Cooperative societies are desperate for capital.

The collective economy in Hai Phong, with cooperatives as its core, is playing a crucial role in agricultural development, job creation, and income improvement for the people.

The Bach Dang Clean Agricultural Products Production and Trading Cooperative hopes for more abundant loan capital and simpler loan conditions.

However, a lack of capital for expanding production is a major obstacle.

Lack of capital is affecting production.

In recent years, cooperatives in Hai Phong have not only focused on linking farmers and fishermen in production but have also participated in processing and consumption, contributing to the formation of a closed and sustainable value chain.

In An Truong commune, the Truc Trang Organic Agricultural Cooperative currently cultivates 40 hectares of dragon fruit with 300 member households, achieving a yield of 12-15 tons/hectare/year. Income from dragon fruit is 3-5 times higher than that from rice cultivation. Thanks to dragon fruit, many households have escaped poverty and stabilized their lives. However, according to Mr. Hoang Van Vien, Deputy Director of the cooperative, the major difficulty currently is the lack of capital to invest in processing and preservation systems, which makes the product susceptible to spoilage and affects sales.

Similarly, the Bach Dang Clean Agricultural Products Production and Trading Cooperative (Bac An Phu Ward) also struggled after Typhoon Yagi 2024. The typhoon destroyed more than 24 hectares of dragon fruit and 8,000 square meters of greenhouses for grape cultivation. To date, the cooperative has only restored 10 hectares of dragon fruit and 8,600 square meters of grapes, due to many members lacking sufficient capital for reinvestment. "The cooperative's assets are insufficient for collateral, forcing members to mortgage their family assets, so many are hesitant to borrow," said Mr. Nguyen Van Thuan, Director of the cooperative.

Agricultural cooperatives in Hai Phong city need more support from relevant authorities to access capital more easily.

According to the Hai Phong City Cooperative Union, cooperatives are small in scale, have limited capital, and low competitiveness. Their products and services are not diverse, linkages are limited, and they struggle to adapt quickly to the market. Meanwhile, the city lacks a specific mechanism to support cooperatives, relying mainly on integrated funding from other sources.

Development needs

Despite facing numerous obstacles, the desire to expand production remains strong in many cooperatives. The Lo Cuong Rice Cracker Production and Packaging Cooperative (Tu Minh Ward) is planning to invest 3 billion VND by the end of this year to equip itself with modern machinery. “Capital is still a challenge, but I am determined to access preferential loan packages to both preserve the traditional craft and build a sustainable brand for Lo Cuong rice crackers,” shared Mr. Vu Van Thuong, Director of the cooperative.

The development of cooperatives will boost the agricultural economy in Hai Phong.

Meanwhile, the May Sanh Flower Cooperative (An Phong ward) has built 13 hectares of greenhouses and net houses, and installed cold storage for flower preservation. Each year, the cooperative achieves a revenue of approximately 3 billion VND, creating stable jobs for 10-15 workers. With confidence in the market, the cooperative aims to expand by an additional 7.5 hectares by 2025, bringing the total area to over 20 hectares.

The common aspiration of cooperatives is to have access to preferential credit and a credit guarantee fund to qualify for bank loans. At the same time, there is a need to strengthen training to help cooperative officials develop feasible business plans and ensure financial transparency, thereby building trust with credit institutions.

Over the past period, the Hai Phong City Cooperative Development Support Fund has become an important support for many organizations. By 2024, the fund provided loans totaling 20 billion VND to 21 cooperatives at an interest rate of 0.6% per month. During the 2021-2025 period, the fund directly supported 14 cooperatives in accessing various other capital sources, contributing to increased productivity and job creation in the locality. On average, the fund disburses funds to approximately 19-22 projects annually, with loan amounts ranging from 100-150 million VND per project. However, this amount of capital is still too small compared to the actual needs for expanding production.

Mr. Vu Duc Cuong, Head of the Credit Department of the Cooperative Development Support Fund of Hai Phong City, said that many cooperatives do not have stable headquarters, have not been granted land use right certificates, and therefore do not meet the conditions for collateral; financial records lack transparency, and production and business plans are not feasible, making it difficult to borrow capital from banks.

According to Mr. Cuong, to overcome this "bottleneck," the city needs to add 30 billion VND to the fund's charter capital during the 2025-2030 period, raising the total capital to 50 billion VND to increase its capacity to support cooperatives.

MINH NGUYEN

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/hop-tac-xa-khat-von-521016.html