Honoring “Excellent Farmers” and “Typical Agricultural Products”: Empowering creativity, promoting production

2022 is the first year that the Farmers’ Association of Lang Son province organizes the voting for “Excellent Farmers” and “Typical Agricultural Products”. This is a practical activity with the aim of honoring outstanding farmers in production and business, subjects of agricultural products with high quality, high value, good competitiveness and potential to broaden market. It is also to encourage the creativity of farmers, businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, branches and group of farmers in the production, processing and consumption of agricultural products.

The voting for “Excellent Farmers” and “Typical Agricultural Products” of the province for the first time was from June 2022 to the end of October 2022. The Provincial Farmers’ Association has promulgated the rules of the voting and introduced it widely among its members and farmers; directed its smaller branches to conduct voting from branches and group with democracy and objectivity. On the basis of voting from the preliminary round in districts and Lang Son city, the Provincial Voting Council selected 11/22 excellent farmers and 15/32 typical agricultural products to the final round for awarding and replication.

Provincial leaders and delegates visit the agricultural product booth of the Chi Lang District Farmers’ Association

The voting for “Excellent Farmers” is an opportunity to encourage excellent members and farmers in agricultural and forestry development in the direction of applying science and high technology with products that ensure hygiene and food safety and are highly appreciated by the consumers. Thereby, it encourages the creativity of farmers, businesses, cooperatives, cooperative groups, branches and groups of farmers in the production, processing and consumption of agricultural products, which gradually forms high quality production areas, building brands, expanding and developing markets, meeting the needs of economic restructuring and labor restructuring in rural areas towards industrialization and modernization.

The voting also advertises the new model of farmers, who with others effectively develop economy and associate production with the market; effectively exploit the potentials and strengths of each area to create branded products, to meet domestic consumption needs and to aim for export, contributing to increasing income and enriching the homeland.

This is also a practical activity in the implementation of Resolution No. 06- NQ/TU dated November 25, 2020 of the Provincial Party Committee on building and developing concentrated commodity production areas associated with the chains of production and consumption, branding in the agricultural sector in the period of 2020 – 2030.

Black jelly products are displayed at the booth of Trang Dinh district at the Vietnam – China International Trade Fair (Lang Son 2022)

The Provincial Farmers’ Association also identified the “Excellent Farmers” voting as one of the tasks and solutions to continue innovating, improving the quality and efficiency of the movement “Farmers emulate in production and business, unite to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty”; promote the solidarity, mutual affection, support each other to get rich and care about helping poor households and households facing difficulties in the locality. Since then, this contributes to promoting new rural development and building a strong association.

The typical agricultural products participating in the poll are all products of good quality, design, packaging with food hygiene and safety, they are also highly competitive and environmentally friendly. Thereby, the voting not only encourages cooperatives, cooperative groups, branches and groups of farmers, businesses and agricultural production establishments to actively innovate and improve product quality, but also to promotes, introduces and creates opportunities for typical local products to develop.

In the coming time, the Provincial Farmers’ Association will continue to promote the movement “Farmers emulate in production and business, unite to help each other get rich and sustainably reduce poverty”, encourage farmers to overcome difficulties, challenges, dare to think, dare to do in production and business; actively help poor and disadvantaged households to escape of poverty together. Along with that, the Association continues to strengthen propaganda to raise awareness, change the mindset of members and farmers on economic development associated with the market, branding, production according to advanced standard processes with traceability, encourage them to actively apply digital transformation in agriculture in association with the promotion, introduction of products and consumption of agricultural products on e-commerce platforms.

Additionally, the association continues to coordinate with relevant agencies and units to organize training on the application of new science and technology to production, to instruct farmers on the process of building products certified as OCOP (One Commune One Product) associated with food safety, environmental protection and labor safety; to send excellent farmers, good producers and businessmen to learn and experience in typical agricultural and forestry economic models inside and outside the province with the aim of helping members and farmers raise awareness, dare to invest, expand production scale, improve product quality; strengthen the guidance for members, farmers and agricultural cooperatives to access preferential mechanisms and policies of the province on agricultural and rural development; support the development of production demonstration models of effective cultivation and husbandry and develop it to a larger scale, especially production models according to VietGAP standards, safe organic food for public health .