Support cooperatives managed by women

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - “Supporting cooperatives managed by women, creating jobs for female workers, period 2022-2030” is the first project on collective economic development (KTTT) with specific characteristics for women, which the Government assigned the Women's Union at all levels to implement. This is an important basis to promote the role of women in the country in general, Thanh Hoa women in particular, to participate in promoting socio-economic development, international integration and achieving gender equality goals.

Members of the Nhuận Thạch clean vegetable cooperative, managed by women in Đông Tiến ward, are tending to chili plants.

The cooperative model for the production and business of shrimp paste, managed by women in Hoat Giang commune, was upgraded from a cooperative group to a cooperative under the direction of the Provincial Women's Union, as part of the "Support for Cooperatives Managed by Women and Job Creation for Women Workers in the period 2022-2030" project. The cooperative has 20 members and an operating capital of 40 million VND. The development from a cooperative group to a cooperative aims to maintain and develop the traditional shrimp paste making craft of the locality, once a delicacy offered to the king, and also provides an opportunity to improve product quality, protect the "Ha Yen shrimp paste" brand, and create jobs for many workers.

To help the cooperative leverage its strengths, the Provincial Women's Union provided support including 2 display shelves, 70 jars for making fish sauce, 1,250 glass jars for storing products ensuring food safety and hygiene, and training, with a total cost of 100 million VND. After nearly a year of support, the cooperative now produces an average of 1,600 kg of finished fish sauce per month, selling it at 200,000 VND/kg, generating revenue of 320 million VND per month. After deducting expenses, the profit margin is 50%.

Similarly, the Tay Do Commune General Livestock Cooperative, with 10 members, received support from the Provincial Women's Union, with each household receiving 300 chicks and 420 kg of feed. The members have successfully cared for the chicks, sold the meat, and retained some of the parent chickens for restocking; some households even kept some of the capital to continue buying chicks for successive breeding cycles. With this approach, the cooperative members consistently maintain their total flock size and have a stable income. The members support each other in service and market aspects, thus reducing costs and increasing profits.

These are two of the five cooperatives established under the direction of the Provincial Women's Union, as part of the "Support for Cooperatives Managed by Women and Creating Jobs for Female Workers in the 2022-2030 Period" project. These include: the Thiệu Hóa Commune Agricultural Products Cooperative; the Tây Đô Commune Integrated Livestock Cooperative; the Bỉm Sơn Ward Integrated Livestock Cooperative; the Hoạt Giang Commune Cooperative for the Production and Business of Shrimp Paste; and the Nhuận Thạch Clean Vegetable Cooperative, managed by women, in Đông Tiến Ward.

To stimulate the effective operation of cooperatives, the Provincial Women's Union has provided nearly 600 million VND in support for purchasing seeds, fertilizers, feed, equipment, etc., for cooperative members; trained and enhanced the capacity of female managers and members; organized forums to connect supply and demand; guided production development linked to key products of each region and locality; and developed OCOP products. Accordingly, to date, the Provincial Women's Union has organized 5 training courses to enhance the capacity of 570 women, including Women's Union officials at all levels and cooperative management boards; organized visits and study tours to exemplary cooperative economic models inside and outside the province; and conducted a communication campaign on "Leveraging the advantages of local products - A driving force for the development of cooperatives" with the participation of 400 members, women, and cooperative members in the province. The province organized a forum titled "Connecting Businesses and Cooperatives, and Collective Economic Models" for over 300 women managers and members of cooperatives to access information and develop markets. This helped enhance the capacity of cooperatives for sustainable development. To date, the province has 372 collective economic models managed by women, creating regular jobs for over 4,000 members and women, as well as many seasonal workers.

According to Ms. Ngo Thi Hong Hao, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee and Chairwoman of the Provincial Women's Union: The development of cooperative economic models has helped disadvantaged women members have more opportunities to develop their economy , increase their income, and at the same time create solidarity, cohesion, and promote the potential and advantages of the locality. The results achieved are an important foundation for the Provincial Women's Union to continue directing the effective implementation of the project throughout the period, aiming to develop, consolidate, and improve the effectiveness of cooperative economic models. In particular, it aims to enhance the competitiveness of cooperatives, create a chain of safe food products, and contribute to achieving gender equality in the economic sector.

Text and photos: Le Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/ho-tro-htx-do-phu-nu-tham-gia-quan-ly-254951.htm