Cooperatives transform with the times

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - Gradually moving away from the simple traditional economic model, many cooperatives of Dong Nai have made changes to keep up with the times. Changing development models, learning and exchanging practical experiences, creating a foothold for their products in the domestic market as well as gradually reaching out to the world are what cooperatives are striving for.

High-tech products from Airnano Vietnam Joint Stock Company, a company that is establishing cooperatives applying digital technology in Dong Nai province 

With support from the State, cooperatives are trying to apply new achievements in technology, as well as expand the digital transformation for more sustainable development.

Seizing the opportunity

Doc Mo Farm Cooperative (Doc Mo Farm tourist destination, Thong Nhat District) always has produced stable food sources including meat, vegetables, tubers, and fruits to customers who are in the city of Ho Chi Minh. With an area of 16 hectares, all crops and livestock on the farm are grown without chemicals, as a result, they are very popular with local and foreign consumers. Capitalizing on this situation, Doc Mo Farm Cooperative is moving forward with the agricultural experience tourism model to attract more and more tourists.

Mr. Hoang Cong Phuoc, Director of the Cooperative, said he wanted to convey the message of living in harmony with nature and that visitors could learn and experience at the farm. The cooperative wishes to receive legal support and guidance from the locality in converting from purely agricultural to service and tourism, and create conditions to access preferential loans…. 

​Similarly, in recent times, An Hoa Hung Agricultural Cooperative (Bien Hoa City) has reaped many successes from healthcare products. This is thanks to the acumen and dynamic Director of the Cooperative Ms. Hoang Thi Kim Oanh and her colleagues. She has researched Helicteres Hirsuta Lour (a herb with health benefits). After many failed trials, a balm product from An Hoa made from Helicteres Hirsuta Lour was created.

From producing about 3,000 products/month at the beginning of its establishment, now the cooperative supplies 5,000 products each month, and the number of sale agents is continuously increasing. In particular, the cooperative is a pioneer in developing a closed model of researching, growing, manufacturing and developing a line of medicinal products. An Hoa's product was also one of the first 17 OCOP rated products in Dong Nai and was rated 4 stars in 2022. Currently, the cooperative has also been researching other lines to add to the product ecosystem in the direction of health care and protection.

Applying technology and digital transformation for sustainable development

One of the successful organizations in applying technology to serve production and business activities in Dong Nai is Nhon Trach Transport Service Trading Cooperative. Director of the Cooperative, Mr. Phan Huy Su, said that with nearly 6 thousand vehicles, the Board of Directors and information technology engineers of the Cooperative are determined to create a software in order to help the management and administration activities.

Accordingly, this software can help drivers in situations, for example forget to register a vehicle, expired badges, expired insurance, the vehicle's running schedule and stops. The software also stores vehicle information such as: license plate, operating status, vehicle type, number of seats, vehicle brand, year of manufacture, expiry date, vehicle owner, manager, driver's assistant, service staff, contact phone numbers... to serve the management purpose.

Due to the cooperative's success, the transport management software has been popularized and expanded to be used at other transport units inside and outside the province. In particular, knowledge and skills about digital transformation in transportation of Nhon Trach Transport Service and Trading Cooperative have been included in the curriculum by the Southern Cooperative Vocational and Staff Training School in order to expand it to other regions and organizations.

Digital transformation is a requirement of the present and also an urgent need of the future. Recently, Dong Nai Provincial Youth Union and Airnano Vietnam Joint Stock Company organized a signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement to deploy agricultural digital transformation activities for rural youth and launch the Dong Nai digital agricultural cooperative model.  

According to the plan, the two sides plan to establish 50 digital agricultural cooperatives and service stations to repair, experience, and train 4.0 agricultural equipment and machinery. At the same time, they plan to build models of agricultural product platforms in virtual space at OCOP product display points, as well as to establish a high-tech agriculture model area...