Implementing the OCOP Program in Hanoi: Developing products from specialized areas

Awaken potential and advantages

In recent years, Hanoi has been promoting agricultural production in specialized areas, meeting the food needs of about 10 million people living in the capital; partly supplying other localities and aiming for export.

Not only that, Hanoi also strengthens brand building, trademarks, deep processing, and product selection to participate in the evaluation and classification of the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program. From here, Hanoi has awakened the potential and advantages of specialized areas to increase the quantity and quality of OCOP products.

According to the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment, the city currently has 35 rice growing areas, 104 vegetable growing areas, 56 fruit growing areas, and 128 concentrated livestock farming areas. This is a solid foundation for increasing the quantity, building the value chain and brand of OCOP products. Up to now, the whole city has more than 3,400 OCOP products evaluated and certified, accounting for about 20.3% of the total number of OCOP products in the country. Many OCOP products originate from specialized farming areas.

Many of Hanoi's OCOP products originate from specialized food crop growing areas. Fruit. Photo by Nguyen Mai

Doan Ket Agricultural Production and Business Cooperative (Van Dinh commune) is one of the very successful models in developing OCOP products from concentrated specialized cultivation areas. In recent years, the cooperative has linked with thousands of farming households to produce rice on a large scale according to VietGAP standards and apply new techniques, using safe biological products for rice plants. Along with that, the unit invested in drones, rice drying systems, milling and packaging products... that meet the standards to enter supermarkets and even aim for export. The cooperative's OCOP products have been recognized as meeting 4-star OCOP standards.

Van Duc Safe Vegetable Cooperative (Bat Trang Commune) is also one of the key vegetable growing areas in Hanoi with an area of nearly 200 hectares. Thanks to participating in OCOP, 17 vegetable products of the cooperative have been certified, easily entering supermarkets, collective kitchens and having higher selling prices compared to selling at wholesale markets.

In the Yunnan beach area (Phuc Loc commune), Yunnan Cooperative specializes in growing red bananas and Thai bananas. The products have been certified with 4-star OCOP, supported with labels and trade promotion to be brought into collective kitchens in schools and the army, so banana growers are very secure about the output and have better income than other crops.

The above results show that cooperatives and concentrated agricultural production areas have been making very positive contributions to the goal of developing the quantity, quality and brand of Hanoi's OCOP products. The fact that many cooperatives develop products to compete in the annual OCOP competition has also proven that the OCOP Program creates an equal, transparent and equally vibrant playing field between production and business entities.

Building policies to encourage development

Reporters' observations show that in recent years, with the support of the authorities, agricultural cooperatives have been consolidated, basically meeting the production service requirements of member households. Many cooperatives have created competitiveness with other economic sectors, done a good job of directing agricultural production, ensuring the season, arranging crops reasonably, introducing high-yield, high-quality, high-value crop and livestock varieties into production; focused on improving and upgrading infrastructure serving production; invested in equipment, machinery, and tools for production services to improve productivity and product quality.

To develop OCOP from specialized areas, Hanoi has introduced many policies, focusing on supporting entities to build standard raw material areas, according to organic, safety, VietGAP, GlobalGAP, HACCP criteria, building growing area codes and growing area brands for OCOP products... In addition, completing product assessment and classification records; building a production - consumption linkage chain; implementing trade promotion, connecting markets. At the same time, promoting trade promotion, connecting consumption of key agricultural products, OCOP products, regional specialties, not only domestically but also for export; encouraging businesses and cooperatives to build, register and develop brands, promote and connect products through communication channels, fairs, and electronic trading floors.

Hanoi has been building many policies to encourage the development of OCOP products. Photo: Minh Phu

However, the development of OCOP from specialized areas and cooperatives in Hanoi still faces many challenges and difficulties. Typically: Production scale in many places is still small and scattered; many cooperatives are weak in technology, brand building, and design. The ability to access export markets, apply digitalization, and traceability is uneven.

Based on reality, many producers have made practical recommendations to develop local specialty products, increase income and contribute to the OCOP Program goals. Typically, Director of Vinh Ha Safe Food Production and Trading Joint Stock Company (Dai Xuyen Commune) Nguyen Thi Mai - the unit providing safe vegetables to schools in Hanoi, recommended that the State should have policies to support capital and infrastructure for production areas. Specifically, the recommendation includes building factories to process, preserve agricultural products in production areas to ensure product quality and save transportation costs.

According to Ngo Van Ngon, Deputy Chief of Office of the Hanoi New Rural Development Program Coordination Office, from concentrated specialized areas, Hanoi's OCOP products such as rice, vegetables, tubers, fruits, medicinal herbs, tea, processed agricultural products, etc. have emerged with a new look, larger scale, higher quality, clearer brand, contributing to increasing the value of the capital's agriculture and changing the lives of rural people.

In the coming time, Hanoi will continue to issue and implement comprehensive support for OCOP entities, including capital support, capacity building training, technology transfer, trade promotion and brand building.

Specifically, in terms of finance, the city will provide preferential credit programs, interest rate support, and mobilize capital through joint-stock cooperatives for OCOP entities to expand production.

For training and coaching activities, the city organizes training courses on administration, marketing, and digital transformation for about 1,200 managers and 100% of business and cooperative leaders.

In the infrastructure sector, investments will be made to upgrade 5-10 creative design centers and sell OCOP products associated with tourism by 2025, while supporting the construction of OCOP sales points in tourist areas and administrative centers.

The most important and indispensable step is to support trade promotion activities. The city will support participants in domestic and international fairs, build brands, and apply digital technology in product promotion to expand the market, so that OCOP participants can feel secure in production and improve product quality.

( Information page in coordination with the Office of Coordination of the New Rural Development Program of Hanoi City)

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/thuc-hien-chuong-trinh-ocop-o-ha-noi-phat-trien-san-pham-tu-cac-vung-chuyen-canh-10395102.html