In order to survive and be competitive in the market, like many other agricultural cooperatives in Phu Tho province, Tu Xa Cooperative produces services for preliminary processing and consumption of safe vegetable products (referred to as Tu Xa Cooperative). (Tu Xa Safe Vegetable Cooperative) has chosen a new development trend, which is to link production, business and consumption of agricultural products with businesses. This job helps the cooperative proactively build production plans, expand production scale, create a sustainable product value chain, and provide economic stability for member households, actively contributing to the cause of building sustainable products. build new countryside.
In recent years, the production and consumption of agricultural products in Phu Tho province in general and the production and consumption of safe vegetables in particular have encountered many difficulties and shortcomings; The biggest limitation in safe vegetable production today is that production areas are still fragmented and small; Producers are mainly households or groups, lacking information about the product consumption market, and producing according to trends leads to supply exceeding demand; Most vegetable products in Phu Tho have not yet had sales contracts signed between farmers and businesses. The application of advanced and modern technical measures in production is still not widespread.

Originally a locality with strengths in agriculture thanks to its abundant land fund, Tu Xa commune (Lam Thao - Phu Tho) is one of the communes with a tradition of concentrated commodity vegetable production, but up to now, agriculture has People still do it spontaneously, everyone grows their own food, so the consumer market is unstable. To ensure the connection between production and consumption, the Tu Xa production, preliminary processing and consumption service cooperative of safe vegetable products, Tu Xa commune, Lam Thao district was established in December 2015 with the participation of Join 57 members currently producing safe vegetables on an area of 3.5 hectares. The purpose of the model is to change people's vegetable growing practices, comply with technical processes of safe vegetable production (RAT) and increase production value per unit area. However, in the first year of operation, the issue of stable output for SV products became the most worrying thing. Because there are no stamps or labels to certify protection, and the brand has not yet been built, SV Tu Xa products have not been able to enter supermarkets, and there are no stores to introduce the products. People still have to sell their own products or contract with traders. The price of vegetables depends on the market price. Clean vegetables are still being equated with traditionally produced vegetables, the selling price is not different. together.

To contribute to cooperatives (Cooperatives) in solving difficulties and challenges posed in the process of operating from production to product consumption, since the beginning of 2016, VECO organization has supported cooperative members to establish and operate the Product Quality Assurance Participation System (PGS) for safe vegetables produced according to Basic GAP standards (simplified version of VietGAP). Tu Xa's PGS system plays an important role in ensuring that vegetables supplied to partners meet food safety requirements. When participating in the system, cooperative members must follow strict technical procedures on land preparation, fertilization, use of plant protection chemicals, irrigation water sources, especially the isolation period between Spraying pesticides, fertilizing at harvest time and cleaning the environment around the production area results in increasingly high economic efficiency. At the same time, the Cooperative Board of Directors has been proactive in finding outlets for products, coordinating to promote and introduce safe vegetable products to restaurants, collective kitchens, supermarkets, and businesses. Through product consumption connection activities, the cooperative signed a contract to supply vegetables to VinEco company, forming a link between producers and businesses along the value chain to ensure quality and stable output. , improving their livelihoods as well as contributing to strengthening the cooperative's operations.

Tu Xa Cooperative's vegetable products have been verified by VinEco's laboratory to be safe. The two parties signed the contract in October 2016 to agree on basic terms and conditions. Since then, Tu Xa Safe Vegetable Cooperative has been supplying many types of vegetables to VinEco such as Malabar spinach, luffa, bitter melon, bottle gourd and chayote. Many other products of the cooperative have also passed the chemical residue test such as coriander, leeks and green onions. Currently, the cooperative's vegetables have a brand, 100% of the cooperative's vegetable products sold to Vincom have stamps, labels, and labels.

The association contract is made on the basis of agreement between member households, cooperatives, and enterprises to ensure flexible implementation, in accordance with market fluctuations, and to harmonize the interests of the parties participating in the association. :

- Regarding purchasing products from member households: Member households that have vegetables that are ready to be harvested notify the cooperative 2-3 days in advance. The cooperative will base on VinEco's orders to decide the output of each type. Vegetables purchased for members. The remaining amount of vegetables is sold by member households to the market.

- Price of the cooperative purchasing products from member households: The price of purchased vegetables is fixed during the week based on VinEco's price quote for each vegetable item to the cooperative. The purchasing price is guaranteed to be higher than that of private traders buying vegetables from households that are not members of the cooperative but not 10% lower than the price offered by VinEco.

- VinEco consumes vegetables from cooperatives: The cooperative coordinates with businesses to agree on production plans for each month and quarter to ensure output according to the business's requirements. When an enterprise places an order for a cooperative, if the cooperative does not have enough vegetable products to consume according to the order, it must notify the enterprise of termination. However, if the cooperative cannot meet the business's orders many times, it will affect VinEco's evaluation score towards suppliers. In case the supply from Vincom's farms is too much and the business is unable to purchase, the cooperative will support part of the compensation costs.

Normally, vegetables from member households are harvested and gathered in the cooperative for preliminary processing, packaging, then transferred to VinEco's warehouse in Hanoi and delivered at the end of the day. Deliveries take place once a day, the average volume per trip is about 500-1000 kg. The enterprise commits to make one payment every 15 days so that the cooperative has enough money to pay member households.

After more than a year of linking production with product consumption, the Cooperative's operations have initially become stable and effective. Instead of struggling to find outlets for their products, the cooperative now focuses on producing according to the correct process and improving product quality. In 2017, the cooperative supported member households to consume an average of 10 tons of vegetables/month, cooperative members sold vegetables at prices 1.5-2 times higher than the price at the local market, thereby increasing income and improve their livelihoods as well as contribute to strengthening the cooperative's operation process. The cooperative commits to purchasing members' vegetable products at a fixed price, thereby ensuring their income. Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia, Director of the Cooperative, said that members of the Cooperative have been more proactive since starting to work with VinEco. They have taken many actions such as expanding production, committing to produce certain varieties, keeping logs and improving processing and packaging techniques.

From the actual activities of Tu Xa safe vegetable cooperative in recent times, it can be seen that production links associated with product consumption of the cooperative and businesses contribute to improving economic efficiency and stabilizing output products. This helps member households clearly see their rights and responsibilities and has more motivation in production and economic development, contributing to enriching their families and promoting local economic development. With a solid fulcrum from the established production and consumption links between member households, cooperatives and businesses, along with funding to implement agricultural development policies in the province from the Program's capital. Following the national goal of building new rural areas, the cooperative hopes to expand its farming area and admit more members. In addition, Tu Xa Cooperative has also completed its first production plan for the summer crop. This is a good practice that the cooperative needs to replicate for future crops. Accumulating experience and learning from VinEco's professional working methods will open up many new opportunities for Tu Xa Cooperative to approach other companies and shape the Cooperative itself as a strong, trustworthy business partner. trust in the future./.

Bui Ngoc Nguyen - Rural Development Department