative members started with small things such as: Creating a fanpage, an official account of the business on zalo, then registering a business account on shopee and tiktok shop.

Cooperative members learn how to take beautiful product photos, record videos of the crab salting process, and tell stories about their hometowns in authentic Western accents... In addition, each product of the cooperative has a QR code to trace its origin, helping customers know its origin.

Thanks to the above activities, after only a few months, the cooperative’s orders increased rapidly. Customers from Hanoi, Da Nang, even Australia and Thailand have known about “Bat Crabs”.

Up to now, after nearly two years of digital transformation, the revenue of Ba Khia Dam Doi Cooperative has increased by more than 30%, with stable product output all year round. The Cooperative has been invited to participate in international fairs, becoming a typical model for digital transformation of Ca Mau agriculture.

Ms. Tran Thi Xa affirmed: "Digital transformation is not only about bringing the cooperative online, but also about bringing the cooperative closer to consumers; bringing the intelligence, culture and labor value of farmers into the digital environment. For us, each online order is a joy - because it proves that there is one more person who knows about the traditional Dam Doi craft, helping to spread the hometown products."

Inevitable trend

Mr. To Minh Duong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau province, said that in the context of the strongly developing digital economy, digital transformation has become an inevitable trend and an important driving force to promote growth and improve the competitiveness of economic entities, including cooperatives.

Through digital transformation, cooperatives will digitize production and farming processes using Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies; apply blockchain to trace origins; use e-commerce to increase business efficiency; and use electronic payment technologies.

Accompanying and supporting cooperatives to actively participate in the digital transformation process and effectively implement e-commerce development goals, every year, the Department of Industry and Trade organizes 2-3 training courses on e-commerce for businesses, cooperatives, and production and business establishments.

In 2025 alone, the Department of Industry and Trade will organize 6 training courses to disseminate legal regulations on e-commerce. The Department also provides training and skills training in e-commerce application for businesses and cooperatives with practical contents such as: Updating domestic and international e-commerce trends; introducing the process of building a global sales system on e-commerce; instructions on using ChatGPT, applying artificial intelligence to build advertising content, videos, images... in e-commerce business; producing short videos using phones to post on social networking platforms (tiktok, facebook, youtube...).

The Department of Industry and Trade of Ca Mau also supports the construction of an e-commerce website to support businesses, cooperatives, and production establishments in the province to have additional channels for promotion, introduction, and trade promotion in addition to traditional channels; contributing to raising awareness of e-commerce, digital transformation, and gradually shifting from traditional commerce to e-commerce.

To date, the Department of Industry and Trade has supported 46 e-commerce websites for units that are the subjects of OCOP products, OCOP potential, typical rural industrial products and specialty and typical products of the province. At the same time, the Department has mobilized, supported and attracted 170 seller accounts with 835 products which are specialty, typical products, OCOP products of the province to participate in the display on the e-commerce platforms "madeincamau.com" and "baclieutrade.vn."

Along with that, the Department supported 56 OCOP entities of the province to put 110 OCOP products on the e-commerce platform Buudien.vn for promotion and sales. Determining that improving the operational efficiency of cooperatives must be associated with digital transformation, the Cooperative Union of Ca Mau province oriented the focus in the coming time to strengthen the role of a bridge, support, and accompany cooperatives to promote digital transformation, expand value chain linkages, improve operational efficiency and competitiveness.

To achieve this goal, Mr. Nguyen Van Vu, Chairman of the Cooperative Union of Ca Mau province, said that the unit will continue to proactively advise the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee to promulgate, adjust and supplement policies to support digital transformation, trade promotion, credit, training and infrastructure investment for the cooperative sector; regularly grasp the operational situation of cooperatives, synthesize difficulties and problems to recommend and propose specific and practical solutions, ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of cooperative members.

The Ca Mau Province Cooperative Alliance will strengthen communication, disseminate knowledge, models and benefits of digital transformation in cooperatives, helping cooperative staff and members to correctly perceive and consider this an inevitable trend for sustainable development; organize training courses and specialized training on digital skills, cooperative management, e-commerce, brand building, traceability, etc. for cooperative staff and members.

At the same time, the Alliance selected a number of typical cooperatives in key areas of the province such as: ecological shrimp farming, rice-shrimp farming, seafood production, food processing, community tourism, etc. to build a pilot cooperative model applying digital transformation, gradually replicating it throughout the province.

The Ca Mau Province Cooperative Alliance will coordinate with technology enterprises, banks, and telecommunications units to deploy common technology solutions for cooperatives, including production and business management software, electronic handbooks, traceability platforms, and cashless payments; support cooperatives in registering accounts and booths on e-commerce platforms, building websites, fanpages, and QR codes to trace product origins; provide management instructions, and regularly update information.

The Chairman of the Cooperative Union of Ca Mau province emphasized that promoting digital transformation associated with value chain linkage is an important solution to help optimize product value, expand the market and become an important lever to promote the province's collective economic sector to develop strongly and sustainably in the new period./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ca-mau-hieu-qua-tich-cuc-tu-chuyen-doi-so-trong-hop-tac-xa-post1081901.vnp