Guidelines for government officials

- How to

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Guideline for cooperative leaders

History of the cooperative

Organisational structure of the cooperative

Cooperative activities from production to marketing

 Finance?
 Input?
 Production planning
 Packaging
 Marketing

Production planning:

When do they usually do production planning?

How do they develop production plan?

Who will be involved? Is there any voting process?

How does the production plan look like? (how detailed? )

How binding is the production plan?

Marketing:

How products are delivered to customers? Who is in charge of product packaging and cooperative
branding?

Who have ownership of products at different time?

Assets

What are assets that are involved in cooperative activities? Who own them? Who manage them?

From which sourced these assets were financed/given? (government? Member contribution? Etc.)

Are there any significant common (undivided) assets?

Requirement about maximum level of service that can be provided to outsiders:

Does cooperative leader know about it?

What he/she thinks about it?

Check: “vốn góp”. Do you have to contribute “von gop” for the cooperative capital at the moment?
If yes then how much (and regularity?). If no then why? And does the cooperative plan to do so in
the future? (Check failed attempts too, especially in Van Ho cooperative’s case).

-quality control? Training?

-information and knowledge sharing
-decision making and risk sharing, also distribution of benefit (not just profit)
-members’ contribution to cooperative capital
Guidelines for interviewing farmers

When did you join the cooperative?

Why did you decide to join the cooperative?

What did the government/project/cooperative leader communicate with you before and when you
join the cooperative? (explore their understanding of the cooperative)?

Check: service contract

Tell the history of the cooperative?

Organisational structure of the cooperative (check)

Check: “vốn góp”. Do you have to contribute “von gop” for the cooperative capital at the moment? If
yes then how much (and regularity?). If no then why? And does the cooperative plan to do so in the
future? (Check failed attempts too, especially in Van Ho cooperative’s case).

Production planning:

When do they usually do production planning?

How do they develop production plan?

Who will be involved? Is there any voting process?

How does the production plan look like? (how detailed? )

How binding is the production plan? How important it is to you?

Marketing:

How products are delivered to customers? Who is in charge of product packaging and cooperative
branding?

Who have ownership of products at different time?

Do farmers have information about (1) customers, (2) selling price of the cooperative, (3) cost of
marketing and branding and delivering, and (4) profit margin

Do farmers feel like they (1) are entitled to this information and (2) need to know this information?

Assets

What are assets that are involved in cooperative activities? Who own them? Who manage them?

From which sourced these assets were financed/given? (government? Member contribution? Etc.)

Are there any significant common (undivided) assets?

Requirement about maximum level of service that can be provided to outsiders:

Do members know about the concept of “service”

Do members know about this requirement? (might need to explain to them?)

What he/she thinks about it?

Transparency and democracy

Do you feel confident that you can express opinion and people/leader would consider it?

(Is there any information that they want to make more transparent, and is there any decision making
process that they want to be involved)

What is the benefit of the cooperative

Common interest?

-quality control? Training?

-information and knowledge sharing
-decision making and risk sharing, also distribution of benefit (not just profit)
-members’ contribution to cooperative capital