Quang Ninh develops OCOP products with focus on quality

The programme was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following the model of Japan’s One Village One Product (OVOP) and Thailand’s One Town One Product (OTOP) drives.

Quang Ninh was the first locality in Vietnam to implement the programme in 2013. Since then, 180 businesses, cooperatives, and working groups have been established or registered to join the programme, with a total of 210 products and groups of products and services granted the OCOP trademark, including 99 meeting 3-5 star standards.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Huy Hau said Quang Ninh wants to, through the programme, leverage on its advantages in natural resources, culture and rural labour for the creation of high-quality products to increase incomes and generate jobs for local residents as well as achieve sustainable development.

The OCOP programme is designated to help develop complete production and value chains from production, harvesting, processing and consumption for local specialties and products, he said.

Particularly, the OCOP brand is registered as intellectual property and printed on all products, according to Hau.

Chairman of Quang Ninh Alliance of Cooperatives Nguyen Van Nghi said the province has encouraged the participation of cooperatives in the OCOP programme, as well as the transformation of cooperatives in line with the 2012 Law on Cooperatives to receive new preferential treatment and improve their operational efficiency.

In addition, 29 cooperatives have been established through the OCOP.

Nghi said the law has created a legal framework for cooperatives to develop sustainably and diversify production models, thus contributing to poverty reduction.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Ngoc Bao, Chairman of Vietnam Cooperatives Alliance, recognized the effective implementation of the OCOP in Quang Ninh with the establishment of new cooperatives. 

Particularly, there is connectivity among businesses, he said.

However, some cooperatives are operating at a small scale, hence their products are less competitive, he added.

Vu Duc Phu, Director of Phu Hai Production and Industrial Services Cooperative, advised cooperatives to work together in building a value chain, which is useful for creating high-quality products and securing their foothold in the market.

Quang Ninh plans to develop 130 existing OCOP products and 120 new ones in the near future, he said.

OCOP is an economic development programme in rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values, contributing to the implementation of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development for 2016-2020. 

Groups of goods and services defined in the programme include food (fresh and processed farm produce); beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinking); medicinal herbs (products made from herbal plants); fabric and textiles (products made from cotton and yarn); souvenirs - furniture - decorations (products made from wood, fiber, rattan, metal and ceramics); and rural tourism services and sales (services for sightseeing, tourism, study, research). 

The overall objective of the programme is to develop forms of production organisation and business (with the priority will be given to developing cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), towards producing traditional products and developing  services with high competitiveness in the domestic and international markets, thus promoting rural economy and the national agriculture industrialisation and moderlisation. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, nearly 6,010 enterprises, cooperatives, working groups and business households are producing 4,823 products in six commodity groups. 

Specifically, there are 2,584 products in food, 1,041 in beverages, 231 in herbals, 186 in fabric and garment, 580 in souvenirs – interior décor, 201 in rural tourism services. However, only 1,086 products register for quality standards and 695 products register for intellectual property protection. 

As of late April, 60 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide built the frame OCOP programme at the provincial level, 30 of which already completed the programme design and 28 others are collecting feedback before approval.