Diverse activities to support farmers

Over the past period, the Lao Cai Provincial Farmers' Association has actively implemented many service activities, providing advice and support to farmers in developing production and business.

The orange cultivation model of farmer Nguyen Van Manh, a member of the farmers' association in Cat Thinh commune.

Mr. Dang Thanh Thuy, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cat Thinh commune, said: " To gain the trust and loyalty of members, the association must provide practical benefits, support that meets their needs at the right time, so that farmers can confidently invest in production development."

Thanks to this flexible approach, in just over two years, the Farmers' Association of Cat Thinh commune has admitted 155 new members, bringing the total number of members in the commune to over 1,450.

One of the most important forms of support is facilitating members' access to preferential loans. The commune's Farmers' Association is currently managing over 22 billion VND from the Social Policy Bank, providing loans to nearly 400 members for production development. At the same time, the association has acted as a guarantor for 17.5 billion VND in Agribank loans for 250 members.

Not only did the association secure bank loans, but it also actively proposed that the Provincial Farmers' Support Fund provide loans for two projects: cinnamon cultivation and turtle farming, helping 19 households access an additional 1.72 billion VND, opening up a path towards larger-scale, more systematic production.

Thanks to funding and support from the association, many new economic models have emerged, generating high incomes and creating a ripple effect in the community. Currently, Cat Thinh commune has over 200 production and business models generating incomes of 200 million VND/year or more, focusing on cinnamon cultivation, turtle farming, fruit tree development, and other integrated economic models.

These models not only create jobs and increase income, but also encourage people to confidently apply technology, transform farming methods towards sustainability, and form large-scale commodity production areas to meet market demands.

Mr. Nguyen Van Bac from Van Hoa village, Cat Thinh commune, shared: “When participating in the association, people receive a lot of support, especially in terms of plant and animal breeds to develop their economy. The Van Hoa village farmers' association currently has several households that have boldly invested in new livestock farming models. A prime example is the porcupine farming model; many porcupine farmers have earned 200 million VND per year, contributing to improving their lives and creating motivation for people to continue expanding production.”

The economic development model of member Nguyen Van Bac has yielded high economic efficiency.

Over the past period, the Provincial Farmers' Association has accompanied its members in building new economic models. During the 2023-2025 period, the entire province has developed and replicated 38 biosafety-compliant livestock farming models; and 116 effective business models, especially those associated with cooperatives and cooperative groups.

The association also participated in advising and supporting brand building for 51 agricultural products and 29 OCOP products, contributing to enhancing the value and competitiveness of local agricultural products. Many green, organic, circular, and high-tech agricultural models linked with experiential tourism have been implemented, promoting the shift in agricultural structure towards sustainability.

The various levels of the association have mobilized the establishment of 109 new cooperative groups and 55 new agricultural cooperatives. To date, the association has supported the establishment of 428 cooperative groups and 96 cooperatives , creating an important network of linkages to help farmers improve their production capacity, reduce risks, and increase the competitiveness of their products.

The Provincial Farmers' Association disbursed loan funds from the Provincial Farmers' Support Fund to farmer members in Nghia Tam commune.

In addition, during the past term, the associations at all levels organized many activities to promote and facilitate trade. They coordinated with the Provincial Post Office to guide members in accessing e-commerce, creating 4,411 accounts to sell agricultural products on Postmart.vn/Agri-Postmart.vn, contributing to expanding the consumer market; maintaining 7 safe agricultural product stores and bringing OCOP products to participate in major domestic trade fairs.

The association at all levels has strengthened links with businesses to supply high-quality input materials on an interest-free deferred payment basis, including 8,062 tons of fertilizer; 312 tons of seeds; 57 tons of pesticides; 442 tons of animal feed; and 14,000 seedlings. The association also actively advises and supports farmers in building greenhouses, livestock pens, and implementing bio-secure aquaculture practices and high-tech applications in production. The association has organized vocational training for 9,036 members, focusing on green, organic, circular agriculture and production model management.

At the same time, the various levels of the Farmers' Association have implemented numerous solutions to support capital and credit for members to develop production. To date, the Provincial Farmers' Support Fund has reached 87.7 billion VND, with 160 projects underway, and outstanding loans of 59.8 billion VND for 1,082 borrowing households. Outstanding entrusted loans with the Social Policy Bank and Agribank have reached over 5,494 billion VND for 41,725 ​​borrowing households, making a significant contribution to the development of production and business.

Technology transfer activities continued to be emphasized with 839 training courses for 33,556 members; 9 courses on digital transformation in agricultural product consumption; training in livestream sales skills for 360 members; and installation of the "Vietnamese Farmers" digital platform for 84,627 members.

The cattle farming model of Mrs. Phi Thi Tam's family has brought high economic efficiency.

Alongside this, the movement "Farmers competing in excellent production and business, uniting to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty" continued to make a prominent mark throughout the term. Each year, approximately 60% of member households registered to participate in the movement. To date, the entire province has 55,176 households achieving the title of excellent farmers in production and business at various levels, affirming the leading role of farmers in rural economic development and building a new life.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/da-dang-cac-hoat-dong-ho-tro-nong-dan-post888210.html