The Roles of Agricultual Cooperatives in Linking Small Farmers to Set up Large Paddy Fields in Mekong Delta

Thi Minhvu ,Mạnh Dũng Trần ,Trung Hai Nguyen

doi:10.7176/jesd/10-2-12

Abstract

Agricultural cooperatives play a significant role in linking small farmers to set up large paddy fields in the Mekong Delta. Agricultural cooperatives’ association for establishment of big paddy fields allows firms to purchase secured raw materials in mass quantities, ensuring quality while reducing related costs. Farmers are able to cut down the cost of production, sell products more effectively by gaining economy of scale and have higher position and influence over the businesses. In order to enhance the role of agricultural cooperatives in linking small farmers to establish large paddy fields in the Mekong Delta, it is necessary to synchronously implement the following solutions such as (i) improving mechanisms and policies for agricultural cooperatives to promote their role in farmer linkage to set up large paddy fields; (ii) strengthening the capacity of agricultural cooperatives management staff; iii) strengthening the role of agricultural cooperatives’ representing member farmer households in carrying out the association with firms in setting up big paddy fields. Keywords: Role of agricultural cooperatives, association, large paddy field, Mekong Delta DOI : 10.7176/JESD/10-2-12

Highlights

With the nature of collective economic organizations, agricultural cooperatives (ACs) can improve the minor as well as scattered producting condition, and facilitate the development of large-scale agricultural production (Do, 2012, Vu, 2013)
Various researches nationally and internationally (Motamed, 2010, ILO, 2009, Tang, 2012, Tran, 2012, Hoang, 2016), indicated that the association of farmers through ACs to set up large paddy fields (LPF) will provide all stakeholders with a great source of benefits: businesses can secure their purchase of mass quantity of raw materials, assure quality and reduce costs
The role of ACs in linking farmer to set up LPF in the Mekong Delta (i) Promoting the accumulation and concentration of agricultural lands, forming the large-scale production areas

Summary

Introduction

With the nature of collective economic organizations, agricultural cooperatives (ACs) can improve the minor as well as scattered producting condition, and facilitate the development of large-scale agricultural production (Do, 2012, Vu, 2013). As for the farmers, they can reduce the production cost, sell goods more effectively and gain influences and positions over the businesses. The ACs produce on large scale, work efficiently under the condition where land documentation belongs to the long-term use of the member households. The small scale of production leads to poor competitive ability in the international market, especially in terms of selling prices. One of the main causes may be the lack of ACs’ role, so paddy farmers still mostly produce and sell their products to traders, triggering the high risks in production, consumption and income earning. Enhancing the role of ACs in farmer linkage for seting up concentrated commodity production areas such as LPF is an urgent requirement regarding paddy production in the Mekong Delta nowadays

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