Netherlands shares experience in developing cooperatives

According to Tran Thu Hang, deputy head of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA)’s international cooperation department, Agriterra has partnered with the Vietnam Farmers’ Union and some of its chapters in Vietnamese cities and provinces since 2003.

In 2016, Agriterra experts conducted a survey in the country and realised the necessity of promoting comprehensive cooperation with the VCA, she said.

The Dutch organisation along with the VCA has connected 16 cooperatives and invested millions of USD in a joint programme to develop cooperatives, she added.

Le Thang Long, deputy head of the VCA’s  policy and development department, pointed to the fact that most of cooperatives meet difficulties in accessing loans from credit organisations and the management capacity of cooperatives officials is poor. As a result, their business production efficiency is not high.

He called on Agritterra to open more workshops with the participation of Dutch experts to share their experience in developing cooperatives.

The Vietnamese side also hoped for the organisation’s help to gain access to new varieties and technologies as well as improve cooperatives’ management capacity and build agri-product value chains, he said.

The economic sector of cooperative groups and cooperatives is making up nearly 4.8% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to VCA statistics.

The country had 21,026 active cooperatives as of June 30, 2018, up 934 against the previous year.

Of the figure, more than half are agricultural cooperatives and agricultural service ones (agriculture, forestry, seafood, and salt industry). More than 9,000 cooperatives, equivalent to 45%, are operating effectively.