Factors Influencing Rice Farmers’ Production Decisions to Join Cooperatives: A Case Study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Ho Dinh Phi, Trang Quach Thi Minh , Nghi Nguyen Quoc, *Minh Bui Quang

(Phan Thiet University, Vietnam; Politics and Administration Faculty, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Can Tho University, Vietnam; The Department of Industry and Trade of Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam; )

Abstract: Since the application of the Vietnam Law on Cooperatives in 2012, cooperative models have been interested in practice because it has brought about more profitable results, income and higher quality of life for cooperative members than individual production farmers. Understanding the factors influencing the production decisions to join a cooperative is a challenge for researchers and policymakers in Vietnam. Based on the theoretical framework of economic theory and practice in Vietnam, the study conducted a field survey of 450 rice farming households in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and used Binary Logistic regression analysis. The results show that some influencing factors include: Gender of household head; Distance from the cooperative to the nearest central market; Level of contact with agricultural extension officers; Access to credit; Scale of rice land; Feel the benefits brought; Education level; Supporting policies; and Age of household head.

Key words: rice cooperative, binary logistic regression, decisions to join cooperatives, The Mekong Delta, Vietnam

        JEL codes: D