Regional research “Agricultural innovations review in Sub-Mekong region countries” in the framework of the project “Network for Agriculture and Rural Development Think-tanks for Countries in Mekong sub-region” – November 2022 - April 2023.

Binh Minh agriculture and service cooperative was founded by young woman Trieu Thi Chau. Despite having high education level, Chau decided to return home to develop the economy through her family's coffee and pepper garden. She applied scientific knowledge to plant care, generating a stable income and saving 80-100 million VND annually. Ms. Chau established Binh Minh Agriculture and Service Cooperative in 2016 to link farmers together to reduce production costs and increase product selling prices. The cooperative attracted 27 Dao ethnic people from the Northern provinces, with 17 having university and college degrees.

Organic pepper garden and drying equipment at Binh Minh Cooperative

          Source: IPSARD’s survey in 2022.

The cooperative has attracted 145 members, with an average income of 150-500 million VND/year. The cooperative has also sold other agricultural products, such as avocado, banana, and durian, to the public. In 2017, the cooperative was supported by the sustainable pepper project 4C of Hanoi Import-Export Production Service Joint Stock Company with a loan of 150 million VND to build a warehouse for storing agricultural products. The cooperative has also provided training courses on sustainable coffee development and built a drying system using coffee husks and rice husks burned by flox technology to make green coffee beans beautiful and quality. The cooperative has also helped to change people's thinking about collective economic model, as the elders in the village are "allergic" to the former subsidy-era cooperative. The model of building collective economic organizations like Binh Minh Agricultural Service Cooperative in Dak Lak province offers opportunities for agricultural economic integration and rural development, reducing the gap with urban areas.

Click this link for detail information: Binh Minh cooperative model of young teenagers in Dak Lak province