Hanoi (VNA) – Delegates from theNetherlands’Agriterra agricultural development support organisation sharedtheir experience in coping with impacts of globalisation in developingcooperatives, agriculture and rural areas during a recent workshop in Hanoi.

According to Tran Thu Hang, deputy head of theVietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA)’s international cooperation department,Agriterra has partnered with the Vietnam Farmers’ Union and some of itschapters in Vietnamese cities and provinces since 2003.

In 2016, Agriterra experts conducted a survey inthe country and realised the necessity of promoting comprehensive cooperationwith the VCA, she said.

The Dutch organisation along with the VCA hasconnected 16 cooperatives and invested millions of USD in a joint programme todevelop cooperatives, she added.

Le Thang Long, deputy head of the VCA’s  policy and development department, pointed tothe fact that most of cooperatives meet difficulties in accessing loans fromcredit organisations and the management capacity of cooperatives officials ispoor. As a result, their business production efficiency is not high.

He called on Agritterra to open more workshopswith the participation of Dutch experts to share their experience in developingcooperatives.

The Vietnamese side also hoped for the organisation’shelp to gain access to new varieties and technologies as well as improve cooperatives’management capacity and build agri-product value chains, he said.

The economic sector of cooperative groups andcooperatives is making up nearly 4.8 percent of the country’s gross domesticproduct (GDP), according to VCA statistics.

The country had 21,026 active cooperatives as ofJune 30, 2018, up 934 against the previous year.

Of the figure, more than half are agriculturalcooperatives and agricultural service ones (agriculture, forestry, seafood, andsalt industry). More than 9,000 cooperatives, equivalent to 45 percent, areoperating effectively.-VNA