Thanks to credit capital, farmers boldly invest in coconut trees.

Many coconut growers have boldly invested in improving and upgrading their coconut gardens after being supported by credit capital in the credit program for the coconut industry.

The coconut industry has grown strongly in recent years and has become a "billion dollar" industry, but the lives of many coconut farmers are still full of difficulties and hardships.

Mr. Pham Van Tanh, Director of An Thoi Coconut Cooperative ( Vinh Long ), said that in the past, coconut growers of the cooperative faced many difficulties, especially in terms of capital to invest in coconut trees. There were households that saved a small amount of money after a period of growing coconut trees. But such small capital was not enough to develop their family's coconut garden.

Purchasing raw coconuts at An Thoi Coconut Cooperative. Photo: Minh Sang .

Due to lack of capital to invest in coconut trees, coconut gardens of many farming households often have low productivity, affected by pests and diseases. Farmers operate on a small scale so the output price is often unstable. In general, due to lack of capital to invest in coconut trees, in the past, coconut farmers encountered many difficulties and lacked in daily life.

The credit program for the coconut industry, implemented by the Vietnam Coconut Association in coordination with the agricultural sector and Agribank on a pilot basis in Dong Thap, Vinh Long and Can Tho, is contributing to changing the production and lives of coconut farmers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi My Hoa, Deputy Director of Agribank Ben Tre Branch, said that in order to create conditions for coconut farmers in the old Ben Tre (now Vinh Long) to access credit capital, in the past time, Agribank Ben Tre Branch has supported people in setting up loan documents, building production plans, purchasing and consumption plans. These supports are to help the bank's credit capital actually go into farmers' production.

In parallel, Agribank Ben Tre Branch is also a bridge with businesses in the old Ben Tre area to carry out linked loans through the value chain.

The staff of Agribank Ben Tre Branch has actively advised coconut farmers on preferential credit programs on interest rates. Currently, Agribank Ben Tre Branch is applying preferential loan interest rates for coconut farmers, which are reduced by a maximum of 1.5%/year compared to the normal loan interest rate.

Many coconut gardens in old Ben Tre have had their varieties changed and upgraded thanks to credit capital. Photo: Minh Sang .

Since having access to Agribank's credit capital under the credit program for the coconut industry, the lives of many coconut farming households have changed. With capital in hand, many farming households have boldly invested in upgrading their coconut gardens, such as replacing old coconut varieties with new varieties with higher productivity and quality, or investing in renovating old coconut gardens. Some households have invested in expanding the coconut growing area.

In particular, there are households that boldly invest in irrigation for coconut gardens such as water-saving irrigation systems or apply reasonable fertilization methods, thereby contributing to increasing the productivity of coconut trees.

At the same time, thanks to credit capital, many farming households have been able to invest in intercropping in their coconut gardens with suitable crops and livestock to increase income from their family's coconut gardens.

Mr. Tanh shared that, in addition to supporting credit capital, Agribank also cooperates with localities, cooperatives and businesses, to organize a chain of product consumption links for coconut farmers, thereby helping people have stable output.

Specifically, in 2021, An Thoi Coconut Cooperative joined with Agribank Ben Tre Branch and Beinco Company to build and sign a joint contract to consume coconut products. Accordingly, the company and the cooperative received capital support from Agribank Ben Tre Branch to consume coconut products produced by members of An Thoi Coconut Cooperative. Members of An Thoi Coconut Cooperative also committed to selling all coconuts to the cooperative, thereby the cooperative has a stable source of coconuts to regularly supply raw materials to Beinco's factory.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/nho-von-tin-dung-nong-dan-manh-dan-dau-tu-cho-cay-dua-d781825.html