An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company has recently issued nearly 1.9 million stocks to more than 1,700 farmers who joined the company’s model of large-scale rice fields. This is just the beginning of the company’s plan to sell shares to over 6000 farmers in the Mekong Delta Region. Becoming company shareholders, these farmers can now enjoy more benefits from the company’s value chain. They will receive full support for their farming work, from the selection of breeds and fertilizers, to processing and finding outlets for their products.

Farmer Le Thanh Son from Long An province, whose family has had many generations involved in farm work, now has high hopes to become well-off from rice cultivation. After several crops working with the company as its material providers, Son and other peasants have gradually become used to a modern manufacturing process where they don’t have to worry about production expenses and final outputs. Le Thanh Son told VOV: "I don’t know anything about the stock market but after consulting with the companies, I decided to purchase. I’m happy that a genuine farmer like myself can become a member of such a large company."

The Mekong Delta Region’s rice value chain is a system connecting steps for rice production that involves many participants, including farmers, traders, processing and supply companies, distributors, and exporters, with farmers playing a key role. An Giang company’s new method of applying a large-scale rice field model and offering farmers company shares has proved to be effective, according to Lai Xuan Mon, deputy chairman of Vietnam’s Farmers’ Association: "This is really a breakthrough for the restructuring of our national agricultural system with the involvement of the entire political system in accordance with the Prime Minister’s guidelines to ensure profits for farmers. This model should be encouraged with the ultimate goal being to improve farmers’ incomes. Once this model is expanded, the farmers’ production could become sustainable."

Huynh Van Thon, General Director of An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company, spoke at a press briefing in early April, 2014 to announce a program to offer farmers with shares at preferential prices. Photo: internet

Farmers taking part in share-buying and selling is considered a major landmark in establishing connections between 2 major direct parts of production and consumption. In addition, An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company not only benefited by earning more than 2.8 million USD from selling shares, but also from the close ties established between the company and the farmers. Huynh Van Thon, General Director of An Giang Plant Protection Joint Stock Company, said: "This model is said to replace the collective model in the development roadmap for market-oriented agricultural commodity production. Farmers’ rice deposits at our companies is a way of transaction, the next step is to calculate business and financial efficiency. This is part of the preparations for closer cooperation between farmers and business, as our affiliates are to be equatized in the future. Farmers will become the masters in the production process by becoming company shareholders."