Hydroponic vegetables grown by the Tiến Phát Clean Vegetable Co-operative in Bình Thuận Province’s Đức Linh District. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thanh

BÌNH THUẬN – The south-central province of Bình Thuận has established a number of co-operatives as it seeks to improve production efficiency.

This year it has formed 16 new ones, taking the total number to 208 with more than 49,000 members in all, according to its Co-operative Alliance.

A co-operative needs at least seven members under current regulations.

The province also has 3,205 co-operative groups with at least three members each.

Hồ Công Dương, chairman of the alliance, said the creation of co-operatives helps increase the scale of production and meet market requirements.

They have effectively performed their role of bringing individuals together to make production more efficient, he said.

Many in the agricultural sector have also developed linkages with companies to ensure they can sell their produce and increase value.

Many use advanced techniques for production, processing and preservation, and this helps produce clean and high-quality items.

The Phúc Lộc Honeydew Melon Co-operative in Đức Linh District was established in 2018 and adopts organic standards and uses automatic dripping irrigation.

It now supplies up to 15 tonnes of honeydew melons daily to HCM City and southern provinces.

Hoàng Văn Lành, its director, said the co-operative was the first in the district to practice hi-tech organic agriculture.

Its members use agricultural by-products and wastes to grow clean products, he said.

The Sơn Mỹ Pig Breeding Co-operative in Hàm Tân District was established in 2016 with 11 experienced farmers.

It raises around 2,500 pigs at a time and has contracts with slaughter houses in Đồng Nai Province.

Đặng Quang Tuyến, its chairman, said members breed pigs to safety standards to earn high incomes and significantly improve their lives.

Many of the local co-operatives have their products recognised under the national One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme.

They include hydroponic vegetables grown by the Tiến Phát Clean Vegetable Co-operative in Đức Linh District and dragon fruit wine made by the Hàm Đức Dragon Fruit Co-operative in Hàm Thuận Bắc District.

However, the alliance admitted that most of the province’s co-operatives remain small and lack resources.

To promote their development, the province is taking various measures like improving the quality of their human resources and offering them soft loans.

The alliance has provided financial support worth a total VNĐ877 million (US$37,500) to five co-operatives growing rice and dragon fruit and breeding cows this year.

Together with relevant agencies, it has helped co-operatives participate in fairs at home and abroad to promote their products. – VNS