Proactively establish production linkages.

QTO - In the context of agricultural production facing many fluctuations, the cooperative production model is becoming a solid support for farmers. Not only does it help optimize costs, but this model also effectively solves the "problem" of product consumption, gradually breaking the vicious cycle of "bumper harvest, low prices," and opening up a sustainable development direction for local agriculture.

This year's winter-spring crop marks the first time many farmers in the Thuong Hoa Agricultural Cooperative, Vinh Linh commune, have produced J02 rice variety under a contract with Quang Tri General Trading Corporation.

Mr. Le Van Ha, one of the participating households, happily stated that the J02 rice variety not only yields high productivity, up to 4 quintals per sao (approximately 400 kg per 1000 square meters), but the company also purchases the fresh rice directly from the field at a price of 8,000 VND/kg, which is about 3,000 VND/kg higher than selling regular rice to traders.

“With 0.5 hectares planted with J02 rice variety under a cooperative contract, my family harvested about 4 tons of fresh rice. Importantly, the company guaranteed the purchase of the entire crop at a high and stable price, resulting in significantly higher income for farmers,” Mr. Ha shared.

According to Tran Phuoc Hung, Director of Thuong Hoa Agricultural Cooperative, this winter-spring season the cooperative is collaborating with Quang Tri Trading Corporation to cultivate 10 hectares of organic ST25 rice and 9 hectares of J02 rice. Despite being the first trial, the J02 rice variety has yielded unexpected results, with higher yields and better selling prices compared to traditional rice varieties.

Model for producing J02 rice seeds at Thuong Hoa Agricultural Cooperative, Vinh Linh commune - Photo: LA

Specifically, traditional rice varieties grown on a large scale at the unit yield about 3 quintals/acre, selling to traders at around 5,000-6,000 VND/kg of fresh rice. Meanwhile, the J02 rice variety achieves an average yield of 4 quintals/acre and is purchased by the company at 8,000 VND/kg, almost 1.5 times higher.

“In the context of rising input costs and falling rice prices, the farmers are happy to have joined forces to grow the J02 rice variety, which has high yields and a good selling price. Going forward, the cooperative will continue to cooperate with Quang Tri Trading Corporation to expand the planted area,” Mr. Hung said.

In addition to linking varieties and production processes, many cooperatives in the province are also proactively seeking markets and linking with businesses to sell rice for farmers. Mr. Nguyen Tho Huu, Director of Bich La Agricultural Cooperative in Trieu Phong commune, said that to sell fresh rice for farmers, the cooperative has maintained links with many businesses, purchasing about 300 tons each season.

According to Mr. Huu, this model offers many practical benefits, such as: significantly reducing labor for farmers because after harvesting, the rice is purchased directly from the fields by businesses, eliminating the need for drying, transportation, and other time-consuming and costly processes. In addition, the purchase price is agreed upon at the beginning of the season, giving farmers peace of mind and reducing the risk of being exploited by traders during peak harvest season.

Similarly, at the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products Cooperative in Trieu Co commune, through contracts with supermarkets, distributors, and stores inside and outside the province, the cooperative supplies an average of 150-200 tons of clean rice to the market each year. According to Nguyen Huu Dat, Director of the Trieu Phong Clean Agricultural Products Cooperative, the cooperative currently has 11 hectares of organic rice production and 50 hectares of naturally grown rice production with over 150 participating households. The entire area is cultivated according to the cooperative's process, absolutely no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used, only straw, manure, and biological products are allowed to be used to create organic fertilizer; at the same time, natural ingredients such as ginger, garlic, and chili peppers are used to control pests and diseases.

“Currently, the cooperative purchases about 300-400 tons of naturally grown and organic rice annually at a price 2,000-3,000 VND/kg higher than the market price. The cooperative's clean rice from Trieu Phong is not only sold within the province but is also available in many supermarkets and clean agricultural product stores in Da Nang, Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, etc.,” Mr. Dat added.

According to Tran Thi Hoa Le, Deputy Head of the Department of Cooperative Economics and Quality Management, preliminary statistics show that the province currently has approximately 700 agricultural cooperatives with over 114,000 members; of which 195 cooperatives participate in production and product consumption linkages, accounting for over 27.6%. Most cooperatives play a crucial role in organizing production, linking product consumption, and developing the rural economy.

Many cooperatives have proactively applied machinery and technology to production, built concentrated raw material areas, and linked with businesses to guarantee the purchase of farmers' products. This has contributed to reducing input costs, increasing members' income, and gradually forming a sustainable agricultural value chain.

However, alongside the positive results, for production linkages to be truly sustainable and scalable, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed, such as: the number of businesses participating in linkages is still small; contract breaches still occur in some areas; the capacity of cooperative officials and grassroots officials after the abolition of the district level is still limited, failing to meet the requirements for technical support for farmers. These are "problems" that require synchronized efforts from state management agencies, businesses, and the cooperatives themselves so that the linkage model truly becomes a solid foundation for farmers in the next stage of development.

"However, the practical effectiveness of these linkage models shows that when cooperatives act as a 'bridge' between farmers, businesses, and the market, they not only help people feel secure in their production but also contribute to increasing the value of agricultural products. This creates momentum to promote the development of agriculture towards safety, modernity, and sustainability," Ms. Le affirmed.

Le An

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202605/chu-dong-lien-ket-san-xuat-03324b1/