The delegation included Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Quang Long, Vice President of the Cuban Small Farmers' Association Yamila, representatives of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with Peoples, the Cuba - Vietnam Friendship Association and young people from the capital Havana.

Expressing his emotion and pride in visiting and offering flowers in memory of the great President Ho Chi Minh, comrade Luong Quoc Doan emphasized: "The statue of President Ho Chi Minh is solemnly placed in the Peace Park in the capital of Havana, a very meaningful symbol of the special friendship and solidarity between the two Parties, States and People of Vietnam and Cuba."

"Throughout countless difficulties and hardships during the years of fighting for national liberation and defending the country, our two countries have always been comrades, friends, and brothers, standing shoulder to shoulder and supporting each other, as President Ho Chi Minh once advised: "Vietnam and Cuba are thousands of miles apart, but the hearts of the two peoples are as close as brothers in one family" - Comrade Luong Quoc Doan shared.

Comrade Luong Quoc Doan expressed his belief that with courage, intelligence and unceasing efforts, the Party, State and people of Cuba will overcome all difficulties and challenges and always firmly move forward on the path to socialism.

Also on the morning of June 10, 2024, the delegation laid flowers at the monument to Cuban national hero José Martí.

Delegation of Vietnam Farmers' Association visits Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative

On the afternoon of June 10, 2024, Comrade Luong Quoc Doan, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Farmers' Union and the working delegation visited the Juan Bruno Zayas Agricultural Cooperative in Cerro en District, La Habana. The delegation included Comrade Yamila, Vice President of the Cuban Small Farmers' Association and representatives of the units under the Cuban Small Farmers' Association.

At the cooperative headquarters, the delegation listened to the Board of Directors of the Cooperative discuss the organizational structure and operations of the Cooperative. The Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative consists of 46 members (including 2 party members, 16 women, 30 men, 3 youth union members) with an average production land area of ​​0.5 ha/household.

The cooperative was established with the aim of gathering individual farming households, benefiting from land from agricultural reform, to coordinate in production, product consumption, supply products to vulnerable groups, and access credit and farming tool support from the Government.

The cooperative focuses on producing agricultural products such as vegetables, potatoes, cassava, mangoes, strawberries, etc. The cooperative's agricultural products are sold to the state purchasing system at regulated prices and a portion is retained to serve the family's needs.

The cooperative has a Board of Directors and a Members' Conference is held periodically to consider and approve new production and business plans. In addition, the cooperative has its own lawyer and pays daily wages. The profits of members participating in the cooperative's activities are divided according to the responsibilities of each member and their contributions to the cooperative's common activities.

Currently, La Habana has about 4,500 landowners, of which 50% own land area under 1 hectare, 24% own area of ​​0.25 hectare. Among 87 similar cooperative models in La Habana, Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative has the largest land area with 66 hectares managed by 03 households.

The Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative model is one of two basic types of cooperatives in Cuba, including credit and service cooperatives, agricultural production cooperatives, and the "basic cooperative production unit" model. Cooperatives are established with the aim of taking advantage of idle land, diversifying production, thereby ensuring self-sufficiency in most necessary foods. In addition to producing and trading agricultural products, the Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative participates in a number of related activities to serve agriculture, creating additional income for members such as credit support, service consulting, etc.

Answering the delegation's questions, the Director of the cooperative said that the cooperative is currently facing common difficulties due to the impact of the long-term blockade and embargo policies, backward agricultural mechanization, lack of input materials, and difficulty accessing credit from international banks...

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers' Association Luong Quoc Doan highly appreciated the management, operation and development process of the Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative, and shared the difficulties and challenges the Cooperative is facing.

Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association Luong Quoc Doan said that in Vietnam, there are also cooperative models similar to the Juan Bruno Zayas Cooperative. The Party and State of Vietnam have issued policies to encourage the establishment and development of cooperatives such as the Law on Cooperatives, preferential capital policies, and incentives for businesses to invest in agriculture, etc.