Deputy PM Hue commends agricultural cooperatives in Lam Dong

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue visits a farm in Lam Dong province

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue praised the new initiatives of agricultural cooperatives in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong when visiting a number of farms on July 6.

He said the government is paying special attention to developing and expanding production linkage models to help farming households raise their income.

Deputy PM Hue added that the government has directed relevant agencies to amend a number of resolutions to encourage more investment in agriculture and that the VND100 trillion (US$4.4 billion) loan package for agriculture will soon be disbursed.

In recent years, Lam Dong has emerged as a province home to effective agricultural production cooperation models, with revenues estimated at tens of billions of Vietnamese dong per hectare.

At a flower farm of Hoa Mat Troi Company in Duc Trong district, the deputy PM was briefed on its cooperation with 52 households to grow orchids, which are collected by the company, processed, packaged and exported to Japan, Australia, Russia and Singapore, or distributed to other provinces in Vietnam.

In addition to raising household incomes, Hoa Mat Troi also creates jobs for about 300 local residents with monthly wages of VND5 million (US$220) each.

Lam Dong Deputy Chairman Pham S said the link between Hoa Mat Troi and farming household is effectively a form of cooperative which share both profits and risks with farmers.

The same day, Deputy PM Hue also visited the Tan Tien Cooperative in Da Lat which is managing 30 hectares of fruit and vegetables of more than 20 households, with an annual revenue of VND500 million (US$22,000) per hectare.

Tan Tien Cooperative Chairman Mai Van Khoi said organic fertilisers are used to ensure that the products are safe.