Diversify forms of agricultural product consumption

Improving the quality of agricultural products and proactively approaching the market by bringing agricultural products to fairs, e-commerce platforms, social networking platforms, etc. are the forms that farmers and cooperatives are doing to diversify agricultural product consumption channels, overcome market challenges, and bring Ninh Binh agricultural products far and wide.

The production of fruit trees such as custard apple, Taiwanese guava, etc. is quite successful and brings high economic efficiency in many growing areas. However, at certain times, especially during the harvest season, there are unpredictable market fluctuations, typically agricultural products ripen, inventory leads to falling purchase prices. Therefore, in addition to retail and wholesale, many people have now proactively consumed agricultural products by bringing their products to promotional markets.

In the past month, Ms. Doan Thi Thuy Hang, owner of Thang Hang garden (village 3, Phu Long commune, Nho Quan district) has participated in 3 promotional fairs in Ninh Binh and Hanoi . Thang Hang garden is the representative unit of Phu Long Cooperative for producing off-season custard apples and consuming safe fruits, participating in the fair with the purpose of promoting, expanding the market, connecting trade, cooperating, and linking to promote the production and consumption of agricultural products.

According to Ms. Hang: Before participating in fairs, families mainly sold on-site, that is, retailed at home and to wholesalers. However, according to her, this way of selling has a limitation in that growers cannot take the initiative in the output of agricultural products but depend heavily on traders. As for Phu Long custard apple products, they are famous in the provincial market, but when talking about custard apples outside the province, most customers only know about Chi Lang custard apples (Lang Son); Dai custard apples, Thai custard apples from Son La.

With the desire to build trust as well as develop the Phu Long custard apple brand, in addition to having 4-star OCOP product certification papers and VietGap certification, the gardener has a QR code to trace the origin of the custard apple, equipped with beautiful designs such as paper bags, with printed addresses and contact methods on the packaging.

"Many people from other provinces were surprised that Ninh Binh also had a custard apple growing area and were skeptical about the quality of the products. However, I invited any customer who came to my booth to try the custard apple and guaranteed a 1-for-1 exchange if there were any quality problems. Afterwards, customers gave very good feedback. They said that the custard apple's appearance might not be as nice as some other types from other places, but it was considered sweeter and more delicious. After the markets, many individual customers kept my phone number and came back to buy; at the same time, clean agricultural product stores directly wanted to consume the cooperative's agricultural products. That was my biggest success in the fairs," said Ms. Hang.

Along with direct advertising and sales; today, with the strong development of information technology and the trend of online shopping, many individuals have flexibly used social networking platforms to sell agricultural products; processed agricultural products from fast-moving consumer goods to foods with long shelf life to put the products on e-commerce platforms.

Building the brand of Hy Lac pineapple cake made from 100% fresh pineapple from Dong Giao - Tam Diep land, Mr. Tran Ngoc Dung - brand representative said: The unit has used many channels to consume cakes, in which social networking platforms and e-commerce platforms are popular buying and selling channels.

According to Mr. Dung, the cakes were initially offered for sale at stores, showrooms, and distributed through collaborators. Later, the unit implemented wide-ranging marketing strategies to increase the "coverage" of the product on channels, develop potential customer files through social networking platforms and e-commerce platforms; thereby optimizing investment budgets, increasing successful conversion rates, and developing a system of distributors and agents without necessarily opening more branches. Thanks to that, the facility produces 5,000 - 7,000 cakes per month, purchasing over 60 tons of fresh pineapples per year.

Diversify forms of agricultural product consumption — Pineapple cake products are beautifully designed and eye-catching.

Mr. Dung shared: "The purchase, processing and multi-channel sales by the facility will be more convenient than farmers selling through traders and traditional wholesale markets. The price is also more stable, and the pineapples are harvested in a timely manner to maintain their freshness. The QR code printed on the cake box helps customers to buy online with just a simple scan. However, consuming agricultural products through this form requires us to do additional steps of selection, packaging, delivery and customer care. Along with that, the quality of the product must also be almost absolutely guaranteed to ensure reputation."

Despite positive changes, the implementation of digital platforms and value chain development for agricultural cooperatives, production and business establishments, and farmers is still in its infancy. The slow approach and change to new business methods are barriers to expanding the current agricultural product consumption market.

The reason is that most farmers are elderly, have slow market access, poor application of science and technology, and mainly rely on experience in production.

Besides, grasping market information, connecting trade, meeting agricultural product criteria with supermarkets and import-export enterprises is limited and not regular; while investing in high-tech production requires large funding sources.

Therefore, participating in cooperatives and the OCOP program is a solution to help local agricultural products build brands, increase connectivity, and benefit from related support and incentive policies.

Developing key products based on regional strengths along with promoting them is the direction that many Ninh Binh farmers have been implementing to make agricultural products easier and more effective to consume , not only bringing high revenue and profits to farmers but also being the direction for sustainable agricultural development in the future.

Article and photos: Lan Anh

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