There needs to be a special mechanism to encourage cooperatives in mountainous areas.

The working delegation of the Provincial People's Council Standing Committee studied the effectiveness of the Que Phong Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative. Photo: Mai Hoa

According to the affirmation of the Chairman of the District People's Committee, Le Van Giap, the construction of economic models for livelihoods in the district in recent years has been associated with the role of cooperatives.

For example, at the District Agricultural Production, Business and Service Cooperative, on the basis of gathering a number of enthusiastic members to attract households to contribute land and provide technical guidance to farmers for joint production, this cooperative has turned abandoned land in Muong Noc commune into a safe vegetable production area. In particular, through the construction of this model, it has contributed to creating changes in production practices not only for members but also for local people.

Similarly, the cooperative producing plant and animal breeds in Que Son commune has also built a model of producing and supplying pig and duck breeds to people in the district, contributing to promoting livestock farming in the area.

Comrade Hoang Viet Duong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council as head of the monitoring delegation. Photo: Mai Hoa

Or through the activities of the Cooperative for Production and Supply of Typical Products of Que Phong District, it contributes to the formation of a store for purchasing, processing and consuming rattan and bamboo products, brocade weaving and especially medicinal herbs produced by local people.

Que Phong district currently has 19 cooperatives in operation, of which 4 are rated as operating well; 6 are fairly good; 6 are average and 1 is weak. The average revenue of each cooperative is 200 million VND/year; the average income of regular workers in the cooperative is about 36 - 40 million VND/year.

In addition, the Chairman of the District People's Committee also admitted that the cooperatives in Que Phong district are basically agricultural cooperatives, operating mainly on the basis of capital contribution in land and labor; the problem of working capital for investment in facilities, expansion of scale and orientation of large-scale production is still difficult. The organization and production methods are still limited; especially the problem of product output is still confusing. The number of members participating in cooperatives is still small; profits are not high as well as the guarantee of benefits for cooperative members is not complete, in which most cooperative members have not participated in social insurance.

Chairman of the District People's Committee Le Van Giap proposed that the province should have a specific mechanism for cooperatives in mountainous and border areas. Photo: Mai Hoa

Based on the analysis of the role of cooperatives as well as the difficulties, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Que Phong district also recommended that the province should have a specific mechanism for cooperatives in mountainous and border areas to attract workers to cooperatives, sustainably reduce poverty for people; at the same time, remove obstacles and create favorable conditions for cooperatives to borrow capital.

At the meeting, members of the monitoring delegation of the Provincial People's Council Standing Committee raised many concerns related to difficulties in accessing loan capital for cooperatives; credit funds in the area have not been established to support capital for cooperatives; human resources of cooperatives; land planning issues for building headquarters of cooperatives; basis and criteria for assessing the quality of cooperatives; whether or not cooperatives are established to enjoy the mechanism and then dissolved?...

Cinnamon essential oil products produced by Que Phong people are sold at the store of the Cooperative that produces and supplies typical products of Que Phong district. Photo: Mai Hoa

Concluding the meeting, in addition to appreciating the role of cooperatives in Que Phong in creating economic models with a sustainable development orientation, contributing to poverty reduction, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong also frankly pointed out some shortcomings and limitations of cooperatives.

That is, the overall operational efficiency is still lackluster in contributing to local economic growth; the income of members and farmers is still low; the level of cooperative management is uneven...

To continue promoting the role of the collective economy, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council requested Que Phong district to continue implementing the 2012 Law on Cooperatives and Resolution 5 of the Central Committee on the collective economy. The district needs to focus on innovating and improving the efficiency of cooperative operations; in which clearly defining the functions and tasks of each type of cooperative, associated with the appropriate and key production and business fields of each cooperative.

The Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council supervises irrigation services in Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district. Photo: Mai Hoa

At the same time, the district needs to pay attention to directing and guiding production plans for cooperatives; integrating mechanisms, policies and programs to ensure that cooperatives operate with quality and efficiency, contributing to increasing income for members, solving employment and improving income for people. Pay attention to fostering skills and qualifications for the cooperative management team to operate more dynamically and effectively.

To solve the output problem for cooperatives, according to Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council Hoang Viet Duong, the district needs to research and create links between cooperatives in the district and cooperatives in the province to consume products for cooperatives.

The Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Council also suggested that the district, based on practical shortcomings, should advise and propose to the province practical incentive policies and mechanisms to encourage cooperatives and cooperative groups./.