Overcoming difficulties to develop OCOP products

Enhancing agricultural products

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, by the end of July 2024, the province had 198 OCOP products (including 151 3-star and 47 4-star OCOP products). Most of them are products with outstanding quality; produced according to advanced quality management processes, ensuring food safety.

Through the OCOP program, many localities have been successful in planning raw material areas, developing traditional craft villages and creating typical OCOP products which not only diverse in design and environmentally friendly but also meet strict market standards, contributing to increasing the value of agricultural products and developing the local economy.

In recent years, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with localities and related units to organize training courses to raise awareness and capacity for facility owners, cadres and civil servants at all levels in deploying and implementing the OCOP program.

Thereby, helping managers and entities understand the content and meaning of the OCOP program; applying it to develop OCOP products in the locality. Every year, the province organizes and participates in displaying, introducing and promoting OCOP products at about 50 events and exhibition fairs; at the same time, creating conditions and supporting subjects to participate in many other fairs inside and outside the province.

Moringa tea products of Vuon Nha Minh (Tan Tru district) were recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as a 4-star OCOP product in 2021

However, the development of OCOP products is still limited. The products participating in the classification assessment are mostly available products. Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Tru district - Dang Van Tay Lo said that currently, people in the district are still afraid to carry out procedures to complete the necessary documents to register trademarks; barcodes to trace the origin of products; certificate of food hygiene facilities; etc. At the same time, the majority of products in the district are made manually and traditionally, made it difficult to apply machinery, so expanding production is also difficult.

Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - Ho Thi Ngoc Lan informed that in the coming time, the department will promote propaganda work from the provincial level to the commune and hamlet levels to raise awareness and change the thinking of economic organizations in rural areas, state management agencies, distribution units, and consumers through conferences to deploy the OCOP Program. At the same time, the department will support the development of local raw material areas; build value chains; support production infrastructure, machinery, and processing equipment suitable to local conditions; support the completion of packaging, labels, and traceability and trade promotion; etc.

In addition, the department promotes training to improve management and marketing capacity for managers and executives of enterprises, cooperatives, production establishments and households; promotes the application of science and technology; enhances technology transfer, digital transformation in production, market connection, traceability, especially the application of information technology in developing OCOP products associated with rural tourism, preserving indigenous cultural values.

Developing from local strengths

Representative of Thien Moc Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Hau Nghia town, Duc Hoa district) introduces OCOP products to customers

Duc Hoa district currently has 8 3-star OCOP products. All products are in the agricultural sector, not diversified due to local characteristics. According to Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Duc Hoa district - Le Thi Thanh Thao, in the past 2 years, the spirit of coordination to develop OCOP products among agencies and units in the district has been very high. Leaders of departments, branches and districts are very interested in and pay attention to OCOP products, all proposals and recommendations are considered and supported.

Deputy Director of Thien Moc Medicinal Materials Company Limited (Hau Nghia Town, Duc Hoa District) - Nguyen Hung Vi with the OCOP product on display

Deputy Director of Thien Moc Medicinal Materials Company Limited (Hau Nghia Town, Duc Hoa District) - Nguyen Hung Vi shared: “Since reaching OCOP standards, the company's 27-flavor Thien Moc flower tea product has been easier to access the market because OCOP is a guarantee for the product. When the product is sold in Hanoi, people saw OCOP certification and bought immediately without hesitation. Currently, the company is preparing OCOP documents for the forest honey noni pill product”.

Representative of An Long High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative (An Ninh Tay Commune, Duc Hoa District) introduces the 3-star purple brown rice product

The OCOP purple brown rice product of An Long High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative (An Ninh Tay Commune, Duc Hoa District) is also highly appreciated by the market thanks to its advantages of being sticky and sweet. According to the Director of An Long High-Tech Agricultural Cooperative - Dinh Van Chan, the cooperative's purple brown rice is produced according to modern technological processes. The drugs used in production are microbial and organic compounds, minimizing chemical fertilizers and drugs. The company will compensate 1 for 1 if chemical residues are detected in the product. The cooperative is researching many other potential products such as new ST25 rice, Dong Dong wine, etc.

Although OCOP products in Duc Hoa district are of good quality, consumption is not strong, especially locally. The reason is that some entities are satisfied with the present and do not want to develop stronger facilities. The source of raw materials in the district has not met the large development needs. Some units are still weak in promoting products to the market. In reality, many people want to develop products that meet OCOP standards, but due to bothersome paperwork and procedures, they are still hesitant in implementing them.

According to Ms. Le Thi Thanh Thao, all OCOP products of the district are supported, and when the entities have questions, they are promptly resolved. However, in order for OCOP products to develop further, many things need to be done to overcome the limitations such as: professional sales team to advise consumers; farmers and businesses need to cooperate more closely in the issue of supplying and consuming products, avoiding the shortage of raw materials in the locality.

Over the years, the OCOP Program has become a driving force to promote the production of high-quality goods locally. However, to maximize the potential of the program, building a systematic OCOP ecosystem, where products can compete fairly and develop together is extremely necessary, thereby avoiding the waste of resources, creating a strong domestic market, reducing dependence on imported goods./.

By Staffs - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/go-kho-de-phat-trien-san-pham-ocop-a180694.html