Livestream sales: Farmers in Dong Nai participate in supply chain

On July 21, Dong Nai Provincial Farmers' Union coordinated with FPT Polytechnic Dong Nai College, located in Tam Hiep Ward, to organize a livestream event to sell Tan Trieu pomelo, a specialty pomelo, to help farmers in Tan Trieu commune. This is the first activity of the program to support and accompany farmers in Dong Nai province to participate in online livestream sales.

The livestream session selling Tan Trieu pomelo, a specialty pomelo, to help farmers in Tan Trieu commune was organized by the Provincial Farmers' Union in coordination with FPT Polytechnic Dong Nai College, located in Tam Hiep Ward. Photo: B. Nguyen

Recently, the province has had many activities to support farmers and businesses in trade promotion; especially participating in selling agricultural products and specialties on e-commerce (e-commerce) platforms and social networks. This is a very potential channel for agricultural product consumption, helping farmers to be more proactive in output when they can participate in the agricultural product distribution chain and build the brand of farmers' agricultural products.

New consumption channel with great potential

With about 1 hour of livestream selling Tan Trieu pomelo specialty and the product having been introduced on social media pages before, the livestream session on July 21 sold about 2,000 pomelos for farmers.

Participating in the livestream program to sell pomelos, Bui Van Ty, Head of Tan Trieu Organic Pomelo Cooperative Group in Tan Trieu commune, shared that farmers have mastered the techniques of planting and caring to produce delicious pomelos. The cooperative group has also switched to organic farming to produce safe pomelos. The difficulty for farmers over time has still been the story of "good harvest, low price", and farmers hope to be supported in accessing online sales channels so that local agricultural products and specialties have a more stable output.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Minh Vuong, Director of Vuong Huong Trading and Service Co., Ltd. (Tan Trieu commune), said that the business has linked with farmers to form cultivation areas under VietGAP and organic processes, participating in OCOP 4-star certification for Tan Trieu pomelo with the goal of building a brand for local specialties.

 Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the output of pomelo has become increasingly unstable; especially when pomelo is harvested in abundance, the price of pomelo is often below the production cost, but consumption is still slow. Recognizing that consumers' needs have changed, they are used to ordering online for home delivery, so businesses are promoting advertising and sales channels on e-commerce channels or social networks. Although still quite new, this is a very effective consumption channel.

Tran Duy Phong, Director of FPT Polytechnic Dong Nai College, said that the school coordinates with the Provincial Farmers' Union in implementing a program to support farmers and businesses in livestreaming agricultural product sales. In phase 1, the school provides free equipment, technical support, and human resources to support farmers in selling agricultural products and OCOP products of the province.

The sales channel belongs to the businesses and farmers themselves so that after the program ends, they can continue to livestream and sell products on their social media pages. In the future, the school is ready to accompany farmers in developing these online sales channels. In fact, after being supported and familiarized, farmers can completely organize livestream sales of agricultural products right at their gardens.

Opportunities for farmers to take part in the distribution chain

Recently, Dong Nai has paid great attention to developing e-commerce, including supporting farmers and businesses to promote brands and participate in e-commerce exchanges. Businesses, cooperatives, farmers are also facilitated to participate in training programs on brand building and effective online product promotion methods, online business training, etc.

Recently, more and more e-commerce platforms and online markets selling agricultural products have been opened. Online agricultural product business is gradually becoming popular because it is a distribution channel with many competitive advantages, where buyers and sellers directly transact without going through too many intermediaries like traditional distribution channels. Especially, in the context of economic difficulties and reduced purchasing power, farmers livestreaming sales themselves is one of the solutions to effectively consume agricultural products.

Nong Senh Bau, Director of Dong Du Ky Import-Export Trading and Food Production Co., Ltd., located in Trang Bom commune, shared that the enterprise is very interested in investing in promotion and sales on e-commerce channels. This is a very effective new sales channel, saving costs and limiting risks, very suitable for businesses in the current difficult period. A favorable condition for developing online sales is that even elderly consumers in both urban and rural areas use smartphones, browse Facebook, have online accounts, and have a habit of shopping online.

Tran Duy Phong, Director of FPT Polytechnic Dong Nai College, added that through practical implementation, it has been shown that Vietnamese people really like products grown by gardeners and directly introduced to consumers. Farmers are very good at production but are still weak in spreading information about their products or building brands for their agricultural products.

"Through practical implementation, I see that farmers livestreaming sales have created a very good effect with consumers nationwide. Vietnamese people are currently using social media and online communication a lot, which is an opportunity for farmers to promote and sell online," Tran Duy Phong shared.

The Provincial Farmers' Union also has many programs to support farmers in digital transformation. Specifically, the Provincial Farmers' Union has signed an agreement with the Provincial Post Office on a cooperation program to support farmers in digital transformation in agricultural product production and consumption, goods for the period 2022-2025. The purpose is to support good production and business households, individual business households, cooperatives, cooperative groups, and professional association branches to participate in e-commerce platforms to connect, promote, introduce products, add new distribution channels, and expand domestic and international markets.

Le Thi Thu Huong, in charge of the socio-economic sector of the Provincial Farmers' Union, said that to support farmers in consuming agricultural products, the Provincial Farmers' Union has connected many programs to support agricultural product consumption, including livestreaming sales. This program has received a very good response from both farmers and consumers. In the coming time, the union will promote this activity, supporting farmers to participate in the agricultural product distribution to ensure a more stable output for their products.

Reported by Binh Nguyen