In March 1996, the Law on Cooperatives was approved by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, clarifying the cooperatives’ role as service providers and establishing a legal framework for the cooperatives within a multisectoral commercial economy. This law originated from the failure of the former cooperative system, which couldn’t meet the smallholding farmers’ diverse demands for production technologies, capital, and market outlets. The new legal framework provided new directions for the cooperatives’ development. For instance, the scope of cooperative activities was diversified, and included integrated trade and service supply cooperatives, as well as sector-focused and professional cooperatives (including those for pig raising, dairy cow raising, safe vegetables, rice seedling supply, tea farming, sugar cane farming, fruit tree planting, and aquaculture).