Implementing the OCOP Program in Hanoi: Dai Xuyen Commune plans a specialty vegetable and grapefruit area

With an impressive growth rate (3.8 - 5.7%/year), Dai Xuyen commune's agriculture has been shifting towards planning specialized areas for clean vegetables, safe vegetables and Tho Bach Ha grapefruit, with some products meeting OCOP standards. The commune's key goal in the coming time is to develop a clean and organic agricultural product chain to build a strong OCOP brand, affirming the position of high-quality agricultural products in the market.

Building key agricultural products

Model of growing Tho grapefruit in Dai Xuyen commune.

Visiting the grapefruit garden of Mr. Mai Nhu Khuc (Hoa Thuong village, Dai Xuyen commune) in the golden season, we heard about the interesting journey of the special Tho Bach Ha grapefruit variety.

Although it has been around for a long time, it was only recently that Tho Bach Ha grapefruit became widely known. Mr. Mai Nhu Khuc recalls: He started growing this grapefruit variety in 1982. It was not until 2017 that his family's grapefruit was first bought by customers as gifts. With its golden, juicy characteristics and outstanding delicious flavor, Tho grapefruit quickly became popular, prompting the locality to expand the planting area and the brand "Tho Bach Ha grapefruit" was officially born.

Currently, from two grapefruit seedlings bought for 300 VND, Mr. Khuc has developed the Tho grapefruit garden to 150 trees on an area of ​​over 5,000 m². On average, each tree yields 250 fruits/year (average weight 1.2 kg/fruit). With a selling price of 35,000 VND/fruit, the profit from his family's grapefruit garden reaches hundreds of millions of VND/year.

Mr. Khuc shared that the Tho grapefruit has a cycle lasting from January to August, with the main harvest taking place during the Mid-Autumn Festival - the peak consumption period. Every time the full moon of August approaches, grapefruits are sold out, not enough to supply the market. During peak periods like 2019, grapefruits cost up to 50,000 VND/fruit, purchased by traders at the garden. The main consumption areas are Hanoi and the Northern Delta provinces.

Thanks to its outstanding quality, in 2020, Mr. Mai Nhu Khuc's family's Tho grapefruit product was honored to be recognized as a 4-star OCOP product. Previously, in 2018, his family also received a Certificate of "Maintaining and developing the Tho Bach Ha grapefruit variety".

Sharing more with reporters, Mr. Khuc affirmed that the OCOP program has opened a new page for grapefruit trees here. Since being recognized as OCOP and registering the collective trademark, the quality and quantity of grapefruit have increased significantly thanks to the attention of the government, coordinating to open training classes, guiding people to change production practices from inorganic to modern organic.

According to Vice Chairman of Dai Xuyen Commune People's Committee Du Anh Hao, in recent years, the commune's agriculture has had a fairly high growth rate (average 3.8 - 5.7%/year). The commune has implemented regional production planning, focusing on potential OCOP products such as clean vegetables, safe vegetables (Minh Tan, Khai Thai) and Tho Bach Ha grapefruit.

Notably, the entire vegetable growing area of ​​Minh Tan has been granted safety certificates, of which a part applies VietGAP standards with a brand. The commune has also built a collective brand for vegetable products. Currently, farmers have switched to using organic fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers and 97% use biological pesticides, creating a solid foundation for a clean, organic agricultural product chain.

People are instructed on how to grow grapefruit trees.

Developing a clean, organic agricultural product chain associated with the OCOP brand

The economy of Dai Xuyen commune has recently had positive changes, creating new vitality for the locality. Many production households and cooperatives have risen to become small and medium enterprises, contributing to solving on-site jobs for thousands of workers. Along with that, the OCOP Program has been promoted, with 22 craft village products and processed agricultural products being evaluated and ranked.

To support this growth, investment in developing production infrastructure, the system of people's markets and inter-village and inter-commune transport has created favorable conditions for the circulation of goods and attracted investment. Thanks to positive signals from the household and private economic sectors and the development of trade and services, the labor structure has rapidly shifted from agriculture to non-agriculture.

Notably, a number of specialized agricultural production areas and concentrated livestock farming in the direction of biological safety have been formed. According to Chairman of Dai Xuyen Commune People's Committee Hoang Tuan, in response to the development requirements, the commune has proactively implemented general planning work early on, clearly defining each production area. This planning has been gradually creating a legal basis to call for investment from businesses and is the basis for expanding organic agricultural production areas and safe vegetable areas.

To ensure sustainable production in planning areas, the commune focuses on training, transferring science and technology, instructing farmers on farming according to VietGAP and organic processes, and promoting the application of digital technology.

In its development orientation, Dai Xuyen commune aims to develop a clean, organic agricultural product chain associated with the OCOP brand, expand the area of ​​safe vegetables and Bach Ha grapefruit; at the same time promote the biosafety livestock model and promote mechanization and digitalization. The commune also hopes to receive attention and support for investment in irrigation systems, processing facilities, and cold storage from the city and the Department of Agriculture so that people can feel secure in production.

(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-xa-dai-xuyen-quy-hoach-vung-rau-buoi-dac-san-10395652.html