On April 22 – 24 ICCIC Executive Board member Tim Zachernuk and Deputy Secretary General Liu Guozhong visited Shiyan municipality in Hubei to investigate cooperative development in the area. The group visited the Songzhen Egg Producers cooperative and the Yaorong Papaya Cooperative in Yunyang District, the Caijiadu Citrus Cooperative in Danjiangkou City and the Baxianguan Tea Cooperative in the special economic zone of the Wudang Mountain tourism district. The group was particularly interested in looking at the role played by cooperatives in value chains and the relationships between dragon-head enterprises and farmer cooperatives.

Through discussions with leaders and members of the cooperatives insights were gained into the operations of cooperatives, their integration intotheir respective value chains and the development prospects for their sectors. Discussions were also held with the leaders of the municipal Agriculture Bureau on possibilities for future cooperation. The survey group was strongly supported and warmly welcomed by the Shiyan Agriculture bureau, and were accompanied by Mr. Zhang Min of the Shiyan Municipal Agriculture Bureau and Mr. Xu Bingkun, the deputy director of the Shiyan Municipal Economic Management Station.