Phu Cuong Dragon Fruit Cooperative will be true to its name.

BTO - Although it is also difficult to find outlets for products like other cooperatives in the province, with the high determination of the cooperative members and the active support of local authorities and sectors, Phu Cuong Dragon Fruit Cooperative will develop and prosper as its name suggests.

Phu Cuong Dragon Fruit Cooperative's nameplate is attached at Phu Sung village headquarters.

From a production team

Phu Cuong is the only dragon fruit cooperative in Ham Cuong commune, Ham Thuan Nam district, Binh Thuan . According to the Vietnamese dictionary, Phu Cuong means rich and strong. Currently, the cooperative has 28 members, more than 78 hectares of dragon fruit and 3,000m 2 melons, mainly in Phu Sung village, which was chosen as a point for building a smart village according to the commune's registration plan with the district to become a model new rural area in 2025 in the spirit of Decision 2632 of the Provincial People's Committee on promulgating the smart village model and criteria for a model new rural commune in the province for the period 2021 - 2025.

The land next to the village headquarters is preparing to build a cooperative headquarters.

Before becoming a cooperative, Phu Cuong was just one of the VietGap dragon fruit production groups under the Good Agricultural Practices Program in Vietnam (VietGAP) of the Provincial People's Committee deployed in 2009 in Ham Thuan Nam. This is known to all leaders, officials, and long-time civil servants of Ham Cuong commune.

Mr. Do Huu Tri - Vice Chairman of Ham Cuong Commune told us that Phu Cuong Dragon Fruit Cooperative, the predecessor of Phu Cuong 1 VietGap Dragon Fruit Production Group, became a cooperative in 2017 as a mission to bring Ham Cuong commune to the new rural finish line according to the National Target Program on New Rural Construction for the period 2011 - 2020. At that time, the Cooperative only had 17 members, with about 35 hectares of dragon fruit, and its temporary headquarters was in a classroom of a separate kindergarten in Phu Loc village.

In 2023, the cooperative moved to Phu Sung village after facing many difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic and unstable dragon fruit prices. However, it also contributed to bringing Ham Cuong commune to the advanced new rural finish line. This was also the time of the Cooperative's Members' Congress, with personnel changes.

Dragon fruit garden of one of the cooperative members

Mr. Bui Ngoc Duan, a good farmer and businessman in the commune, is a member of the cooperative and is trusted as the director of the cooperative. He is considered by the members to be a capable person, dedicated to the cooperative. This is proven when the members and dragon fruit area of the cooperative are increasing. In addition, the cooperative also has an organic melon growing model. "The recent melon crop had high yield, stable output, 3-4 tons were harvested per sao, and there is a partnership with a company in Ho Chi Minh City to purchase. With a mass selling price of 27,000 VND/kg, after deducting investment and care costs, there is still profit," said Mr. Duan. Dragon fruit, the main crop of the cooperative, is facing difficulties in output.

Output underwriting link

Last year, the cooperative signed a contract to link output with Son Tra Company Limited in Thuan Nam town, Ham Thuan Nam district, which specializes in purchasing clean dragon fruit for export to demanding markets such as Europe, America... With the terms of the contract, the cooperative must produce clean dragon fruit according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, meaning that the dragon fruit does not contain chemicals including pesticides, chemical fertilizers... When sent for inspection at the Hoan Vu Inspection Center under Hoan Vu Science and Technology Company Limited in Ho Chi Minh City, it must meet the prescribed standards.

In addition, the cooperative also cooperates with Quy Nhon University, Binh Dinh to produce clean dragon fruit. The university has committed to training and instructing members of the cooperative on how to care for dragon fruit; and guaranteeing output. Mr. Duan shared that Quy Nhon University has visited the cooperative to survey dragon fruit gardens and is currently implementing cooperation between the two parties.

However, Son Tra Company Limited is still the main partner of the cooperative. For each dragon fruit crop, Son Tra needs to inform the cooperative of the quantity and price of dragon fruit it needs to export to the European market or other markets. After that, the members of the cooperative register for production, especially in the off-season to use lights to stimulate the dragon fruit to bear fruit. Mr. Duan said that the entire cooperative has 28 members, corresponding to 28 dragon fruit gardens, each garden has a code. Any member who registers with Son Tra after they have notified the quantity they need to purchase can register at will. When the harvest day comes, samples will be taken for testing. If the chemical residue exceeds the regulations on the dragon fruit, it will be returned, meaning that the member will find a consumer himself. This is only the initial inspection, and when the second country comes, they will check again, so Son Tra Company requires those who register for production to strictly comply with the company's regulations, Mr. Duan added.

This requires dragon fruit growers to take responsibility for their products. That is why many dragon fruit growers are worried, even members of the cooperative. When dragon fruit trees are currently facing many types of pests and diseases, especially white fungus and geckos, there is no specific medicine, making it difficult to meet the requirements in terms of appearance. Mr. Le Hong Son - a member of the cooperative shared that his household has 1.5 hectares of dragon fruit that Ham Thuan Nam and Ham Cuong commune have chosen as a safe production model according to GlobalGap standards. He is also trying to produce according to GlobalGap standards. At the same time, he hopes that all members will try to comply with the regulations of partners during the production process, so that the output of dragon fruit is stable, and more partners will come to buy.

One of the roads in Phu Sung village, where a smart village is being built.

What Mr. Son wants is consistent with what Mr. Duẩn knows from working with dragon fruit purchasing partners and from understanding agricultural market information. "Clean dragon fruit is currently not available for export to the European and American markets," Mr. Duẩn shared. Members of the cooperative need to know to gradually change production methods. With the support of local authorities and sectors, Phu Cuong will develop sustainably and prosper as its name suggests in the future.

Currently, the Cooperative has 3 production models according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and high-tech organic standards, contributing to making Phu Sung a smart village and Ham Cuong a model new rural area soon. Mr. Do Huu Tri said that for the commune to reach the model new rural area, it must have a smart village and at least 1 cooperative producing safe agricultural products according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic food safety standards, and having a chain of product consumption for many years... The Commune People's Committee has been paying attention to supporting the development of the Cooperative, creating conditions for the Cooperative to develop more members. In addition, the Cooperative is supported in contacting functional agencies such as the District Department of Agriculture and the Provincial Agricultural Extension Center to provide technical assistance, as well as provide land and request funding to build headquarters, creating motivation for the Cooperative to operate sustainably.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/hop-tac-xa-thanh-long-phu-cuong-se-dung-nhu-ten-goi-125650.html