Page 51 - Agricultural innovation

development strategy of Vietnam’s agriculture. Connecting the market through branding of local
agricultural products will have many development opportunities for other localities to follow.
However, scaling the model will face many challenges. First of all, the creativity and exploration
of the cooperative leadership in finding business partners, programs and projects as well as potential
markets. Technical support such as visits, training, equipment support or product promotion and
branding costs is extremely expensive for cooperatives with limited financial potential.

4.7.4. Conclusions
The model of agricultural product branding at Thuan Phat Cooperative is a typical example for increasing
the value of agricultural products and farmers’ income. Developing a multi-value, organic farming
model on the basis of product diversification to reduce the use of chemicals and chemical fertilizers has
helped to reduce costs and increase product quality. High-quality organic agricultural products are an
important basis in building regional specialty brands, creating opportunities to participate more deeply
in domestic and foreign supply chains. This is a model that should be encouraged to develop in order to
enhance the role of the collective economy in the development process of rural area of Vietnam.

4.8. Model of Agriculture Adapting to Climate Change
at Giong Trom in Ben Tre Province

4.8.1. General information
Climate change in recent years has increased saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta, especially in
coastal provinces. The largest salinity intrusion in 2016 or 2020 has caused many areas to lack fresh
water for domestic use and salinized crop areas to reduce productivity or die. Many measures to
prevent saltwater intrusion have been applied. However, given the production scale of households or
groups of households (cooperatives), the conversion of crops and animals to adapt to climate change
is a “favorable” solution (suitable to natural conditions), especially for the farmers in the coastal area
of Ben Tre. In order to minimize the negative impacts of saline intrusion, farmers have applied many
different measures, including the planning of orchards with a local surrounding dike system that can
control the salinity of the water and develop the multi-crops garden. In addition, the application of
salinity and pest control devices in orchards with the support of IFAD Ben Tre’s project has created
conditions for households to stabilize their income and improve their living standards in recent years.
It is a model of agricultural production adapting to climate change at Giong Trom Pomelo Cooperative
in Luong Quoi commune, Giong Trom district, Ben Tre province. The shift from monoculture to
polyculture combined with the construction of an internal surrounding dike to control salinity has
helped households in the cooperative to limit damage and ensure the amount of fruit for their crops to
meet consumption contracts with major trading partners.

4.8.2. Model development
Giong Trom Pomelo Cooperative was established in 2013 with an initial membership of only 12 and
has expanded to 80 members with a variety of activities. To be able to maintain all kinds of services for
households, cooperative members have mobilized capital from cooperative members about 300 million
VND. In 2016, the cooperative signed a successful output sale agreement with VinEco Agricultural
Development Investment Production Co., Ltd., making an important contribution to stabilizing the
output of green-skinned pomelo products in Giong Trom area. In addition, the cooperative continues
to reorient the production plan by finding and linking more with cooperative groups and individual
households growing pomelo in the area with the association of 28 more pomelo growing households
with a large area from 0.5–1.2ha; link production and consumption for cooperatives such as: Binh

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