Agricultural cooperatives promote improvements in production processes, efforts to raise the level of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Raw tea growing model of Hao Dat Tea Cooperative (Thai Nguyen province). (Photo: THANH HAO)

Raw tea growing model of Hao Dat Tea Cooperative ( Thai Nguyen province). (Photo: THANH HAO)

Changing production thinking from raw processing to deep processing has helped many cooperatives prosper, creating stable jobs for many workers.

Breakthrough from science and technology

Pursuing the tea growing process according to VietGAP standards, actively investing in processing and packaging technology and constantly improving packaging and product designs, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative, Tan Cuong Commune (Thai Nguyen Province) has been successful with many tea products. In 2024, the Cooperative achieved a revenue of nearly 45 billion VND, creating jobs for more than 50 workers and hundreds of households associated with production in the region with an average income of 9 million VND/person/month. From a cooperative with several households associated with production to supply raw tea, up to now, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative has had a Party cell, a trade union with hundreds of members and families supporting and linking production.

Thanks to investment, research, improvement and introduction of tea fermenting tubes into the traditional processing process at the facility, Hao Dat Tea Cooperative has mastered the tea production process, not only ensuring quality and design but also reducing labor costs and increasing economic value. Compared to the manual pan method, the fermenting tube shortens the time for each batch to only 3-5 minutes, the tea leaves are evenly cooked, soft and supple, retaining their natural green color and characteristic aroma. One fermenting tube can replace up to 8 manual pans, reducing 2 workers/batch, increasing output 3 to 5 times. The new technology helps the Cooperative take the initiative in production time, while expanding links and purchasing fresh tea buds from farmers.

Along with improving the productivity of processing and consuming tea products, Hao Dat Cooperative also expands the concentrated tea area associated with tourism development. The Cooperative has been proposing to the province to invest in a concentrated tea production area with a scale of about 20 hectares at the Tan Cuong gateway. The Cooperative aims to build a concentrated raw material area associated with tourism development; strives for 100% of the tea area to be certified organic; promotes the application of science and technology, innovation, digital transformation in production and business... to improve the productivity and value of tea products.

Through processing activities, cooperatives create diverse products with packaging, labels, VietGAP certification, OCOP products, thereby contributing to improving competitiveness, creating many opportunities to access markets requiring high quality, restaurants, supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, gradually conquering the international market.

Investing in technology and focusing on deep processing is also the choice of Tay Bac Cooperative, Huoi He sub-area, Yen Chau commune (Son La province). Established in 2016, the Cooperative specializes in deep processing of agricultural products, such as: black garlic, dried plums, dried mangoes, dried male papaya flowers, etc. Currently, the Cooperative is creating jobs for dozens of workers with a salary of 6 million VND/month.

Director of Tay Bac Cooperative Nguyen Thi Yen Linh shared that the Cooperative currently has 16 black garlic making machines, including 8 fermentation machines and 8 drying machines. Each month, the Cooperative produces 8 tons of black garlic, selling at 400,000 VND/kg, mainly exported to markets such as: Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa... Each year, the Cooperative consumes about 50 tons of fresh raw materials of all kinds and brings to the market more than 10 tons of products with a total revenue of 3 billion VND/year.

In Son La province, there are currently 78 cooperatives that deeply process agricultural products with processed products such as tea, coffee, dried bananas, dried mangoes, etc. Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Son La province, Ho Trung Kien, said that deep processing cooperatives have contributed to increasing the added value of agricultural products compared to selling raw, unprocessed products, reducing the situation of price pressure by traders thanks to good preservation and processing.

Need for breakthroughs in mechanisms and policies

The development of raw material areas with the focus on the chain linkage of cooperatives has been and is receiving special attention from many localities across the country.

In Thai Nguyen province, as soon as the new province was put into operation, many policies to support the development of the tea industry in the area for the period 2025-2030 were issued. In particular, it is necessary to mention the funding source of 500 billion VND to support the promotion of development, increase production value and promote tourism development from tea trees and tea products in the area in the direction of support including: Tea planting; certification of meeting VietGAP good agricultural production practice standards; production meeting organic standards; building and certifying quality management systems; granting codes for tea growing areas; applying water-saving and smart irrigation systems in tea production; purchasing machinery and equipment in tea production and processing; registering for intellectual property protection; developing tea products and products from tea trees certified to meet OCOP standards; promoting, building brands, promoting trade and consumption of tea products and products from tea trees; Developing community-ecological tourism associated with tea-producing areas. People who plant tea will receive 100% support for seed purchase; and one-time support of 70% of fertilizer purchase costs.

According to the leader of the agricultural sector of Thai Nguyen province, the locality also gave specific instructions to people in the raw material area, which is to grow according to VietGAP process and organic standards with a minimum area of 5 hectares, growers are supported 100% of the cost of certification to meet the standards for the first time...

Currently, Thai Nguyen province has nearly 24,000 hectares of tea, of which the tea area for products is nearly 23,000 hectares, the average tea yield is nearly 180 quintals/ha; there are 207 processed tea products certified with OCOP from 3-5 stars. Thai Nguyen currently has the highest area, productivity, output, and income value from tea trees in the country. Thai Nguyen tea brand is protected in many European countries. The province strives to have a total value of products obtained from tea trees of 25 trillion VND by 2030, in which the core production and processing are cooperatives.

The development of raw material areas with the focus on the chain linkage of cooperatives has been and is receiving special attention from many localities across the country.

In Son La province, the locality is implementing the content of Resolution No. 128/2020/NQ-HDND dated February 28, 2020 of the Provincial People's Council on promulgating investment policies in rural agriculture in the province. In particular, promoting support for investment in coffee processing facilities using advanced technology with a support level of no more than 1 billion VND/project; supporting investment in agricultural product processing facilities with a support level of no more than 2 billion VND/project; supporting investment in agricultural product preservation facilities with a support level of no more than 1 billion VND/project. Along with that, there is also Resolution No. 50/NQ-HDND dated December 9, 2022 of the Son La Provincial People's Council on regulations on the content and level of support for investment in developing raw material areas to serve vegetable, root and fruit processing factories in the province.

However, according to the Director of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Son La province, Ho Trung Kien, most cooperatives in the province are small and micro-sized, leading to many limitations... Therefore, in order for agricultural products to stand firm in the domestic market and reach the world, there is still a need for breakthroughs in mechanisms and policies in accessing long-term credit sources with preferential interest rates to invest in building processing facilities, warehouses, and logistics systems. At the same time, the province needs to continue to support training and fostering cooperative management staff in administration, finance, and marketing, as well as organizing training courses on advanced production techniques for cooperative members.

According to Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) Le Duc Thinh, cooperatives now need to actively apply science and technology and connect with the market as a way to help farmers not go alone, they together create added value. The agricultural sector will continue to support cooperatives to become an important pillar in rural economic development.

Breakthrough from science and technology

Need for breakthroughs in mechanisms and policies

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