A store selling Quang Ninh's One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme (Photo: VNA)
Quang Ninh (VNA) – QuangNinh should early issue policies to make the One Commune-One Product (OCOP)programme a brand of the province, and turn the OCOP fair into a tourismproduct, the provincial committee for new-style rural area building proposed ata conference on June 5.
The event was held to review the10-year implementation of the “Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods” campaign, underwhich the OCOP programme was an important part.
Quang Ninh was the firstlocality in the country to implement the OCOP programme in 2013, and local OCOPproducts have been gaining popularity recently.
The northeastern coastalprovince has mobilized more than 500 billion VND to support the development ofproducts under the programme. By now 140 organisations have been involved inthe OCOP scheme, developing 351 products, with 138 of them winning high-qualityrating.
The OCOP programme hascontributed to increasing the prestige of made-by-Vietnam goods in general andQuang Ninh’s farm products in particular. It also helped change localproduction practice towards commercial scale while facilitating marketmanagement.
Looking back at a decadeimplementing the “Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods” campaign in Quang Ninh, provincialofficials pointed to remarkable changes in local consumers’ habit towardsbuying more Vietnamese goods and giving priority to high-quality Vietnamesegoods when making purchase decisions.
In the past 10 years, Quang Ninhhas organized nearly 200 trade fairs, exhibitions and other trade eventsfeaturing Vietnamese goods in general and OCOP products in particular.
Nguyen Van Huong, head of theprovince’s steering committee for the “Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods”campaign, said the provincial administration has assisted with the marketingand distribution of OCOP products to shopping malls, supermarkets, conveniencestores, restaurants and hotels, as well as with the opening of 29 OCOP shopsand showrooms in the province.
However, delegates remarked thatpackaging and price remain the weak points of Vietnamese goods.
Deputy director of Quang Ninh’sDepartment of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thi Hien said as the province bordersChina, it is easy for Chinese goods to enter the domestic market. She urgedmeasures to tighten the control of cross-border trade.
The OCOP was initiatedby the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2008, following themodel of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) drive and Thailand’s “OneTown, One Product” (OTOP). It is an economic development programme for ruralareas focusing on increasing internal power and values, contributing to theimplementation of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development for2016-2020.
The classifications of goods and services defined in theprogramme include food (fresh and processed farm produce); beverages (alcoholicand non-alcoholic drinking); medicinal herbs (products made from herbalplants); fabric and textiles (products made from cotton and yarn); souvenirs,furniture, and decorations (products made from wood, fibres, rattan, metal, andceramics); and rural tourism services and sales (services for sightseeing,tourism, study, and research).
The overall objective of the programme is to develop stableand sustainable forms of production for organisations and businesses (withpriority given to developing cooperatives and small- and medium-sizedenterprises), towards producing traditional products andimproving services with high competitiveness on the domestic andinternational markets, thus promoting rural economy and national agricultureindustrialisation and modernisation.
As of late April, 60 out of 63 cities and provincesnationwide have built their OCOP frame programme at the provincial level, 30 ofwhich have already completed the programme design and 28 others are collectingfeedback before approval. Paticularly, Quang Ninh province has entered thesecond phase.
Concluding the first stage ofthe programme from 2013-2016, Quang Ninh developed 210 OCOP products. More than180 economic establishments and households joined the programme.
During the secondstage, the province will strive to have 250 high-quality OCOP products by 2020,including at least 12 provincial-level products, six others qualified to jointhe national value chain, and one to two competitive enough in the globalmarket.–VNA
