The entire province has had 145 agricultural cooperatives. The main activities of agricultural cooperatives are still mainly managing the production of two crops with rice as the main crop. During process of production management, cooperatives have gradually increased the value of rice grains by building a brand of high-quality rice, applying science, technique and digital technology to both production and consumption.

Rice products are supported in trade promotion, boosting consumption in the market

Currently, in the cooperative fields, land preparation is done by plows with rice being sown by seeders, pesticides are sprayed by drones, harvesting is done by harvesters, straw is also rolled automatically by machines. After harvest, rice is transported to the cooperative for drying and automatic bagging, etc. It can be said that all production stages are being carried out by cooperatives through using mechanization with an average rate of over 90%.

An Nghiep Agricultural Cooperative (Tuy An district) is one of the first cooperatives in the province to put rice dryers into operation. From 2019 to now, the dryer has been operating well with a capacity of from 15 tons to 35 tons/batch, helping people no longer worry about the unusual rainy and sunny weather each harvest. Following this cooperative, many other cooperatives in the province have also invested in dryers, freeing up labor and stabilizing production.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Dong, Director of Hoa Phong Agricultural Service Cooperative (Tay Hoa district), the unit invested in purchasing an electric dryer with a capacity of 5 tons to 8 tons of rice/shift. Particularly, the machine is operated with smart technology 4.0, which means it automatically turns off when the humidity and heat are sufficient. Currently, with the unusual weather, if the rice is only left to dry in the sun after harvest, the humidity will still remain, causing the rice grains to be of poor quality. Putting the dryer into operation will meet the needs of the people, helping people to store rice for a long time, waiting for the time to sell without being forced to lower prices.

Not only applying production techniques such as row sowing, sparse sowing, integrated pest management IPM, “1 must, 5 reductions”, “3 reductions, 3 increases”, etc., Hoa Dinh Dong Agricultural Service Cooperative (Phu Hoa district) also piloted a model of reasonable land and fertilizer use for rice plants through using digital technology. Mr. Le Van Dinh, Director of the cooperative, said: The database on agricultural land will be digitized into software. Cooperative members only need to use their phones and download the software to grasp all information about the land associated with each stage of growth and development of rice plants and each stage of land preparation, seeding, panicle formation, etc. At each stage, the software will recommend the appropriate amount of fertilizer and pesticides for the best growth of the plants as well as warn of the risk of disease outbreaks for immediate treatment upon detection, etc.

Improving production techniques and changing outdated farming habits have helped rice grains become valuable products. This value has once again been affirmed by cooperatives’ building high-quality rice brands. These include the fragrant rice product Hoa Vang of An Nghiep Agricultural Cooperative (Tuy An district), Hoa Phu quality rice of Hoa Phu Agricultural Service Cooperative (Tay Hoa district), Dat Phu high-quality rice of Phu Yen Agricultural Cooperative (Phu Hoa district), Hoa Thanh high-quality rice of Hoa Thanh General Agricultural Service Cooperative (Dong Hoa town), Hoa Quang Nam quality rice of Hoa Quang Nam Agricultural Service Cooperative (Phu Hoa district), etc.

Mr. Tran Tan Khoa, Director of An Nghiep Agricultural Cooperative, said: In 2022, the fragrant rice product Hoa Vang of the cooperative achieved the provincial-level 3-star OCOP certification. After the expiration date, the cooperative continued to complete the registration dossier and the product once again achieved the 2nd 3-star OCOP certification in 2024. Along with this process, the cooperative's rice products are becoming more and more professional. Not only is the quality of rice improved, but the packaging design and product information are also becoming clearer and more transparent. Thanks to that, the product is available in supermarkets and stores, and many companies have registered to represent it for consumption. An Nghiep rice is available in domestic and foreign stores.