More Drastic Measures Needed to Develop Cooperative Economy.

·        There has been association in business following new model.

Head of Trang Dai cooperative of safe vegetable production, Bien Hoa city (on the right) is introducing products to customers.

It can be said that Dongnai is really sensitive to transfer of old cooperative economy model to new one. Since the mid of 90s, the provincial leaders had constantly come to agricultural production areas to look for new business model after almost all cooperatives and agricultural production corporations were broken up because they couldn’t adapt to market mechanism. Landowners who had just done farm business in Tan Phu, Dinh Quan, Long Thanh, Xuan Loc, Thong Nhat, etc. were visited by leaders regularly.    

It can be understood easily because Dongnai’ farmers have long since got used to commodity market, even in subsidy period. Most “manioc king”, “kaoliang king”, “tobacco magnate”, “soybean king”, “coffee king”, “corn king” appeared in agricultural production area of the locality. 

Thanks to encouraging new factors to develop, Agriculture of Dongnai has had suitable transfer in mechanism of plants and domestic animals. Farmers have been aware of improving themselves and getting access to technological advances in order to apply to their production and gain higher value. Xuan Loc has been one of new factors with a famous area (thousands of hectares) of crossed corn with productivity of from 3-4 tons to 7-8 tons per hectare and for the time being households cooperating in production of high-productivity club have raised productivity of 10 to 12 tons per hectare.  

Pilot high-productivity club has created strength to attract other farmers to cooperate in business. The authority has also created favorable conditions for development of cooperative economy models. In the past four years, Xuan Loc has developed 130 high-productivity clubs in fields of short-day and long-day plants, breeding livestock, aquatic products, gardening, ornamental plants, Jew’s ear fungus. Due to higher demand, some high-productivity clubs collaborated and 2 out of 5 high-productivity clubs became cooperatives.  

According to Chairperson of Xuan Loc district’s People’s Committee Tran Anh Tuan, new business cooperation models have brought their strength into full play effectively and showed farmers feel power of cooperation. For example, productivity of pepper trees planted in other places is about 2.2 tons per hectare, meanwhile productivity of pepper trees planted in high-productivity club is about 2.5 to 3 tons per hectare. Cashew harvested is about 2.5 to 3 tons per hectare in high-productivity club, but that of private producers is about 1.5 tons per hectare, etc. Moreover, beside high-productivity club, Xuan Loc has got 17 cooperatives with charter capitals of US$ 2.1 million, attracting 459 members to join.

So far, Dongnai has 190 cooperatives with charter capital of about US$ 18.640 million, attracting 34,560 members and about 8,120 labors to join. Among them, 67 cooperatives are of agriculture, 36 ones of trade and service, 26 of credit, 20 ones of small scale industry, 18 ones of transport service, 11 ones of environmental service, 8 ones of goods-loading and unloading, 4 ones of construction. Through ranking, there are 72 good-running cooperatives, 54 average ones, 33 weak-running ones, 31 unranked ones and 24 stop-running ones. 

·        Association and cooperation between levels and branches needed.

In the last conference, there were 4 admissions of fault for not fulfilling responsibility, not actually becoming a bridge between cooperative economy organizations with the government. Vice-Chairperson of Vinh Cuu district’s People’s Committee Vo Van No said, “ Awareness is very important because just the right awareness can create effective actions. Though Vinh Cuu has developed 16 cooperatives ( 13 still running ones and 3 stop-running ones), if grassroots officials are more enthusiastic, the number is more than that”. He also expresses sympathy with the provincial leaders’ idea about the fact that enterprises are welcomed enthusiastically all the time, meanwhile farmers are not welcomed. The Vice-Secretary of Long Thanh District Party Committee Dao Van Minh also had the same view. He said that it was change in awareness of executive committee at all levels, authority, and unions that could create strong progress in the movement.

Some viewpoints suggest that difficulties of cooperative economy organizations for the time being are capital, infrastructure, (premises to set up headquarters, etc.). manpower for management, market, etc. However, a member of Party Central Committee, Provincial Party Secretary Tran Dinh Thanh gave examples: Action program no.24 of the Provincial Party Executive Board (term 7) to implement central resolution 5 has evaluated clearly situation, causes, and brought forward action plans since mid of 2002 to 2005 and 2010 including 6 specific solutions for staff, human resources development,  land, finance and credit, science and technology support and infrastructure investment, support for marketing and market expansion, and resolution for management role of the government for development of cooperative economy. However, the Provincial Party Secretary Tran Dinh Thanh commented that our members were all strong, but they did for themselves and by themselves!

Vegetable harvested in Truong An cooperative.

Actually, relevant branches as well as unions haven’t given out contributing ideas not strongly and clearly, and there haven’t been arguments of organizations to protect their members, showing that comment of Tran Dinh Thanh is not a joke. President of Dongnai Cooperative Union says that cooperatives have to pay 28% enterprise income tax. 

The provincial Party Secretary Tran Dinh Thanh also said: there no reason for asking labors who have no premises, except labor strength, and join loading and unloading and agricultural cooperatives to pay enterprise income tax( 28% revenue - legal expenditure)

·        One month to get ready for cooperative economy development plan in new situation.

 Shortcomings can’t not be attributed to mechanism, policy because they have been instructed and prepared before. Although localities sometimes attach more importance on industry than agriculture, and have not paid enough attention to development of cooperative economy like some fault-admissions. But, this is the reality. Due to higher demand in development era, cooperation is indispensable for existence and development.   

Therefore, levels, branches, and unions cannot be outsiders. The provincial Party leaders gave one month to localities, branches, unions to bring forward specific action program to serve development of cooperative economy and leaders warned them not to attach much attention to results, quantity, but to real demand of people to have appropriate, effective and stable models.

This is not a long period but not short for a succession. This is also stable development for each locality and the province in development process.

Member of Party Central Committee, Provincial Party Secretary  Tran Dinh Thanh says,  Tran Dinh Thanh (in the middle) paid a visit to a Jew’s Ear Fungus  manufacturer in Long Khanh commune. It is necessary to promote popularizing Law On Cooperatives, as well as policy system of the government, province on cooperative economy to surmount “allergy” and “complex” feeling for the old cooperative economy model.      However, it is essential to avoid attaching much attention to results because to develop cooperative economy is aimed at creating new strength, enhancing production and business effectiveness, increasing income, and improving people’s living; narrowing income gap between walks of life, urban and rural area, raising competitive capacity for cooperative economy organizations.

 Source from Dongnai Newspaper, translated by Hoai Thu.