Dak Lak: Collective economy and cooperatives help ethnic minorities develop sustainably

Attracting a large number of ethnic minority members

Last October 2025, in Ea Sup commune ( Dak Lak ), Ea Sup Cooperative held a launching ceremony with the participation of 61 members, including 43 ethnic minority households from 5 villages.

According to Director of Ea Sup Cooperative Huynh Huu Vuong, the Cooperative has shaped a diversified production structure, focusing on key crops such as cocoa, passion fruit, and mango according to biological standards; fish farming groups, applying a circular biological model to improve economic efficiency and protect the environment; duck farming groups, implementing biosafety farming; weaving and brocade weaving groups, gathering ethnic minority women to preserve traditional cultural values and create local livelihoods.

In addition to livestock and farming, Ea Sup Cooperative also launched packaged Ea Sup anchovy products, and at the same time oriented to develop more products that meet OCOP standards and aim for export.

Mr. Huynh Huu Vuong affirmed that the Board of Directors is committed to transparent management, compliance with the law, and always accompanying members to build Ea Sup Cooperative into a model, contributing to the development of the collective economy and improving people's lives.

Mr. Do Xuan Dung, Party Secretary, Chairman of Ea Sup Commune People's Council, said that Ea Sup Cooperative was established to help local people develop a more sustainable economy. Especially models of local agricultural products. Through the Cooperative, people can better access new markets, new models and develop technology in the digital transformation era.

Chairman of the People's Council of Ea Sup Commune Do Xuan Dung assessed that the establishment of Ea Sup Cooperative will create jobs for local people, reducing the unemployment rate. On the other hand, Ea Sup Cooperative will connect businesses to invest more in the locality, promoting advantages and potentials in agriculture. "Ea Sup is one of the border communes, with many ethnic minorities. The establishment of Ea Sup Cooperative will bring many benefits to farmers, helping them develop a sustainable economy in the era of rising up and digital transformation," Mr. Dung shared.

Linking production and consumption of agricultural products

Dak Lieng commune currently has 13 cooperatives operating in the fields of agriculture and services. Among them, Thai Hai Agricultural and Fishery Production and Service Cooperative is one of the leading cooperatives in the field of linking production and consumption of agricultural products in the commune.

Thai Hai Cooperative was established in 2012. The unit has implemented many models and projects in association with enterprises inside and outside the province to improve productivity, output, and value of rice and rice seeds. In the period of 2018-2019, Thai Hai Cooperative planned the production area, implemented a large-scale field model with an area of 200 hectares, attracting 124 households to participate, with a total output of 3,780 tons of rice consumed.

In the period of 2020-2025, the Cooperative expanded its links, signed production and consumption contracts with major partners such as Cuong Tan Company Limited (Nam Dinh), Thai Binh Golden Seeds Joint Stock Company and Vietnam Seed Group Joint Stock Company - Tay Nguyen Branch, with a total consumption output of more than 6,000 tons.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Con, Director of Thai Hai Cooperative, said that through linking production according to the value chain, member farmers are guaranteed stable output, better prices, and access to advanced production processes and high-quality rice varieties. This model not only increases the scale of commodity production but also serves as a foundation for building the Dak Lieng rice brand, associated with the development of OCOP products.

*Through production linkages along the value chain, farmers have access to advanced production processes and high-quality rice varieties. Photo: PV*

Applying technology and digital transformation opens up new directions

Previously, agricultural production of ethnic minorities in Dak Lak mainly relied on traditional experience, low productivity and faced many difficulties in consuming products. However, thanks to the support of authorities at all levels, the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, the Provincial Cooperative Alliance and the initiative of cooperatives, technology has gradually helped improve production efficiency and expand the market.

A typical example is the Helena - Chu Kbo Sustainable Agriculture Cooperative (Krong Buk commune), which attracts a large number of Ede ethnic people to participate in coffee production. Previously, the consumption of the Cooperative's products depended mainly on small traders, prices were often unstable and market information lacked transparency. Since the Cooperative boldly applied digital technology, production efficiency has increased significantly. Cooperative members started by building a simple website and using social networks such as Zalo and Facebook to promote products. At first, people were hesitant, but when they saw that the products sold more and at better prices, everyone was excited.

At the same time, Helena - Chu Kbo Cooperative has invested in digitalizing production management processes, from monitoring crop growth cycles using smartphone applications to recording electronic agricultural diaries. This helps the Cooperative control product quality more closely, trace the origin clearly, thereby building trust with consumers.

Furthermore, the use of e-commerce platforms has helped the Cooperative's high-quality coffee products reach a large number of customers across the country. The Cooperative's revenue has grown significantly, and the income of its members has also improved significantly. The story of the Helena - Chu Kbo Cooperative is not only about applying technology, but also about changing the mindset, from small-scale production to value chain production, with control and clear market orientation of ethnic minorities.

Typically, the Krong Pac Clean Agricultural Service Cooperative (Ea Yong commune) has applied artificial intelligence to durian production. These digital technology utilities have helped cooperative members accurately grasp the indicators of humidity, nutrition, and temperature, thereby having a way to care for durian according to the correct scientific process, effectively serving export.

*The application of technology has gradually helped improve production efficiency and expand the cooperative's market. Photo: PV*

Or Tan Hoa Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative (Ea Wer Commune) has focused on building a large-scale, centralized and modern agricultural cooperative, managed by technology. The advantage of the cooperative is that 60% of its workforce are young people, so the cooperative regularly updates new trends in production and sales; applying digital technology to the management and operation process.

Tan Hoa Cooperative has also applied AI technology (artificial intelligence) to write articles and make videos to advertise its products to share on e-commerce platforms such as TikTok, Shopee, Dak Lak Agricultural Products, Lazada, VDONE...

It is expected that in 2026-2027, the Cooperative will label each tree with an identification code, build an organic longan garden, install cameras and electronic chips so that users can directly view and pre-order. At the same time, it will help the Cooperative monitor the growth process of the product across its entire area.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/dak-lak-kinh-te-tap-the-hop-tac-xa-giup-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-phat-trien-ben-vung-10398062.html