Keep developing cooperative economy and making it a key economic component

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    *It is necessary to make achievements widely-known.

    In 2008, 28 cooperatives (including 10 of agricultural services, 3 of construction, 6 of trade and services, 3 of small scale industry, 3 of environmental services and 3 of public credit funds) have been established across the province. These cooperatives have a working capital of nearly VND110 billion, 438 members and 274 workers. Up to now, the whole province has had 199 cooperatives with the total working capital of nearly VND395 billion, 38,662 cooperative members and 5,942 workers. The average income is over VND16 million/year/worker and approximately VND14 million/ year/ member.

    Ms Nguyen Thi Tuyet – President of Alliance of the cooperatives has acknowledged that there have been many newly-established cooperatives which are working efficiently despite the economic difficulties and dissolution of many cooperatives. This was proved in the emulation movement, “Cooperatives are the pioneers in eliminating hunger, reducing poverty and building new rural areas”. The movement has attracted nearly 50,000 cooperative members and workers and donated over VND20 billion for the program of eliminating hunger, reducing poverty and building the models of new rural areas. Besides, cooperatives have organized many types of production and business to assist their members and people in obtaining employment and earning steady income.

    Ms Huynh Thi Hue from the public credit fund of the rubber company said: “To face economic difficulties and interest rates fluctuating for a long time, rising sharply early 2008 and falling dramatically late 2008, credit funds including us have changed the way we do business from profit to credit security. So we always ensure good performance. We have loaned more than 1,600 people nearly VND55 billion to invest in developing cultivation, animal breeding, consumption and various types of production. Thanks to credit funds’ capital, a lot of poor households in our region have determined to change their crops and improve their processes of looking after crops. Moreover, we have generated employment for more than 600 workers. In 2008, to face economic difficulties, our fund’s members agreed to adjust interest rates and share difficulties with us with VND110 million to help us operate steadily.

    *It is a must to dissolve inefficient cooperatives

    Vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee – Ao Van Thinh said: “Developing cooperative economy is a common tendency. However, we will keep an eye on weak cooperatives. The whole province has 17% of inefficient cooperatives and 12% of cooperatives that have to cease their business. This is not a low rate so all economic components need to join hands. Especially, the enthusiasm and dynamism of the leadership of the cooperatives play an important role”.

    In the evaluation of Alliance of the cooperatives, the reason why they worked inefficiently is that part of the leadership is not enthusiastic enough, lacks professional skills and does not focus on connecting the operations of cooperatives. To avoid these limits, it requires that local authorities should pay attention to managing and providing land for production and office building… Specifically, there should be many policies on training staff and making good models from all parts of the country known to the management and members of the cooperatives. In terms of this matter, Vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said that cooperatives had to build up their own brand names, exploit their advantages and report their problems to local authorities and provinces and departments, committees and sectors had to bring good conditions to and create equality between cooperatives and other economic components.

    As planned, the executive committee of Alliance of the cooperatives will attempt to build 20 to 25 typical and progressive cooperatives in order to cause fair and good cooperatives to amount to 50% and average cooperatives to fall by up to 35% and weak cooperatives 15%.

(Reported by Thanh Tam, Translated by Duy Minh)