Big thinking on big fields

(Baonghean) - The large-scale field model originated in the Mekong Delta about 3 years ago and spread to other localities. However, up to now, the large-scale field (CĐL) is still not really an ideal model in agricultural production. Many farmers still doubt the effectiveness of this model.

That doubt is completely based on reality. Because after a period of piloting production according to the CĐL model in some southern provinces, a very unreasonable reality was revealed that the biggest beneficiaries from CĐL were not farmers - the subjects of the fields - but enterprises. People have counted several benefits of enterprises from CĐL as follows: First benefit, companies trading in fertilizers and pesticides increased profits due to selling many products to farmers. Second benefit, selling rice seeds to farmers at high prices. Third benefit, because the rice is produced from certified seeds, the quality of the rice is very high, enterprises sell rice to customers at higher prices than the price of common rice of the same type on the market. Fourth benefit, enterprises buy directly from farmers at low prices without having to pay intermediary costs. That means they buy at the source, sell at the top, so they earn big profits. The company enjoys all the profits from reducing intermediary costs and increasing rice quality, while the farmers do not get a penny.

Therefore, the implementation of the construction of the cooperatives has not created a high consensus among farmers. From the beginning, the imbalance between input, output and income of each group of people participating in this process has been revealed, so the stability and sustainability are not high. There is always the potential for the collapse of the cooperative structure to return to the small-scale, fragmented production method as before. Therefore, most farmers are still skeptical and have not participated in this new production model. In addition, the level, capacity as well as strict compliance with technical processes to produce high-quality products on the cooperatives of farmers are not high, significantly affecting the quality of products in particular and the cooperative model in general.

According to the General Secretary of the Vietnam General Association of Agriculture and Rural Development, after more than 3 years of implementing the CĐL model in the Mekong Delta region, it has been shown that the model has developed nationwide and not only in rice but also in many other crops. However, the biggest difficulty and challenge is that export consumption enterprises have not actively participated in product output and are still afraid of difficulties. The consumption rate of agricultural products such as rice, coffee, seafood, vegetables, and fruit trees by farmers is still very low. Farmers produce on a small scale, are not familiar with production linkages, have limited infrastructure, and some localities have many shortcomings in implementation...

Therefore, to successfully build the CĐL, farmers and responsible agencies and organizations in this process need to create their own initiative. Do not depend too much on businesses as in the past. Do not leave both input and output to businesses. Businesses are not bad, but when it comes to business, profit is always the top priority, the higher the better, so it is natural that the farmers' profit is lower. Farmers and those who have the obligation and responsibility to accompany them in building the CĐL need to be proactive, actively negotiate, and choose input suppliers with reasonable prices.

For things that can be self-sufficient, such as rice seed production, try to take care of yourself. Product consumption should also be proactive in finding outlets, such as signing contracts with management boards of large markets in and outside the province, supermarkets, restaurants, large hotels, etc. That means diversifying the output of agricultural products. Do not leave it to businesses, but also actively participate in the product consumption stage. To help farmers have stable output and prices with acceptable profit margins. Of course, to do that, the products must meet standards in both quality and design. If you cannot do that, the CĐL will never "grow" because it only increases profits for businesses, not for farmers. And like that, there is no difference in income between farmers participating in large-scale fields and those who do not participate.

In short, to successfully build a CDL, a big mindset is needed.

Duy Huong