The Mường Khoe Xanh Agricultural Service Cooperative in Mường Ảng commune is considered a bright spot in collective economic development. In recent years, it has expanded its scale, built raw material areas, and linked with households to develop diverse crops such as longan, jackfruit, green-skinned pomelo, and Abiu. Specifically for Abiu, the cooperative has developed over 6 hectares, with many areas already harvested and bringing economic efficiency. This is a promising direction that contributes to diversifying products and asserting the value of local agricultural goods in the market.

Nguyễn Văn Mười from the cooperative shared that the unit focuses on growing fruit trees according to biosafety processes, strictly controlling everything from seeds and care to harvesting. By limiting chemicals and increasing the use of organic fertilizers alongside environmentally friendly technical measures, they ensure product safety and meet the rising demands of consumers.

The Hồng Phước Cooperative in Nà Tấu commune has also been expanding its scale and building raw material areas by linking with households to process specialty canna vermicelli for a stable market supply. Notably, the cooperative emphasizes product quality right from the production stage. By providing seeds, organizing technical training, and guiding safe cultivation processes, it helps linked households change their production methods to ensure products meet quality and food safety requirements.

Lò Văn Pâng, Director of the cooperative, noted that consumption previously relied on traders, leading to low value and a lack of investment from residents. However, joining the cooperative provides households with technical support and guaranteed consumption, causing agricultural quality and value to rise continuously.

Thanks to these flexible and effective methods, the production efficiency of residents has improved, with many families gaining a stable income from canna plants. Lò Văn Thanh, a member linked with the Hồng Phước Cooperative, mentioned that compared to corn or cassava, canna products offer much higher value, with efficiency sometimes increasing by three to four times. Joining the cooperative allows for more systematic production and higher product quality, providing a stable output that gives members peace of mind for long-term commitment.

Despite having land and climate advantages for characteristic crops like coffee, macadamia, and medicinal herbs, agricultural production in the province used to be small-scale and reliant on experience, leading to precarious outputs and low added value. To meet the demand for commodity-oriented development, forming agricultural cooperatives is seen as a suitable solution to change the production mindset of residents. By participating in an cooperative, many farmers shift from traditional methods to systematic processes, applying techniques and market-oriented quality control. Cooperatives organize production, supply inputs like seeds and fertilizer, and sign consumption contracts with enterprises, which minimizes price risks and improves income.

A distinct change is the application of safe production standards such as VietGAP, organic certification, and traceability. Instead of free production, cooperative members comply with strict processes from soil preparation to harvesting and preservation. This results in uniform quality and food safety, meeting the increasingly high market requirements. Many cooperatives have proactively built brands, labels, and packaging to elevate local agricultural value. Phí Văn Dương, Chairman of the provincial Cooperative Alliance, stated that cooperatives act as the connection in the value chain. Through contracts with businesses and supermarkets, products have stable outputs, limiting the “good harvest, low price” situation. Some have even applied information technology and joined e-commerce platforms to expand their markets beyond the province and toward export.

The entire province now has 358 cooperatives, a nearly 50% increase compared to 2020, with agriculture accounting for the majority at 246 units. Reality shows that for Điện Biên’s agricultural products to improve in value and competitiveness, developing cooperatives linked with value chains is an inevitable requirement.

Phí Văn Dương emphasized that individual production struggles to meet market demands, whereas the collective strength of cooperatives linked with enterprises creates synergy. Therefore, promoting science and technology, digital transformation, branding, and traceability should be a priority. Furthermore, training and improving the capacity of cooperative managers to adapt to market mechanisms and new development trends are essential for sustainable development.