SOCODEVI - Canadian Cooperation Society for International Development

Purpose

This project aims to reduce poverty and contribute to equitable economic growth by increasing the competitiveness and productivity of Vietnamese agricultural cooperatives. The project seeks to establish new market-oriented agricultural cooperatives, strengthen the knowledge, skills and competitiveness of farmers, strengthen cooperative management practices and develop a policy and regulatory environment that promotes cooperatives. The project expects to benefit up to 10,000 farm households in five provinces. Working with the Government of Vietnam and the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance, an umbrella group for cooperatives, the project aims to: (1) provide assistance to the Government of Vietnam to develop a national strategy to scale-up and replicate the success of high-performance cooperatives; (2) facilitate knowledge exchanges between Canadian agricultural cooperatives and Vietnamese agricultural officials and farmers; (3) develop and implement awareness campaigns on the value of cooperatives; (4) develop funding mechanisms to enable cooperatives to acquire new technology for the processing and marketing of agricultural products; (5) assist cooperatives to develop and implement business plans; (6) develop and deliver training programs on governance and gender equality to board members, managers and employees of cooperatives; (7) provide training to farmers on environmentally sustainable agricultural production techniques, such as the safe application of fertilizer and pesticides, and post-harvest handling in order to meet quality certification standards and access new markets.