(VOVWORLD) - Ha Giang has 370 cooperatives with more than 8,900 members and 41 traditional craft villages involving 3,000 households, with each worker earning about 170 USD a month. The model of cooperatives and craft villages is helping locals reduce poverty.
 Corn liquor making craft in Chi hamlet, Xuan Giang commune, Ha Giang province (Photo: VOV) |
Quang Binh, a disadvantaged district established 10 years ago in Ha Giang province, has 5 communes and 39 hamlets engaged in traditional crafts. Local authorities are trying to preserve the best quality craft products for promotion to a larger market.
Xuan Giang commune is thought to have a potential for economic growth selling corn liquor, fish sauce, and meat sauce.
Hoang Thi Nga of Chi hamlet in Xuan Giang commune said restoring the local liquor -making craft has increased the villagers’ income.
“In the past, liquor was brewed mainly for the family. Now each month we sell about 20 liters, earning some 200 USD,” said Nga.
Chi hamlet in Xuan Giang commune has 130 households engaged in making corn liquor and providing community tourism services.
Hoang Van Toan, Party Secretary and Head of the hamlet, said that after the completion of building new-style rural in 2016, the local corn liquor found stable markets thanks to the assistance of the Quang Binh district People's Committee.
He said, “We persuaded villagers to get involved in corn liquor production to improve their living standard. Every household in the hamlet could sell hundreds of liters of liquor each month.”
Quang Binh has 27 agricultural production and service cooperatives. Vu Tien Thanh, Deputy Director of Thanh Thuy Agricultural Cooperative in Vi Thuong commune, said the cooperative was established in 2017 with 7 members.
After the Ha Giang provincial People's Committee helped the co-op obtain an interest-free loan of nearly 44,000 USD, its revenue tripled in two years, said Thanh, adding “The local producers used to depend on small traders who sometimes wouldn’t buy the items when the villagers needed to sell. Now they can sell to the cooperative at any time. The prices are always reasonable.”
Vi Thuong commune in Quang Binh district is famous for rice products. Long Duc Trung, Secretary of the commune’s Party Committee, said 5 cooperatives in Vi Thuong are operating profitably.
According to Trung, “The cooperative model is useful. Cooperatives help farmers sell their products more easily. Cooperatives find partners to help the farmers.”
After traditional craft villages with agricultural products started meeting the VietGAP standards and joined the OCOP program, per capita income in Quang Binh district grew to 1,400 USD per year. The OCOP, initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, is an economic development program for rural areas.
Nguyen Van Hoang, Head of the Agriculture Section of Quang Bình district, said, “Based on their potential, we help traditional craft villages increase the quantity and quality of their agricultural products and build brands in line with OCOP requirements. We also help household groups form cooperatives and improve their knowledge of what the market needs to make their products more profitable.”