Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime MinisterVuong Dinh Hue has emphasised the importance of ensuring quality andeffectiveness of agricultural cooperatives, instead of pursuing formalism intheir establishment.

He made the remark at a meeting on August 18that discussed policies about linking production and consumption ofagricultural products and the development of 15,000 agricultural cooperativesand cooperative unions by 2020.

Deputy PM Hue, who also leads of the SteeringCommittee for Innovation and Development of Collective Economy and Cooperatives,said thanks to various efforts by authorities at all levels and sectors, thecollective economy and cooperatives have got rid of prolonged weaknesses andbegun to flourish, making up 5.6 percent of total GDP.

With the current development trend, the targetof 15,000 cooperatives by 2020 is quite reachable, he noted.

The National Assembly issued Resolution32/2016/QH14 on continuing to improve the implementation of the national targetprogramme on building new-style rural areas in association with agriculturalrestructuring. Meanwhile, Decision 461/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister aims atdeveloping 15,000 effective agricultural cooperatives and cooperative unions by2020.

He said the two documents stress not only thequantity but also the quality of cooperatives, and utmost efforts must be madeto achieve that goal.

It is necessary to keep promoting the qualitythe 4,400 cooperatives with effective operations, and 1,500 of them must applyhigh technology. Meanwhile, the weak ones must improve themselves to operateeffectively by 2020, the official added.

Hue also underlined the need to continueimproving public awareness, especially among Party members, officials andfarmers, of the plan on setting up 15,000 cooperatives.

Setting up cooperatives is a compulsory taskwith farmers being the key player to develop large-scale agriculturalproduction, he noted.

According to a report of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development, by the end of June, there had been 39cooperative unions and almost 12,600 cooperatives working in the agriculturalsector. More than 1,140 cooperatives were set up in the first half of thisyear.

A survey of 9,266 agricultural cooperatives in2017 showed that only 12 percent of them operated well while another 12.4percent performed poorly.

The ministry admitted that some localities haveestablished cooperatives only to meet the 13th target of the new-style ruralarea building programme while ignoring their operation effectiveness. Somecooperatives have been set up but only waited for the State’s support.

At the meeting, Vice Chairman of the People’sCommittee of the Central Highland Lam Dong province Pham S suggested focusingon hi-tech and smart agriculture while pushing ahead with trade promotion toenhance competitiveness. He also called on the Government to facilitatecooperatives’ access to capital to reach the target of 15,000 cooperatives by2020.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the People’sCommittee of central Nghe An province Dinh Viet Hong asked for specificpolicies on the establishment of cooperatives in mountainous and ethnicminority areas.-VNA