Leverage from farmer support fund

With support from the Farmers' Support Fund, in recent times, farmers' associations at all levels have done a good job of consulting on loan use, loan disbursement, helping members and farmers invest in building many effective economic models, increasing income, contributing to sustainable poverty reduction in the locality.

Farmers' funding channel

According to the Provincial Farmers' Association, the Provincial Farmers' Support Fund (HTND) was established in 1996, in the form of lending according to production and business plans proposed by groups of households at the grassroots level, combined with building models of branches and professional associations for each crop and livestock. Thanks to the fund's capital, farmer members have more resources to invest in economic development, improve income, and gradually overcome difficulties and escape poverty.

Mr. Doan Van Be's family in Da Loc commune (Dong Xuan district) is one of the households that had early access to the People's Credit Fund. Although they had land and labor, the family did not have capital to develop production. In 2020, after the association created conditions for a loan of 40 million VND, Mr. Be bought 2 breeding cows to raise.

Thanks to technical support for livestock farming, after 3 years of borrowing capital, Mr. Be has raised a herd of nearly 10 cows, valued at about 200 million VND at the market price. In addition to raising cows, his family also raises wild boars and raises chickens and ducks around the garden, creating a stable source of income.

“Poor farmers or those who have just escaped poverty mainly depend on agriculture and have economic difficulties, so when we have access to capital with preferential interest rates, we have capital to invest in buying breeds and feed to develop livestock farming in the direction of goods. Currently, the family has paid off the loan and is contributing to building a fund to help other members have conditions to borrow capital to develop production,” Mr. Be shared.

Mr. Le Xuan Dam's family in Ward 9 (Tuy Hoa City) has also accessed and utilized the People's Credit Fund's capital very well. From his family's capital, plus loans from the fund, Mr. Dam invested in planting 1,000 apricot pots and 500 kumquat pots, earning a profit of 150-200 million VND per year.

Mr. Dam said: Although the support capital is not large, it is a support channel, giving strength to the first steps, helping me expand and develop production, become well-off, and have the conditions to shop and build a spacious house like today.

Improve capital efficiency

According to statistics from the Provincial Farmers' Association, the province currently has nearly 170 projects invested from the Farmers' Association Fund, with a total capital of more than 42 billion VND, lending to 1,700 households for economic development with loans of 20-50 million VND/household. Of which, more than 7.8 billion VND is entrusted capital from the Central Farmers' Association; nearly 9.4 billion VND is provincial capital; nearly 25 billion VND is district capital. Since the beginning of 2024, 8 projects with 3.7 billion VND have been disbursed to 80 households.

This is an effective capital support channel for members, thereby promoting the emulation movement of production and business among farmers, forming high-income economic models, suitable for local characteristics, both having the power to spread and concretize the Agricultural Sector Restructuring Project, and contributing to the innovation of agriculture - farmers - rural areas and building new rural areas at the grassroots level. On the other hand, this is also a channel connecting farmers to carry out political tasks and mobilize farmers to participate in organizing the association.

Mr. Phan Xuan Hanh, Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association

“Through the fund's activities, many types of farmer groups and organizations that cooperate and help each other in association with social work have also been formed and developed, positively impacting and encouraging farmers to produce goods according to the correct technical process, promoting the application of advanced techniques in production, creating clean and safe products,” emphasized Mr. Phan Xuan Hanh, Chairman of the Provincial Farmers' Association.

The cooperative group for raising giant freshwater prawns combined with rice cultivation in Hoa Vinh ward (Dong Hoa town) is one of the groups that borrowed capital from the Farmers' Association Fund with an amount of 400 million VND to develop production. After implementing the model, the shrimp yield reached 600-650kg/2ha/crop with a selling price of 200,000-300,000 VND/kg; the rice yield reached 7-7.5 tons/2ha/crop with a selling price of 7,000 VND/kg, the total revenue of 8 crops was over 1 billion VND, the capital was recovered and the profit was over 300 million VND.

Mr. Tran Duy Ngoc, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Dong Hoa Town, said: Previously, due to lack of initial capital, farmers had to get shrimp seeds and feed from a single source. This source covered everything from selling seeds and feed to purchasing finished shrimp, so farmers' profits depended entirely on the suppliers and buyers of the products. However, since receiving loans from the Farmers' Association Fund, farmers have been able to decide where to buy shrimp seeds and feed according to their own wishes, so profits are higher.

NGOC HAN

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