Lê Khắc Đông Nghi (right), director of the Đông Nghi Agricultural Co-operative in Long Hưng Commune, introduces the co-operative’s freeze-dried durian, which has been recognised as a four-star OCOP product. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG THÁP — Đồng Tháp Province is expanding the national One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme by linking local agricultural products with rural tourism and traditional craft villages and strengthening ties between producers, processors, and sellers.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has 889 OCOP products, including four rated five stars, 181 rated four, and 704 rated three.

The provincial government is encouraging OCOP producers to move beyond small-scale production and work with processors and distributors to increase the value of their products.

Linking OCOP products with traditional crafts and tourism is also expected to bring greater economic benefits to local communities while promoting their distinctive products.

The province's Department of Agriculture and Environment has worked with other agencies to help community-based and agricultural tourism sites display and sell OCOP products and promote them through the province tourism information portal.

Red-fleshed dragon fruit produced by the Hưng Thịnh Phát Clean Agriculture Co-operative in Tân Thuận Bình Commune has received a four-star OCOP rating. — VNA/VNS Photo

At The Mango Trail Farmstay in Mỹ Thọ Commune, visitors can learn about local agricultural traditions and discover products from the province’s fruit-growing areas.

The site showcases OCOP-certified safe mango products and introduces visitors to local farming practices and the history of an ancestral mango tree brought by early settlers who helped develop the area.

Hồ Thị Thu Thủy, owner of The Mango Trail Farmstay, says visitors are drawn to the distinctive character of the Đồng Tháp Mười (Plain of Reeds) region, conveyed through images and stories of the hardships faced by early settlers.

Another example is the Thiên Ân green medicinal herb tourism site in Vĩnh Hựu Commune, which is trialling an approach to tourism centred on nature.

Its garden contains more than 100 medicinal plant species and supplies vegetables and herbs for meals and drinks served to visitors.

The site also displays OCOP products made from cordyceps mushrooms, which visitors can sample and buy.

Trần Thị Luôn, deputy director of Thiên Ân Cordyceps Company Limited, says: “Displaying OCOP products at the tourism site helped introduce and promote them and connect them with consumers.”

A number of rice-based processed products made by Sa Giang Import-Export Corporation in Sa Đéc Ward have been recognised under the OCOP programme and become popular in the US and EU markets. — VNA/VNS Photo

Improving product quality

The province's People’s Committee has issued a plan for the OCOP programme for 2026–30, focusing on improving product quality, value, and competitiveness while making better use of local agricultural resources, cultural heritage, traditional crafts, indigenous knowledge, and natural surroundings.

The programme will be linked with efforts to develop new-style rural areas, restructure agriculture, strengthen the rural economy, expand community-based tourism, adopt digital technology, and promote greener production and resource reuse.

The province aims to create jobs, raise incomes, and improve living standards while supporting sustainable rural development.

Several co-operatives are developing processed products to increase the value of local agricultural produce.

In Mỹ Tịnh An Commune, the Thiên Phúc Co-operative has five notable OCOP products: yellow-skinned dragon fruit, dried dragon fruit, dried bananas, dried grapefruit peel, and soursop tea.

Its yellow-skinned dragon fruit and dried dragon fruit products have received three-star OCOP stars.

Nguyễn Hữu Phúc, director of the co-operative, says processing the fruit can help ease the seasonal glut that leaves growers facing low prices when there are bumper harvests.

Nguyễn Hữu Phúc, director of the Thiên Phúc Co-operative in Mỹ Tịnh An Commune, introduces some of the co-operative’s OCOP products. — VNA/VNS Photo

Hồ Trung Hiếu, deputy chairman of the Mỹ Tịnh An People’s Committee, says the commune plans to strengthen links between agricultural producers, processors, and sellers, including those handling dragon fruit, and add two OCOP products: dragon fruit candy and dried dragon fruit seeds.

The commune will also introduce codes to identify growing areas and packing facilities and apply scientific and technological advances to production.

In Long Hưng Commune, the Đông Nghi Agricultural Co-operative has developed freeze-dried durian, which has received a four-star OCOP rating and national recognition as an outstanding industrial product.

The product is sold widely in the domestic market, increasing the value of local durian.

The co-operative has received four-star ratings for 14 of its 15 products, most of which are convenient freeze-dried goods that tourists buy as gifts or consume during their trips.

Võ Văn Dũng, deputy chairman of the Long Hưng Commune People’s Committee, says the commune has 17 OCOP products, including 14 rated four stars.

The commune continues to help Đông Nghi and other co-operatives expand production and build business partnerships to increase the value of local agricultural products.

Đặng Văn Tuấn, deputy director of the Đồng Tháp Department of Industry and Trade, says the department has worked with other agencies to arrange outlets displaying and promoting OCOP products, helping co-operatives and businesses bring local specialities to consumers.

The province aims to maintain and improve the quality of existing OCOP products while developing at least 463 new ones by 2030 to take its total number to 1,352. — VNS