Rethinking the collective economy

Effective cooperatives make a significant contribution to rural economic development and provide stable income for their members and workers.

In 1986, the market economy sector developed, with 76,000 cooperatives nationwide, attracting over 20 million members. However, as the centralized, bureaucratic, and subsidized management mechanism was abolished and a market mechanism with state management gradually took shape to regulate economic relations, most cooperatives faced difficulties and uncertainties. Many production and business cooperatives suffered losses, disintegrated, or dissolved. Amidst these difficulties, a portion of cooperatives promptly adapted to the new mechanism and operated effectively.

From 1997 to the present, following the Party's reform policies, the cooperative economic sector has undergone significant changes. In particular, since the first Cooperative Law was enacted (in 1996), followed by the Cooperative Law of 2003, the Cooperative Law of 2012, and most recently the Cooperative Law of 2023, a favorable legal framework has been created for the development of the cooperative economic sector. By the end of 2024, the country had over 33,550 cooperatives and 141 cooperative unions, attracting millions of members who actively contributed to the agricultural production and consumption value chain, rural development, and local economic development.

In Long An province , the cooperative economic sector is also experiencing positive changes. According to Tran Hoai Bao, Vice Chairman of the Long An Provincial Cooperative Union: “Currently, the province has 328 cooperatives (including 19 people's credit funds), 5 cooperative federations, and nearly 1,400 cooperative groups. These cooperatives operate relatively stably and efficiently, with increasingly improved quality. This significantly contributes to the development of the rural economy and creates stable income for members and workers.”

Many cooperatives are promoting digital transformation, applying high technology in production, and implementing effective production-consumption chain linkages, which are being replicated throughout the province. Notable examples include the Cay Trom Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative, Go Gon Agricultural Cooperative, My Thanh Agricultural Cooperative, and Huong Trang Agricultural Service, Production and Trade Cooperative, among others.

Recently, the Cay Trom Agricultural Trade and Service Cooperative (Hung Dien A commune, Vinh Hung district) was one of 100 cooperatives nationwide honored as an outstanding cooperative and awarded the "Coop Star Award 2025". The Director of the Cay Trom Agricultural Trade and Service Cooperative, Bui Van Tuan, shared: “The cooperative was established in 2017 with 29 members. The cooperative proactively innovated its thinking, implemented a large-scale commercial agricultural production model, applied comprehensive mechanization, and linked product consumption with large enterprises. To date, the cooperative has 103 members with 505 hectares of high-quality rice production, including 320 hectares of safe rice produced according to pesticide residue management procedures.”

Fifty years of reform have been a challenging journey, but also marked by many positive changes in the market economy sector. The shift in mindset has opened the door for the market economy to develop more comprehensively and sustainably.

H. Huong

Source: https://baolongan.vn/doi-moi-tu-duy-ve-kinh-te-tap-the-a194237.html