Nghe An: In 6 months, revenue of cooperatives reached 425 billion VND

Producing turmeric starch at Thai Hoa starch production and processing cooperative (Thai Hoa town). Photo: Document

Of the total 677 cooperatives operating in the province, there are 459 agricultural service cooperatives, 137 non-agricultural cooperatives and 59 people's credit funds. The cooperatives have 266,010 members and 53,326 regular employees.

Of these, 301 cooperatives operate effectively, accounting for 44.5%; 291 cooperatives operate averagely, accounting for 43.2%; 55 cooperatives operate ineffectively, accounting for 8.2%, and the remaining newly established cooperatives have not been evaluated.

Graphics: Huu Quan

In general, cooperatives have gradually promoted their internal strength, proactively innovated in production and business activities, and increased joint ventures and associations with enterprises for development.

Thanks to that, the total revenue of cooperatives in the first 6 months of the year in the province increased significantly; creating jobs, increasing income, contributing to the socio-economic development in the locality.

Specifically, revenue of agricultural cooperatives reached 125 billion VND (an increase of 80 billion VND compared to the same period in 2017); regular income of workers reached an average of 32 - 35 million VND/worker/year.

Revenue of non-agricultural cooperatives reached over 300 billion VND (an increase of 98 billion VND compared to the same period in 2017); regular labor income in cooperatives reached an average of 50 - 55 million VND/worker/year.

The province has 59 people's credit funds (PCFs), operating in 150 communes of 14 districts, cities and towns; attracting 83,162 members, with a total mobilized capital of VND 5,235 billion.

Hong Thanh Agricultural Cooperative (Yen Thanh) purchases rice for farmers. Photo: Document

However, the operation of the cooperative system in Nghe An still faces many difficulties in accessing and benefiting from policies. Most cooperatives have difficulty accessing and lacking information about the market, qualified human resources have not been strengthened; linking production with businesses and consumer markets to produce according to the product value chain is still limited.

The goal for 2018 is to establish 50 new cooperatives in the province, develop 30 member units; successfully build 1-2 new cooperative models in each district, city and town and provide vocational training and job creation for 1,400-1,500 students./.