Thai Thuy: OCOP products contribute to rural economic development.

Over the past period, Thai Thuy district has actively implemented the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program in localities, production facilities, and businesses within the district. Currently, the district has 40 distinctive and typical products recognized as OCOP products. Each OCOP product has contributed to increasing income, creating jobs for people, and promoting socio -economic development in rural areas.

Tien Thiet Co., Ltd. (Thuy Son commune), which received OCOP recognition for its Tien Thiet water hyacinth baskets in 2022, has developed dozens of additional products made from water hyacinth, creating jobs for nearly 400 local workers.

Recognizing that participating in the OCOP program would help businesses expand their markets, Tien Thiet Co., Ltd. (Thuy Son commune) proactively joined. With guidance from relevant departments and continuous efforts, in 2022, Tien Thiet's water hyacinth baskets were recognized as a 3-star OCOP product.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Toi, representing the company, stated: "Participating in the OCOP program has helped Tien Thiet's water hyacinth baskets establish their brand and create opportunities for the company to expand its production scale. Currently, the products not only serve domestic customers but are also exported to foreign markets, especially demanding markets such as Europe, the US, and Japan. In addition to water hyacinth baskets, the company produces traditional products made from sedge and rattan, such as tissue boxes, fruit trays, cup trays, gift baskets, and laundry baskets. The company has developed more than 10 satellite facilities, producing 10,000-20,000 products per month, creating jobs for nearly 400 local workers with an income of 2-4 million VND per person per month."

Having been associated with Tien Thiet Co., Ltd. since its early days, Ms. Dinh Thi Mien, head of the water hyacinth weaving group in Hamlet 3, said: "Water hyacinth weaving isn't difficult. By diligently gathering whatever we can find in our free time, I can earn nearly 100,000 VND per day. Our water hyacinth weaving group has 20 members, and thanks to this side job, we have a stable monthly income. We hope this profession will develop further."

Not only Tien Thiet Co., Ltd., but most entities participating in the OCOP program have exploited the potential and advantages of their localities to produce distinctive products, contributing to creating jobs for many workers and promoting rural economic development.

For example, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuyen from Thuy Xuan commune has utilized readily available resources from the local fisheries industry to create the Hong Ngoc anchovy OCOP product, which embodies the flavor and identity of his coastal hometown.

Mr. Tuyen shared: "I noticed the abundant anchovy resources in the locality, so I boldly opened a production facility, built the brand 'Hong Ngoc Anchovy,' and received support from the local authorities to register for the OCOP product program. I am very happy that the product has been recognized as a 3-star OCOP product and is known to customers inside and outside the province. To ensure food safety and hygiene and enhance competitiveness, in 2023, I replaced the traditional charcoal-fired fish drying oven and invested over 1 billion VND to buy 3 electric fish drying machines. Currently, the facility sells 3-5 tons of dried fish per month, creating jobs for 20 local workers with an income of 7-8 million VND per month. In the future, I will continue to develop more OCOP products using scad and anchovy as raw materials."

According to Mr. Le Xuan Duong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Thuy Xuan commune, the OCOP program has created momentum for the local socio-economic development. Most importantly, it has contributed to increasing income, creating jobs for people, promoting local products, and boosting the development of fisheries logistics services. Currently, Mr. Tuyen purchases all the anchovy fishing boats from the locality, so there is no need to worry about market demand or product prices. With the policy of developing OCOP products that reflect the characteristics of coastal rural areas, we continue to strengthen propaganda and mobilization efforts to encourage businesses and production and trading households in the locality to participate and create favorable conditions for them to develop OCOP products from the sea.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Ha, Deputy Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Thai Thuy District, said: To implement the OCOP program, the district has issued a plan for implementation, promoting and encouraging economic organizations in communes and towns to participate; organizing training courses and capacity building in the implementation of specialized topics; and developing distinctive products that meet the criteria, as well as the advantages of local origin and strengths, and are sustainable. It is noteworthy that when selected to participate in the OCOP program, cooperatives and households have effectively exploited the strengths of their localities, meeting market demands; changing production practices, promoting the creativity of the people and traditional crafts, and expanding production in rural areas. In 2024, the district aims to have 5 more products achieving 3 stars or higher, including: spiral potatoes, fried fish balls, sausages (Duong Phuc commune); lotus tea (Thuy Van commune); and red peanuts (Hoa An commune). Overcoming difficulties, the district continues to promote propaganda, mobilization, and encouragement of organizations and individuals to develop OCOP products; support and guide businesses, cooperatives, and production and business households in completing OCOP product dossiers; focus on creating favorable conditions for entities in product promotion and marketing activities, contributing to the effective implementation of the "production organization" criterion in building advanced new rural areas and model new rural areas.

Nguyen Tham

Source: https://baothaibinh.com.vn/tin-tuc/4/206007/thai-thuy-san-pham-ocop-gop-phan-phat-trien-kinh-te-nong-thon