Tai Hoan Cooperative, Con Minh Commune (Na Ri District) is one of 10 enterprises and cooperatives in Bac Kan Province that benefited from the Agricultural Business Investment Promotion Fund (APIF). The Cooperative was supported with a vermicelli production line and an electronic scale. From only producing a few hundred kilograms of vermicelli per day, thanks to resources supported by the APIF Fund, the production capacity increased to more than 2 tons of vermicelli per day.

Up to now, Tai Hoan vermicelli is also the only product of Bac Kan province to achieve 5-star OCOP. To have a stable source of raw materials, the cooperative has cooperated with more than 600 households growing cassava, of which a part of the area meets organic standards. Thanks to good quality raw materials, combined with modern processing machinery, Tai Hoan vermicelli products have been exported to the European market for many years.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoan, Director of Tai Hoan Cooperative, said that after receiving support for the processing line from the Business Support Project for Farm Households (CSSP) of Bac Kan province, the Cooperative's capacity has increased from 500kg/day to 2,500kg/day. This support resource helps the Cooperative expand production and create jobs for local workers.

In Ba Be district, APIF also sponsored Hoang Huynh Cooperative (Khang Ninh commune) with more than 600 million VND to buy banana seeds, support fertilizers, vacuum fryers, and trucks. From this resource, Hoang Huynh Cooperative has successfully built a model of linking production and processing of dried bananas. The cooperative's dried banana products have begun to gain a foothold in the market, bringing high economic value. Within the framework of the project, the Cooperative has created regular jobs for 2 workers and 92 short-term workers.

Mr. Hoang Van Huynh, Director of Hoang Huynh Cooperative, shared that when it was first established, the Cooperative faced many difficulties, lacking both experience and capital. Thanks to the support from the CSSP project of Bac Kan province, the Cooperative was able to invest in machinery and have cars to transport goods. Currently, the unit's raw banana growing area is developing well, meeting the processing needs.

From April 2020 to present, from APIF Fund resources, the Bac Kan CSSP Project has signed 3 funding contracts for 10 cooperatives and enterprises. However, 1 unit terminated the contract ahead of schedule due to failure to comply with the commitment. To date, the project has completed the appraisal, acceptance and handover of 9 sub-projects and completed the reimbursement of support funds for eligible funding items according to the signed contract.

The total amount of funds disbursed to units is more than 11 billion VND, cooperatives and enterprises have contributed more than 23 billion VND (88%). From this fund, enterprises and cooperatives have invested in building factories, purchasing means and equipment for production such as transport vehicles, product dryers, warehouses, and new equipment lines.

From the support resources, the whole Bac Kan province has 2,511 households (495 poor households, 244 near-poor households, 2,326 ethnic minority households) benefiting from the sub-projects. The total value of purchasing products from people, groups and cooperatives reached 32.4 billion VND.

The support resources of the CSSP project have helped businesses and cooperatives develop better and expand their production scale. The quality of products has been improved, increasing competitiveness in the market. From here, a number of agricultural production chains have been formed and developed well, such as: Chain of planting and processing cassava; chain of planting bananas, turmeric, ginger, shallots, rice, corn, pigs, and chickens.

Developing agricultural production chains not only brings higher profits but also helps farmers change their mindset, moving from small-scale, fragmented farming to commodity production. Farmers also improve their knowledge and production skills, thereby increasing their income, especially for ethnic minority households.