To make the most of each local area’s strengths to reach consumers, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province focuses on developing OCOP products and encouraging enterprises to invest in agriculture and develop rural industries.
Having been implementing the one-commune-one-product (OCOP) program for 4 years now, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province (BR-VT) has had 92 products of 46 entities recognized by the provincial People’s Committee as OCOP products of three-star or higher ranking, including 64 four-star products and 28 three-star products, and many signature and typical products of the province that are well received by consumers. In particular, chocolate, pepper, coffee, cocoa, and seafood have won consumer confidence in the Japanese, American, and European markets.
Mr. Huynh Son Thai, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, said that the province targets to have at least 150 OCOP products meeting standards of three stars or higher ranking by 2025, and the province will prioritize the development of cooperatives and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Developing high-tech agriculture is one of the four pillars of economic development of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, which also focuses on maintaining sustainable export of OCOP products and raising their added value.
Thanh Thanh Solar Energy Co., Ltd., located in Binh Ba Commune, Chau Duc District, BR-VT, is a pioneer in developing lingzhi mushroom products meeting OCOP standards and qualified for export. This company has invested in a closed process from the embryo production stage to the stage of growing medicinal lingzhi mushrooms according to clean organic standards. Currently, the facility has a lingzhi mushroom product recognized to meet four-star OCOP standards.
Not only focusing on upgrading the quality of export products, many businesses in BR-VT also aim to enhance trade promotion activities to introduce agricultural products to a large number of people and tourists in BR-VT and other provinces. Typically, in 2020, some products supplied by Bau May Agriculture – Trade – Tourism Cooperative (Xuyen Moc District) including seedless pepper, sun-dried pepper, milk pepper, salted fresh pepper, salted green pepper, and Rhizoma Dioscoreae were recognized as four-star OCOP products. The cooperative also provides FAM trips for groups of visitors and welcomes diplomatic guests to visit, survey and evaluate this destination to develop their tours.
The representative of Bau May Agriculture – Trade – Tourism Cooperative said that through trade connection and tourism promotion activities, the products supplied by the cooperative not only bring Bau May brand to people and tourists but also create an effective export channel right in the province. Currently, Bau May pepper is widely sold in the domestic market and exported to many choosy markets such as Japan, America, Korea, Dubai, etc.
In the period of 2023-2025, BR-VT focuses on developing high-tech agriculture as well as organic agriculture alongside implementing the new rural development program. The province has implemented many solutions such as preparing sufficient land areas to attract enterprises to invest in developing high-tech agriculture; prioritizing investment in infrastructure of the zones and areas planned for development of high-tech agriculture; training human resources to develop high-tech farms; promoting agricultural trade, organizing tours, learning experiences in production applying high-tech agriculture, contributing to facilitating the agricultural industry to develop further and align to the circular economy.
Currently, 100% of officials in charge of OCOP standards at each district, commune, enterprise, cooperative, cooperative group, and registered business household are participating in OCOP training programs. Especially, it is expected that there will be at least five products provided by the group of community tourism services and tourist attractions recognized as OCOP products of three stars or higher ranking.
The national program of “one commune one product” for the period 2018-2020 was launched under Decision No. 490/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister dated May 7, 2018. OCOP is an economic development program for rural areas that is aimed at utilizing available resources and increasing value. It is also a solution as well as a task to implement the national target program to develop new rural areas.
Mr. Nguyen Van Cam, Deputy Director of the Rural Development Sub-Department of BR-VT Province, said: “In the near future, to ensure effectiveness of trade promotion activities, BR-VT will accelerate the development of green innovative agriculture and move towards ecological and sustainable agriculture based on the orientation and characteristics of each agricultural product and the socio-economic development situation.”
