Hung Yen (VNA)😼 – Taking advantage of agricultural potential, the northern province of Hung Yen has rolled out many solutions to improve the operational efficiency of cooperatives.

Priority is given to supporting the development of new-style agricultural cooperatives associated with key product production areas and linkages between businesses to form large-scale value chains. Dong Tao Chicken Breeding and Trading Cooperative in Khoai Chau district, which is renowned for its Dong Tao chicken trademark, is a typical example. Le Van Thang, the cooperative’s director, said that to improve the quality of its special chicken, it built a slaughterhouse in 2018, ensuring food safety and hygiene. The cooperative has launched ready-made products such as sausages, steamed salted chicken and chicken feet soaked in lemongrass and kumquat, winning consumers' trust, he continued. Besides introducing products on social network platforms such as Facebook, Zalo and Tiktok, the cooperative has also collaborated with collective kitchens and companies’ canteens to boost consumption. Le Tuan Cuong, a farmer in Dong Tao commune, said that after joining the cooperative, his family was equipped with breeding techniques as well as the product sale was secured. His family raises about 400 Dong Tao chickens every year and earns a profit of 100 million and 200 million VND (3,840-7,870 USD) a year from breeding the poultry, he added. Tran Van My, director of Quyet Thang specialty fruit tree cooperative in Hung Yen city’s Tan Hung commune, said the cooperative was set up by 18 local households in 2017, with 30ha under longan cultivation that follow the VietGAP standards. Three years later, its fresh longan was the first in Hung Yen to be exported to the European Union. Apart from longan cultivation, the cooperative has also developed cage fish farming. The number of fish cages has risen from 20 in 2019 to 60 now, with carp, ca lang (bagridae) - a kind of cat fish and tilapia are the most bred species. To diversify products, the cooperative has cooperated with Khai Ha Pharmaceutical and Medical Supply Trading Joint Stock Company in neighbouring Thai Binh province to grow medicinal plants. The cooperative posts revenue of 4 billion VND each year, bringing high income to its members. Chairman of the provincial Cooperative Alliance Nguyen Cao Cuong said that there are 390 agricultural cooperatives in the locality. He noted that the linkage between production and consumption has helped cooperatives reduce input costs, increase product value and ensure product sale. In the coming time, the alliance will continue to promote communications work on the collective economy to facilitate cooperatives’ access to preferential credit sources, according to Cuong. It will also support cooperatives in joining the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme to enhance value and build brands for their products as well as intensify trade promotion activities, he said. Hung Yen aims to have 1,500 cooperatives and cooperative groups by 2030, with at least 60% to operate effectively./.