What to do to make agricultural tourism a Vietnamese brand?

On September 22, the Forum "Developing agricultural and rural tourism associated with the consumption of agricultural specialties and OCOP products" took place, organized by Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper, the Standing Unit of the 970 Agricultural Products Connection Forum in coordination with the Center for Rural Development - Saemaul Undong, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University.

Developing rural tourism is one of the key solutions and tasks of the National Target Program on New Rural Construction for the 2021-2025 period, contributing to supporting localities to effectively and sustainably implement new rural criteria.

Ms. Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, believes that agriculture is no longer simply about what to plant or what to raise, but needs to be oriented to create new values, in line with new trends, including the development of agricultural tourism. Because this is a sustainable solution, helping farmers increase their income on their own fields, while also adding the consumption of agricultural specialties, especially OCOP products.

Đưa du lịch nông nghiệp thành thương hiệu của Việt Nam - Ảnh 1.

"Linking tourism with agricultural development is not new, but we need to find a way to make tourism more humane and ecological," said Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan.

On the local side, Mr. Vo Van Phi, Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee, informed about some tourism strengths associated with agriculture and forestry of Dong Nai such as forest experience tourism, garden tourism... Proposing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop a strategy and plan for agricultural tourism development with a long-term orientation, helping investors feel secure in investing. This is also a premise for the province to build support mechanisms for infrastructure, credit, human resource training, and product promotion.

Mr. Doan Van Khanh, Director of Long Thuan Private Enterprise (Chau Thanh District, Tien Giang Province), said: "Doing something unique, strange and sustainable is the only way to attract tourists. Not only solving the output for agricultural products but also creating space for tourists to visit and enjoy the quiet space of the countryside".

Over 70 years old, Mr. Khanh is still very passionate about starting an agricultural business. Without any specialized training, he worked with engineers and scientists to create 42 food and cosmetic products extracted from these available plants. Of these, 12 products have been granted 4-star OCOP certification…

Mr. Khanh recommended that the government properly implement its commitments and goals, and not let policies become barriers to the development of agricultural tourism.

Đưa du lịch nông nghiệp thành thương hiệu của Việt Nam - Ảnh 3.

Developing rural tourism is a direction being promoted by many localities.

In his concluding remarks, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam emphasized that developing Vietnam's OCOP products requires three factors. Firstly, promoting local strengths to increase that value, thereby increasing people's income.

Second, the issue of linkage will overcome fragmentation, to form production areas with linkages between households and establishments to create strength, to respond to the pressure of market mechanisms.

Third, the OCOP product brand in rural areas has great value but has not been properly recognized. The issue is to ensure the quality of the product, "losing the brand is losing everything".

"Rural tourism is a world trend, an advantage of Vietnam, so it is necessary to exploit this field into a rural tourism economic sector and become a Vietnamese brand, with support from OCOP products" - Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said.

To contribute to the development of rural tourism associated with OCOP products, the New Rural Coordination Office was assigned to work with the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City to establish a training center for classes on OCOP product development and rural tourism development....

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