A large membership base and highly community-oriented operation, etc. are strengths of the core cooperatives within the province’s collective economic sector. When properly leveraged, these advantages provide a solid foundation for cooperatives to smoothly integrate after consolidation and affirm their role in the local socio-eco development.

Tuyet Diem Salt Village being interested in investing in the direction of both maintaining production and preserving traditional crafts as well as being an experiential tourist destination to attract tourists

Compared to provinces in the Central Highlands region, provincial cooperatives have a larger number of members. This is an advantage that enables cooperatives to mobilize contributed capital and implement  linkage services. According to the Provincial Cooperative Alliance, the province currently has 2 cooperative unions and 183 active cooperatives, with a total membership of 112,220 people. These members have contributed capital, raising the current charter capital to VND 295.7 billion. The services implemented by cooperatives are primarily aimed at serving their members. Since members are also the customers, a large membership base translates to greater self-consumption capacity within the cooperative.

Hoa Quang Nam Agricultural Service Cooperative (Phú Hòa District) is currently one of the cooperatives with the largest membership, with over 6,000 members. The cooperative offers a wide range of services, including agricultural production support, member lending, as well as the production and distribution of seed rice and high-quality rice, etc. Over 90% of the cooperative’s customers are its own members. According to Mr. Phan Van Thuan, Director of the cooperative, members remain closely connected to the not only due to geographical proximity but also due to the tangible benefits they receive such as dividends on contributed capital and profit-sharing when using the cooperative’s services. This strong member engagement fosters internal consumption capacity and maintains a supply-demand connection within the cooperative itself.

A large membership base and a broad production management scope are key advantages attracting organizations and businesses seeking to collaborate in developing stable raw material zones for processing. This, in turn, strengthens the linkages between cooperatives themselves and expands their potential for partnerships with enterprises and other production entities.

According to Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Anh, Director of Hong Dai Viet Manufacturing and Trading Co., Ltd., after conducting a survey to implement a model for growing medicinal plants for export in Tuy Hoa City and Dong Hoa Town, “We hope the local authorities will create favorable conditions for us to cooperate with an organization that can consolidate and maintain long-term production ties with local farmers, instead of having to contact each household individually and then organize them into a production area. The local authorities introduced us to several cooperatives, and currently, the sesame cultivation model in Đông Hòa Town is being effectively carried out by one of them.”

The traditional connection between cooperatives and craft villages or production areas spanning from production management to the development and governance of local agricultural brands - provides individual producers and small households gain more opportunities to improve their production and increase consumption capacity.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chung, a salt producer in the Tuyết Diêm salt-making village, Xuan Binh commune (Song Cau Town), shared: Through the cooperative, members have enhanced their techniques in rehabilitating salt fields, producing salt on tarpaulin-lined beds according to proper procedures, and applying preservation methods. In addition, they have received support such as plastic sheets for lining the fields, water pumps, and piping. Notably, Tuyet Diem salt has benefited from focused efforts by the cooperative, local authorities, and related organizations in brand development and market management, which has made sales easier for local producers over time.

Efficiently operating cooperatives have been instrumental in creating jobs and stabilizing the economic lives of their member households. According to the Provincial Cooperative Alliance, these cooperatives have supported over 115,000 members and workers in securing stable employment. Among them, 3,000 members and workers have been provided with regular employment within collective economic organizations, and 370 staff and workers have been enrolled in social insurance and health insurance as required by law.