Assessing The Situation Of Service Provision, Technology Transfer And Studying Supportive Policies On Agricultural Cooperatives

In order to help farmers improving their production condition, there is a need to link the input and output operations; the organization of agricultural cooperatives may, therefore, be the best form. Mekong Delta is the largest agro-ecological zone and granary of Vietnam. However, the development of agricultural cooperatives in the area is lower than that of the country whereas it has enormous potential for the development of the cooperative economy.The service provision and science-technology transfer in the agricultural cooperatives play a very important role in transferring the agricultural production structure, improving product quality, reducing production costs, etc. It is an appropriate step in the market economy and international economic integration process. The research on service provision and science-technology transfer of the agricultural cooperatives is to answer the following questions:(1) which types of service provision and science-technology transfer of agricultural cooperatives are effective? (2) Which policies can encourage and impulse the cooperative development? (3) Which policies are needed to help agricultural cooperatives improve their operation in service provision and science-technology transfer?The general objective of research was to put forward scientific solutions and policies which assist the agricultural cooperatives in enhancing service provision and agricultural science-technology transfer activities for households in Mekong Delta-Vietnam. The specific objectives were to study the scientific basis of service provision and science-technology transfer in agricultural cooperatives, to assess the actual situation of service provision and science-technology transfer in agricultural cooperatives, to identify factors affecting the effectiveness of service provision and science-technology transfer in agricultural cooperatives, to analysis of the actual situation of supportive policies on AC development, to define the shortcomings of AC supportive policies and to put forward solutions and policies to help cooperatives improving service provision and agricultural science-technology transfer activities to households.We did the survey on 5 provinces including Tien Giang, Kien Giang, Dong Thap, Can Tho and An Giang which are typical for the cooperative development in Mekong Delta. Three cooperatives in each of two districts in each province were chosen thanks to their operation in service provision and science-technology transfer. Five members in each cooperative were interviewed to evaluate the effectiveness of their services. The main data collection method was questionnaire survey for cooperative managers, member households, non-member households and district and provincial management agencies.The main findings of the research showed that there were many policies to promote and support the development of cooperatives in Vietnam in general and in Mekong Delta in particular. Initially, there were many positive changes, but they still had some overlapping legal texts, low performance, and infeasibility.The research also found that agricultural cooperatives in Mekong Delta offered various types of services for agricultural production such as irrigation, crop varieties, field protection, agricultural extension, veterinary and plant protection, fertilizers and pesticides, land preparation, processing and marketing, credit offering, etc. However, many services did not meet the requirements of their members, and economic efficiency as well as social efficiency were not as high as expected due to lack of capital, human resources, facilities, and supportive policies. Although member households had very high demand on output services, especially agricultural product processing and consumption services, very few agricultural cooperatives offered these services and if any, the efficiency was often very low. The intervention of local authorities reduced the self-control ability of agricultural cooperatives in services providing and did not encourage members to contribute capital for business activities development of agricultural cooperatives. Nevertheless, many types of service were highly appreciated by cooperative members. In general, the agricultural cooperatives had been proving to be effective although they were still quite modest in Vietnam.Some solutions and policies were recommended to assist cooperatives to improve service provision and agricultural science-technology transfer activities to households. These included general policies for all of the cooperatives such as personnel and human resource training, land policy, finance-credit policy, investment policy for cooperatives, science and technology policy, and tax policy. In addition, there were specific policies for each type of service such as policies on land preparation, internal credit, fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary and plant protection, irrigation, agricultural extension (science technology transfer), consumption and other services.