Developing link chains in production

​A farmer in Cam My District takes care of durian trees under the VietGAP process

Many of ‘link models’

According to the People's Committee of Cam My District, in recent years, the local agricultural economy has developed strongly. The chains linking trees and main animals gradually formed and continuously increased in both quantity and area.

Implementing the policy of restructuring agriculture, a number of crops with high economic value which suitable to the local soil are given priority to expand. The district has established specialized cultivation areas, large fields, and a chain of linkages in the production and consumption of agricultural products, such as: large 4C coffee fields in Xuan Que and Xuan Tay communes; large maize fields for animal feed in Xuan Dong commune; durian fields in Nhan Nghia commune; Large black pepper fields in Lam San, Song Ray and Xuan Dong communes.

In terms of husbandry, Cam My District becomes the leading locality in terms of ranches and the second in terms of total pig herd in the province. To date, 155 animal farm projects and four concentrated slaughterhouses have been approved, most of which are biosecurity development.

It can be seen that the chains of production and consumption of agricultural products in Cam My District are quite diverse from animal husbandry to farming, including those that have exported agricultural products to ‘demanding markets’. Typically, the Lam San Black Pepper Cooperative pioneered the development of organic pepper and became the first cooperative in Vietnam to export black pepper to European countries; the Dong Tay Cooperative has developed areas for growing corn, preliminarily processing and exporting to South Korea as fodder for cattle.

Pointing out the benefits for farmers participating in link chains, Director of Lam San Black Pepper Cooperative Nguyen Ngoc Luan said that without a production link, it would not be possible for farmers in poor Cam My district to export black pepper to Germany, the Netherlands and many other European countries. It is the concentration of concentrated production, compliance with clean production processes and planned market access that has helped Dong Nai pepper “squeeze” into big markets. Also according to Mr. Luan, in order to participate in the big ‘playgrounds’, individual production households must link and ensure the quantity and quality of its products. Because of this issue, in recent times, despite the erratic domestic prices, black pepper of said cooperative is always ready to export with stable prices.

Director of Dong Tay Cooperative Mr. Bui Trung Vinh Phuoc also said that thanks to the planning of developing large local maize fields, the cooperative has cooperated with farmers to develop clean raw material areas, invest in machinery to process maize into animal feed for domestic consumption and export.

Towards sustainable links

Regarding the evaluation of associate models in agricultural production, Vice Chairman of Cam My District People's Committee Nguyen Van Thang said that the models of cooperation from groups and cooperatives to larger agricultural projects are increasing in number and operating more effectively. Through the forms of trade promotion, product introduction, this has helped members to raise revenue, creating jobs for a part of farmers, gradually contributing to the socio-economic development of the district. Up to now, the product value per hectare of cultivated area reached VND 170 million/year, an increase of 1.54 times compared to 2015.

To prevent the models and link chains from being fragmented or broken, the district leaders said that instead of building conventional value chains, businesses and cooperatives should focus on building value chains in the direction of safe food supply chains. The stages from initial production to processing and distribution are controlled under contracts to create products that are safe for users' health and traceable. The district is also organizing a reevaluation of the effectiveness of each associated model, small-scale projects, ineffective or no longer suitable to be removed from the plan.

Strengthening the linkage in production and consumption of products to create safe food supply chains is necessary to move towards the production of modern goods with high added value. In the next 5-year development plan, Cam My District determines that agriculture will be developed in the direction of commodity production, technology application to improve product quality, cooperative development, cooperative economy. Along with that, it is necessary to have support and create favorable conditions to form key areas of plants, animals, large fields towards specialized farming, highly specialized associated with the product consumption market; Actively attract investment in the agricultural sector, especially clean agriculture and high-tech agriculture; Promote the application of scientific advances to production, improve product quality, associate with product branding, contribute to increase product competitiveness in the market; Encourage the development of husbandry in the direction of concentration and clean industry; Reorganize groups and cooperatives to act as a ‘link’ with enterprises to form chains of production, market access and product consumption chains.

By the end of June 2020, there are 25 cooperatives and 173 cooperative groups in Cam My District operating in the fields of supplying fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural materials; environmental sanitation services; rural clean water services; purchasing safe vegetables, buying agricultural products; cultivation and farming. In addition to four major link projects on coffee, black pepper, durian and maize, many new link chains are being formed and constantly developed such as: supply chain of mulberries - silkworm - silk products, supply chain of clean vegetables for cooperatives, clean rice chain, etc.

By Phan Anh