Enhancing the value of agricultural products through deep processing.

From large-scale model farms to modern production lines, the province's agricultural production is undergoing a strong transformation thanks to attracting investment in agricultural product processing. Deep processing not only increases product value but also opens up a sustainable development path, creates jobs, stabilizes output, and gradually helps the province's agricultural products reach a wider market.

Foreign partners visited to survey and establish import connections for products from VINAGREEN Investment and Development Joint Stock Company in Trieu Son commune. Photo: Le Hoi.

In recent years, recognizing the increasing demand for water spinach in people's lives, the Dong Ngau Agricultural and Livestock Cooperative in Phuc Gia village, Tho Long commune, has boldly consolidated land and invested in over 3 hectares of specialized water spinach cultivation. Not stopping at raw production, the cooperative has identified deep processing as the essential direction to enhance the value of this traditional crop.

Using clean raw materials, the cooperative has invested in a factory system and a closed production line to process centella powder using modern sterile freeze-drying technology. This process helps preserve the natural green color, fresh flavor, and inherent nutritional content of centella – something that traditional hot-drying methods struggle to achieve. As a result, Dong Ngau centella powder has quickly gained a foothold in the market. Currently, the product has been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product at the provincial level and is available on e-commerce platforms, expanding its reach to customers. To ensure a stable supply of raw materials, the cooperative proactively signs purchase contracts with local people and several other businesses and cooperatives in the area, while also developing cultivation areas according to VietGAP standards, moving towards organic farming. This is an important foundation that helps Dong Ngau centella meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the market.

According to Le Viet Ngoc, Director of Dong Ngau Agricultural and Livestock Cooperative: “On average, the cooperative harvests and produces nearly 300kg of centella powder each month. From planting and caring for the plants to harvesting, the entire process strictly adheres to VietGAP standards to ensure product safety and quality. Investing in modern machinery not only helps reduce labor costs and increase productivity, but also overcomes dependence on traders, avoiding price manipulation during peak harvest season.”

While the Dong Ngau Cooperative demonstrated a proactive and flexible approach to small-scale agricultural processing, VINAGREEN Investment and Development Joint Stock Company opened up a larger-scale path by investing in a high-quality agricultural processing plant in Trieu Son commune. After a year of construction, phase 1 of the plant was completed in January 2025 and put into operation the most modern rice processing line in the Northern region with a capacity of 100,000 tons of rice per year. Currently, the plant's products are marketed and available in many provinces and cities nationwide, receiving high praise from consumers for their quality, design, and appearance.

To ensure a stable supply of raw materials, the factory has partnered with farmers in the communes of Trieu Son, Thieu Hoa, Nong Cong, etc., to form large-scale, concentrated commercial rice production areas. At the same time, the company collaborates with agricultural service cooperatives to organize training on regulations for granting planting area codes, packaging facility codes, record-keeping practices, field management, and traceability, all aimed at export.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of VINAGREEN Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, Do Minh Thuy, shared: “ Thanh Hoa has many favorable conditions for developing agricultural production, especially rice with about 120,000 hectares per season. Based on this reality, the company decided to invest in the VINAGREEN high-quality agricultural processing plant in Trieu Son commune with the desire to create a sustainable link between the enterprise and farmers and cooperatives, aiming to improve product quality, meet the needs of the domestic and export markets, and at the same time create more jobs for workers, contributing to promoting the agricultural development of the province.”

The province currently has 661 recognized OCOP products, including 2 five-star products, 59 four-star products, and 600 three-star products. Most production facilities focus on investing in equipment and applying technology to agricultural product processing, helping to improve quality and meet the increasingly high expectations of consumers. To further develop agricultural product preservation and processing facilities, the agricultural sector and localities are implementing solutions under the Project "Connecting Production, Processing, and Consumption to Enhance the Value of Key Agricultural Products in Thanh Hoa Province by 2030". This includes focusing on attracting investment in processing plants in raw material areas; prioritizing projects for preliminary processing and preservation of fresh vegetables and fruits; and building post-harvest centers linked to production areas and logistics. This is a suitable direction in the trend of modern agricultural development, which should not only focus on cultivation but also be linked to processing, trade, and traceability, contributing to the formation and development of the province's agricultural processing industry in the direction of value chain linkage.

Le Hoi

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nang-cao-gia-tri-nong-san-tu-che-bien-sau-270759.htm