Chi Lang: Promoting OCOP program

– In recent years, Chi Lang district has promoted propaganda and advice to the people about the program “One commune, one product” (OCOP). As a result, the program achieved certain results. In 2021, Chi Lang is one of the districts with the highest number of products participating in the evaluation and classification of OCOP products in the province.

Y Tich is one of the communes with a large area of custard apple in Chi Lang district with 400 hectares, of which, there are over 100 hectares of VietGAP custard apple. From 2020, custard apple products of Y Tich Commune Farmers’ Association have been recognized as provincial 3-star OCOP products. Realizing the initial effects from the OCOP program, such as improving product value; market expansion; protecting product brands…, in 2021, the commune has implemented many solutions to promote the OCOP program. Thereby, the commune selected custard apple products of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Do’s family (Giap Thuong village 2) to guide and support participation in OCOP product classification assessment. At the same time, the commune continues to implement solutions to upgrade from 3 stars to 4 stars for custard apple products of Y Tich Commune Farmers’ Association.

Mr. Vuong Van Son, Chairman of Y Tich Commune People’s Committee said: “During the implementation of the OCOP program, the commune has promoted propaganda to local people about the benefits and meaning of the program through village, commune meetings. Simultaneously, the commune coordinates with specialized agencies of the district and province to expand the custard apple area under the VietGAP process, carry out the procedures for applying for a growing area code for the product.”

People in Y Tich commune, Chi Lang district take care of custard apple farm.

Also in the OCOP product classification evaluation in 2021, Chi Lang Agricultural Cooperative (Dong Mo town) has 2 products which are Dong Mo kiu nyuk and Dong Mo sausages. It is known that these products mainly serve the needs of people in the district, the market is still quite narrow. Since learning about the OCOP program, the cooperative has actively researched and contacted the District Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for assistance in developing the plan. Right after that, the cooperative reformed the processing area to ensure food safety and hygiene, the environment, etc. At the same time, after a period of support on packaging and product labels, the cooperative invested itself to design and order more eye-catching packaging and designs.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly, Director of Chi Lang Agricultural Products Cooperative (Dong Mo town) said: The OCOP program helps affirm the consistency and quality of products. Currently, in many other provinces, the OCOP program has brought many opportunities to develop the market. Therefore, in 2021, the cooperative will make efforts to build OCOP products as well as maintain product rankings.

According to the statistics of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chi Lang district, from the beginning of the year until now, the unit has integrated the contents of the OCOP program in 32 training sessions, attracting 1,300 people in the area to participate. As a result, people’s awareness of the program has been significantly improved compared to when it was first implemented. During the OCOP product classification assessment in 2021, the whole district has 20 products of 7 management entities proposed to participate in the OCOP product classification assessment. In which, 40% of products are proposed by the production units themselves to the district. Through the process of survey and evaluation, the district’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development selected 13 products that well met the criteria to participate in the OCOP program such as production organization; marketing capabilities; sensory and nutritional criteria… Thanks to effective implementation, in 2021, Chi Lang is one of the districts with the highest number of products participating in the OCOP program in the province.

Mr. Vu Van Nhan, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Chi Lang district said: OCOP is a “passport” to bring local products to larger markets. Chi Lang is one of the first districts to implement a program to develop the digital economy by putting agricultural products on e-commerce platforms. Therefore, building OCOP products becomes more important than ever. In the coming time, we will continue to promote propaganda to people about the benefits and meaning of the program. At the same time, we continue to select qualified products to support and build OCOP products.

Currently, in some localities, many production units are still waiting for the support of the State in building their products to become OCOP products. However, in Chi Lang, one of the highlights in the implementation of the OCOP program is that a number of production units have actively sought out specialized agencies for advice and guidance. From there, they manually change the production process, improve the design, product packaging … to be eligible to participate in the program. Whether the OCOP product is recognized at the provincial level or not, it is still waiting for the upcoming product evaluation, however, with the initiative and careful preparation of the participants, Chi Lang district’s specialty products is being improved in both quality and design, this is a premise to expand the market and improve product value.

The OCOP program has been implemented in Chi Lang district since 2019. Since its implementation, Chi Lang district has successfully built a total of 6 OCOP products. In which, there are 4 products with 3 stars at provincial level and 2 products with 4 stars at provincial level. With 13 products participating in the OCOP evaluation in 2021, Chi Lang is one of the districts with the largest number of products participating in the same evaluation ever.