Safe agricultural products: From the village to the supermarket, to the world. Lesson 1: Clean from the root

BAC NINH - Editor's note: In the context of the agricultural sector aiming for sustainable development, food security and facing the challenge of climate change, Bac Ninh has identified the application of science and technology and digital transformation as essential requirements to improve efficiency. Accordingly, the province focuses on developing high-tech agricultural models, ensuring food safety; promoting chain production linkages, and at the same time building key products and strong brands to reach out to markets.

After a long period of developing agricultural products , Bac Ninh province's agricultural products have gradually dominated the domestic and international markets. Thanks to the application of advanced technology and farming techniques, the products have superior quality, ensuring safety, are traded on e-commerce platforms, in supermarkets, reaching out to the world, affirming prestige and contributing to raising the level of Vietnamese agricultural products.

Lychee diary and "passport"

The lychee crop has just ended, and people are actively taking care of it to prepare for the next season. In Phuong Son ward, Mr. Le Van Kien's household is pruning and fertilizing the trees to help them recover quickly. Looking back at the recent sweet fruit crop, Mr. Kien shared that this year's lychee price is not as high as some previous years, but households growing according to the GlobalGAP process still sell at a higher price than conventional farming. The entire care process is carried out meticulously and systematically. The fertilization stage is flexibly adjusted according to each growth stage of the tree, using organic or microbial fertilizers to improve soil fertility and ensure safety for crops and users. When there are pests, Mr. Kien prioritizes choosing biological pesticides that are environmentally friendly, used at the right time and concentration. All are recorded in detail and accurately in the production diary as an indispensable management tool to help make the process transparent. When harvested, there is a packaging code that can be traced back to the garden. In recent years, the family's fabrics have been purchased, brought to supermarkets, and exported to Europe and Japan.

Lychee processing at Vifoco Import Export Joint Stock Company.

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, lychee will have a good harvest in 2025. Learning from previous years, the province has innovated its consumption promotion methods and achieved positive results. Diverse consumption channels, from supplying supermarkets, e-commerce platforms, domestic industrial parks to international markets with strict quality requirements. About 63,000 tons of lychee have been exported to China, Europe, the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, the Middle East, etc. In early July, the province's lychee appeared for the first time at the largest retail supermarket chain in the United States, Costco. Notably, the product is transported by sea while still retaining its fresh taste and ensuring strict quarantine standards of the host country.

Mr. Trinh Minh Phuong, Director of External Relations, Mova Plus Joint Stock Company - an agricultural product consumer, commented: "After many years of accompanying lychee consumption, we see that this is one of the agricultural products favored by European consumers thanks to its delicious flavor and quality, much better than similar products from some other countries. The European Union is currently one of the largest agricultural import markets in the world , bringing a "golden" opportunity for typical, key products of Vietnam, including lychee".

Meeting the export requirements to the high-end market segment further affirms the safe production process, the lychee product brand is like a "passport" to conquer the global market. To date, lychee has been present in more than 30 countries and territories around the world.

Affirming the national brand

Lychee has reached out to the world, becoming a national brand, contributing to raising the level of Vietnamese agricultural products. Currently, Luc Ngan lychee is also the only product of the province that meets the 5-star OCOP standard. To achieve this result is a very long journey, the efforts of the people and local authorities. However, the important and key are solutions on concentrated zoning, innovation in production forms, promoting the internal strength of product owners and attracting businesses and cooperatives to participate.

Lychees are sold at a store in the Federal Republic of Germany.

According to Mr. Le Ba Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, for a long time, Bac Giang province (before the administrative unit merger) has been interested in planning concentrated lychee growing areas, forming advanced production areas, ensuring product quality. The journey to build the lychee brand is a story of the constant efforts of lychee growers and improvements in preservation and transportation technology. Recently, Vifoco Import Export Joint Stock Company (Tien Phong ward) has applied technology to preserve lychee for a year while the quality remains as fresh as the beginning. This opens up great opportunities in processing and consuming lychee in particular and agricultural products in general.

Curcumin starch products of Fujiko Vietnam Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Vo Cuong Ward achieved 4-star OCOP. Photo: Nguyen Tuan.

The production and consumption of lychee shows that there was a time when lychee became the "golden tree, the silver tree" of Luc Ngan people, but it could not avoid the situation of "good harvest, low price". However, the province determined that the vital factor of the product is quality, so it directed to strictly follow the care process and food safety and hygiene. Thanks to dedicated gardeners like Mr. Le Van Kien and thousands of lychee growing households, many safe lychee growing areas have been created, meeting GlobaGAP, VietGAP standards... for easy export. This is a big step forward in the awareness of producers. In the development process, lychee is a symbol of sustainable agriculture, the crystallization of heaven and earth and the labor of the people, contributing to bringing the Vietnamese agricultural product brand to the world.

"Capital" of OCOP products

Not only famous for its lychee specialty, Bac Ninh also owns many typical agricultural products such as Yen The hill chicken, Ban Ven tea, Hoang Luong water spinach, Luc Ngan oranges and grapefruits, Luc Nam custard apples, Yen Phu, Phi Dien, Thai Son yellow sticky rice; traditional five-color cakes, Bui Tuan Lien spring rolls, Minh Thu husband-wife cakes; Tan Yen guava, Danh mountain ginseng... The province's OCOP products bear the imprint of the homeland, promote the regional potential, have clear origins and are produced according to advanced processes such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, HACCP. Some strong agricultural products and OCOP products have been directly exported to demanding markets, including: Sugar beets, carrots of Cao Duc commune and Binh Minh agricultural cakes of Binh Minh Cooperative exported to Korea; products of Toan Cau Food Import-Export Joint Stock Company exported to Europe; Vinegar of Ngan Giang Luc Ngan Trading Company Limited is exported to China, Czech Republic... This is the driving force to continue promoting agricultural products and OCOP products of the province to go further.

Booth displaying and introducing OCOP products of Truong Son High-Tech Medicinal Materials Cooperative. Photo: Nguyen Huong.

According to the specialized agency, Bac Ninh has nearly 800 OCOP products that meet the standards of 3 stars or higher. The province has become one of the "capitals" of OCOP in the country. In the process of implementing the OCOP program, Bac Ninh determined that in addition to the determination of the subjects, the direction of the government and the guidance and advice of program experts, the important factor is policy solutions. Therefore, a series of mechanisms were issued and implemented such as: Rewarding subjects with products recognized as OCOP with the level of 20 million VND/product reaching 3 stars, 30 million VND/product reaching 4 stars, 100 million VND/product reaching 5 stars. At the same time, it is proposed to have a support policy of the Provincial People's Council for production establishments from the time the product idea is selected to participate in the program until it is recognized... The total support level does not exceed 500 million VND/organization or individual. In addition, stores opened in industrial parks, tourist areas, and rest stops on national highways passing through the province are supported. The Department of Industry and Trade actively connects OCOP products and agricultural products with modern distribution systems and wholesale markets; coordinates with trade offices and commercial counselors abroad to seek and diversify markets.

Nem Bui is one of the province's famous OCOP products. Photo: Nguyen Tuan.

Thanks to key programs, the province has unleashed many investment resources for agriculture, transferred technical advances and supported the consumption of agricultural products. The market is increasingly expanding domestically and internationally, the demand for transparency in quality and agricultural output is increasingly high, requiring more professional production organization, strong application of science and technology, creating a shift in the level of farming of farmers. Since then, agricultural products have not only stopped at villages and rural markets but have reached all regions in the country and the world.

(continued)

PVKT Group

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/nong-san-an-toan-tu-lang-vao-sieu-thi-ra-the-gioi-bai-1-sach-tu-goc-postid423354.bbg