Cooperatives contribute to increasing the value of agricultural products

Thanh Hoa is a locality with a lot of room for agricultural development, with about 200 agricultural products produced and consumed in the market. Through intensive investment, increased productivity, quality and creativity, flexibility in product promotion and consumption, many cooperatives have developed large-scale production, not only contributing to increasing the value of agricultural products but also increasing people's income.

Arrowroot growing area of ​​Thanh Minh arrowroot vermicelli cooperative, Thanh Vinh commune.

The once famous yellow sticky rice variety in Gia Mieu, Ha Long commune seemed to have been lost. In 2008, the Ha Long Agricultural Service Cooperative was assigned by the Commune People's Committee to coordinate with the province's professional agencies to restore and develop the lost yellow sticky rice variety. Director of Ha Long Agricultural Service Cooperative Le Minh Cong said: "The desire to restore the yellow sticky rice variety in Ha Long fields is not only a story of effective agricultural economic development but also a responsibility for a precious product with deep cultural values ​​of the locality. After many trips to "find" the precious rice variety, we found a suitable rice variety. 2009 marked the time when the yellow sticky rice variety was replanted in Ha Long fields with an area of ​​2.8 hectares".

After a few trial production seasons, realizing that the restored yellow sticky rice variety is very suitable for local soil, the Cooperative has mobilized member households and people to expand the production area. At the same time, the Cooperative has actively searched, linked and supported the consumption of yellow sticky rice products for people. Ms. Nguyen Thi Cuc in Dong Hau village said: "After participating in the production of yellow sticky rice according to the direction of the commune and the Agricultural Service Cooperative, the area and output of sticky rice are very large, sometimes up to hundreds of tons from the people. Therefore, people are always worried about the output of the product. However, the Cooperative has actively promoted and introduced the product and found businesses to cooperate and purchase large quantities. After more than 10 years of development, now the output of local yellow sticky rice products is no longer a concern. In fact, production cannot meet the market demand."

To ensure productivity and quality for rice, the Cooperative has accompanied people in supplying seeds, organizing training on safe and organic farming techniques; at the same time, promoting connections with businesses to consume products, building brands for local yellow sticky rice products. With production standards and product quality, in 2020, Gia Mieu Ngoai Trang yellow sticky rice products of Ha Long Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative were ranked as 3-star OCOP products. From organizing methodical production, linking raw material areas to connecting product consumption, Ha Long Agricultural Service Cooperative has become an important link to help farmers consume products stably, affirming the brand of products in the market.

Director of Ha Long Agricultural Service Cooperative Le Minh Cong said: "Currently, the Cooperative maintains and expands the area of ​​​​yellow sticky rice production to more than 200 hectares, with a yield of 4 tons/ha. At the same time, it is implementing well the process of taking care of the area of ​​​​yellow sticky rice according to VietGAP and OCOP 3-star standards, to ensure the quality and brand of the product. The Cooperative is actively introducing and developing yellow sticky rice products to all regions in the country and abroad. At the same time, it is researching and developing online sales channels, exploiting and expanding the market to make efforts to bring the brand of Gia Mieu Ngoai Trang yellow sticky rice products further and further."

Arrowroot is one of the crops with a large production area in Thanh Vinh commune, but in terms of consumption, people depend heavily on traders. Understanding that difficulty, since 2018, Ms. Truong Thi Thuan has linked many local households to find outlets for arrowroot in particular and agricultural products in general. After reaching an agreement, the group of households established Thanh Minh arrowroot vermicelli cooperative to consume arrowroot products. With available raw materials, Thanh Minh arrowroot vermicelli cooperative has processed to create quality arrowroot vermicelli products, which are favored by the market.

Director of the Cooperative Truong Thi Thuan said: "The Cooperative has proactively produced about 1 hectare of arrowroot and purchased about 150 tons of raw arrowroot from people to process into arrowroot vermicelli products. With investment in machinery combined with traditional production formulas, each crop the Cooperative provides the market with about 4 tons of finished vermicelli, with a revenue of about 600 million VND. The establishment of the arrowroot vermicelli production Cooperative not only creates jobs for workers, but also contributes to promoting consumption and increasing the economic value of local agricultural products."

According to statistics, the whole province currently has more than 800 agricultural cooperatives, with more than 120,000 members. Many cooperatives not only play a good role as "midwives" of local agriculture but also actively promote trade, advertise agricultural products and specialties to domestic and foreign consumers. Through agricultural fairs, trade and investment promotion conferences and supply-demand connection programs, many typical agricultural products of Thanh Hoa such as: Cay Noi sticky rice, safe vegetables, fruits, buffalo meat, salt, rice cake... have been introduced by agricultural cooperatives, promoting widespread consumption in the market.

Head of Policy - Movement Department, Provincial Cooperative Union Ha Thi Thuy said: "To promote the role of cooperatives in agricultural and rural development, the Provincial Cooperative Union regularly organizes training and guides cooperatives to apply science and technology, produce according to high quality standards (organic, OCOP), deep processing to extend the preservation time and increase the value of agricultural products. Along with that, every year the Cooperative Union also organizes for typical cooperatives to participate in trade promotion and promote agricultural product brands to the market, thereby contributing to improving the production and business efficiency of cooperatives and income for members".

Article and photos: Le Hoa

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/htx-gop-phan-nang-tam-gia-tri-nong-san-267398.htm