In 2017, Jiangsu Farmer Cooperative Federation became a Joint Implementation Unit of IFAD’s Medium Term Cooperation Programme with Farmers’ Organisations in Asia and the Pacific, Phase II (MTCP2). Under the support of the Program, the development of the members of the Federation has been well supported.
Gaoyou Sunshine Specialty Aquaculture Cooperative is one of the members of the Federation. The Cooperative was established in March 2000 and it specializes in the cultivation of Macrobrachium rosenbergii, fresh shrimp sales, frozen processing, information consultation, technical guidance training, new varieties of aquaculture, and promotion.
Change the sales strategies with the help of the program. Facing the marketing dilemma of the live shrimp market, the Cooperative has been looking for a way out and trying various channels, for example, to produce quick-frozen river shrimps and quick-frozen prawns. But the results have been minimal. It was September-October 2018, shrimp prices were in a low state when the shrimp cultivation reached the final stage of pond cleaning. With the support of the Program and the guidance of the Program Implementation Unit, the Cooperative processed the shrimp of its members into a series of frozen products. The market price of non-members was usually 13.5-15 yuan per catty, while the price of shrimp processed by the Cooperative reached 18.5-21 yuan per catty, with an average income increase of 7,500 yuan per household. It can be said that it was through the transformation that the Cooperative helped its members to increase their income and survive the market downturn.
Enhance service capacity to achieve sustainable development of the Cooperative. According to the needs of development, under the guidance of the Program Implementation Unit, the Cooperative timely revised and improved its Articles of Association – being the 6th amendment since its establishment. According to the service content and business pattern of the Cooperative, the special organizations have been set up, the member congresses, councils, and supervisory boards have been established, and the management organizations such as marketing departments, technical service stations, quality control rooms, laboratories, and finance sections have been organized. The Cooperative has set up a “one-stop” service center for its members, which mainly deals with three things: deal with the business of purchasing and selling on behalf of the members and inquiring about the current accounts of the members; Answer member’s technical consultation; Provision of free training to members, and four training sessions were conducted in 2017 with the support of the Program. The service of the Cooperative has been recognized by its members, and its members have grown from 4 at the time of its establishment to 198 at present, bringing along 1,560 non-member farmers and increasing the coverage from 300 mu to 1,196 mu.
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