"Weaving" golden seasons

With its dynamic approach to new mechanisms and focus on sustainable and modern investment, the Thong Nhat Agricultural Production, Business and Service Cooperative (Thong Nhat Cooperative) has achieved breakthroughs in production and business, making a positive contribution to the development of the collective economy. In 2025, the Cooperative was honored as one of the outstanding "Cooperative Stars" nationwide. And in this overall success, the leading role of the Cooperative's Chairman, Nguyen Duy Vien, cannot be overlooked.

Fields producing goods in a linked production chain at Thong Nhat Cooperative - Photo: L.CHI

Actively developing the cooperative economy .

Visiting Thong Nhat village in Truong Ninh commune today, one can clearly see the new agricultural landscape following the trend of modernization. Across the village's fields, instead of the fragmented, small plots of land with tangled embankments of the past, there are now vast, open fields stretching as far as the eye can see. The muddy internal field roads, once impassable during the rainy season, have been upgraded, and agricultural machinery now reaches the edges of the fields.

For many years, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thong Nhat Cooperative Nguyen Duy Vien has steered the cooperative to become a shining example in changing the production mindset of farmers.

In 1998, Mr. Vien was entrusted with the responsibility of chairing the Thong Nhat Cooperative. “In the early years of taking on the role of chairman, the cooperative faced many difficulties regarding capital, coupled with limited professional expertise. In addition, the fragmented, small-scale, and individualistic production practices of the people were not easy to change overnight. Therefore, the first thing I did, along with the Cooperative's leadership, was to draw up specific plans, prioritizing the introduction of scientific and technological advancements into production,” Mr. Vien shared.

Thong Nhat village has 10 hectares of arable land, 4 hectares of aquaculture land, and 250 hectares of rice paddy land. The cooperative has 340 members with a 250-hectare area for two rice crops per year. In production, the cooperative covers all important service stages, including: rice cultivation, seedling propagation and care, agricultural services, livestock farming, post-harvest services, inland aquaculture, construction of public works, other civil engineering projects, road freight transport, and environmental sanitation...

According to Nguyen Duy Vien, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thong Nhat Cooperative, in addition to organizing training and technology transfer, the cooperative provides its member households with 100% new, high-yield, high-quality rice varieties. The cooperative implements a demonstration model with strict technical procedures, resulting in superior value compared to traditional rice varieties.

To stabilize the supply of materials and create favorable conditions for farmers to produce with peace of mind, the cooperative has purchased hundreds of tons of fertilizer directly from Song Gianh Corporation and several other companies, selling it directly to member households at a lower price than elsewhere. The cooperative also provides fertilizer supplies to households in difficult circumstances to support their production.

As the head of the cooperative, Mr. Vien is always concerned about the work, seeking solutions to overcome difficulties, and proactively developing internal resources through many practical actions, such as: encouraging cooperative members to apply the improved SRI rice production method, organizing production in a linked and guaranteed-buying manner... To achieve high yields and quality in the harvest season, the cooperative guides members to strictly adhere to the planting schedule, introduce high-quality seeds into production; sow seeds in the same area and of the same variety, creating favorable conditions for care and harvesting.

For nearly 30 years, under the flexible leadership and strict management of Mr. Nguyen Duy Vien, Thong Nhat Cooperative has achieved outstanding success, being recognized as one of the top agricultural cooperatives in the province, especially in providing services, improving product quality, and increasing profits and income for farmers. The cooperative's total revenue in 2024 was over 3.7 billion VND, with pre-tax profit of 278 million VND.

The journey of building a brand.

Mentioning Thong Nhat Cooperative immediately brings to mind a cooperative that consistently ranks among the top in the province for high productivity and is also one of the leading units in implementing large-scale farming linked to production chains.

According to Mr. Vien, the large-scale farming model helps farmers reduce production costs. When planned as a concentrated area, all households sow the same type of seed, thus limiting pests and diseases. Farmers always adhere to the management and care schedule of the cooperative, such as: using fertilizers, controlling pests and diseases, and regulating irrigation water.

Everything is done simultaneously, making it very convenient, and increasing productivity and quality. The difference between the large-scale field model and previous rice production models is that, in addition to innovating planting techniques, farmers also apply mechanization in all stages of land preparation, harvesting, and storage, and are linked to product buyback agreements.

The cooperative is promoting the application of mechanization, helping farmers to produce more easily - Photo: LC

With the goal of increasing agricultural productivity and quality, helping people improve their farming skills, and encouraging the application of science and technology; contributing to protecting the health of producers and consumers, the cooperative has implemented high-quality rice production according to VietGAP standards, linked with production and consumption of the product.

For the 2024-2025 winter-spring crop season, the cooperative collaborated with Thanh Dat Agricultural and Construction Joint Stock Company to produce DS1 quality rice seeds along the value chain on an area of ​​over 15 hectares with a yield of over 100 tons; and collaborated with Quang Binh Agricultural Corporation to produce DV108 rice on an area of ​​30 hectares, with a yield of over 200 tons.

As a leader, Mr. Vien always proactively connects with companies that supply high-quality seeds to cooperative members. In 2024, the cooperative collaborated with Quang Binh Seed Company Limited and the Central Seed Corporation to supply over 28 tons of rice seeds to farmers. Thanks to introducing high-quality rice varieties into production, applying VietGAP standards, and producing according to the large-scale value chain, income increased by 5-8% per unit area.

In particular, the cooperative has applied high technology to production, spraying herbicides and controlling pests using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), helping farmers save labor and costs in agricultural production. As a result, the cooperative's rice fields consistently achieve high yields, reaching 76 quintals/hectare in the winter-spring season and 66 quintals/hectare in the summer-autumn season. Rice production in 2024 reached 3,512 tons, an increase of 428 tons compared to 2023.

Lan Chi

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/det-nhung-mua-vang-194727.htm