Dong Thanh Cooperative wins CoopStar Awards 2024

Dong Thanh Agricultural General Services Cooperative (Dong Thanh Cooperative) in Dong Ha City is the only unit in the central province of Quang Tri to have received the “CoopStar Awards” 2024, which was honored by the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance at a ceremony held recently to celebrate 100 outstanding cooperatives.

Pham Van Quan (middle), Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Dong Thanh Cooperative, receives the CoopStar Award.

Among these cooperatives, there are 60 agricultural units, 28 non-agricultural ones, and 12 people’s credit funds.

The awards praise exemplary cooperative production and business models, highlighting the spirit of self-reliance, self-strength, hard work, creativity, efforts to overcome difficulties, and contribution to provincial economic development.

The winners are evaluated based on criteria such as production and business results, building sustainable value chains towards green consumption, and the application of science and technology.

Dong Thanh Cooperative is a unit that fully meets all the criteria. Established in 1981, the cooperative was selected by the People’s Committee of Dong Ha City to build an advanced typical cooperative in 2007.

According to the provincial cooperative alliance’s assessment, this cooperative operates in diverse sectors, including the production of seedlings.

Dong Thanh Cooperative has 11 services, including production process management, irrigation system, plant protection, supply of fertilizer materials, seedlings, internal credit, afforestation, agricultural promotion, technology transfer and harvest.

Among them, four services (seedlings, agricultural promotion, plant protection, production process management) operate on a non-profit basis to support members and the community. In 2023, Dong Thanh Cooperative achieved a revenue of over VND2.85 billion (US$112,174) and a profit of nearly VND588 million ($23,143).

Some outstanding achievements of Dong Thanh Cooperative. Photo: M.L

The cooperative includes 570 production members working on a cultivation area of nearly 424 hectares (320 hectares of rice for two crops, 95 hectares of aquaculture, and 7.55 hectares of forestry). To effectively operate the 11 services, the cooperative’s Board of Directors has established production teams and specialized teams to serve the cooperative’s services.

"The cooperative regulates activities through these teams. Workers in each team are assigned specific tasks, so they are proactive in production and business, ensuring professionalism," said Pham Van Quan, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of Dong Thanh Cooperative.

Rejuvenating the workforce

One of the important factors contributing to the innovation and improved efficiency of Dong Thanh Cooperative is the rejuvenation of its leadership and management team.

Pham Van Quan, born in 1989, is one of the three young staff who grew up thanks to the province’s financial support for studying at Hue University of Economics.

"With my agricultural background, I returned to my hometown and worked as an agricultural extension staff after completing my education. Since joining the cooperative in 2015, I have become familiar with the local area and its inhabitants. I have good expertise in the area I am responsible for, which is advantageous for my work," he said.

He added that the cooperative members were previously accustomed to traditional production methods, so when the cooperative applied new scientific and technical advancements, many were hesitant to adopt them.

Understanding this mindset, the cooperative’s board of directors assigned staff to specific areas to conduct small-group awareness campaigns tailored to each region’s characteristics and production practices.

Formation of specialized production areas

Dong Thanh has achieved notable success in agricultural production by creating suitable production areas for each crop and meeting market demand, said Cap Kim Thanh, Chairman of the Quang Tri provincial Cooperative Alliance.

He added this approach has resolved employment issues and created conditions for promoting the economic development of households. It actively constructs and develops welfare infrastructure projects, contributing to poverty alleviation in the local area.

One of the highlights is the cooperative’s investment in the construction of infrastructure (land improvement, electrical systems, wells, water tanks, and irrigation systems) and conducting technical training workshops to guide members in producing safe and hygienic vegetables and fruits.

From an initial experimental area of three hectares for safe vegetable cultivation, the cooperative now has 25 hectares dedicated to safe vegetable production, including five hectares qualified to VietGAP standards, involving 150 member households.

Quan, referring to the pilot model of safe vegetable production, stated that it has brought about higher economic efficiency than traditional production methods, providing employment opportunities and increasing income for members.

"As a result, the members are motivated to participate. Currently, all the specialized vegetable cultivation areas of the cooperative utilize sprinkler irrigation technology, allowing for off-season vegetable production and providing an average income of over VND500 million ($19,660) per hectare per year," he said.

“Some households who apply scientific and technological advancements and practice crop rotation have even higher incomes,” Quan said.

In 2016, the cooperative learned about new machinery for land preparation in vegetable production, connecting with suppliers and hosting practical demonstration workshops locally.

Following these workshops, many members invested in purchasing land preparation machinery, reducing manual labor and increasing income.

The cooperative also created opportunities and encouraged members to engage in other agricultural occupations suitable for each household’s natural conditions and labor force.

Currently, the cooperative has 26 households specializing in bean production, with an average daily output of around 1.2 tons. There are also 36 households cultivating various mushrooms, with total annual production reaching 25-27 tons.

In addition, the cooperative allocates VND50 million ($1,966) from the “Production Development Fund” to support members' investments in upgrading and improving plant varieties. It also assists members in accessing funding from the “Development Support Fund” of the provincial Cooperative Alliance to purchase machinery and vehicles for mechanizing production.

Mai Lam - Khanh Khanh