Green grapes grown by the Thái Thuận – Ninh Thuận Manufacture and Trading Agricultural Company Limited in Ninh Sơn District, are recognised as a four-star ‘one commune – one product’ (OCOP) product of Ninh Thuận Province. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

NINH THUẬN – The south-central province of Ninh Thuận is taking measures to increase the number of its products made under the country’s ‘one commune – one product’ programme.  

OCOP includes commercial products and services like food, beverages, handicrafts, and rural tourism services, which are rated up to a highest of five stars.

Lê Huyền, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said to develop OCOP products, Ninh Thuận was enabling co-operatives and production establishments to participate in the programme.

It was providing them with machinery and facilities, helping develop production linkages between stakeholders and raw material growing areas, training human resources, and carrying out trade promotion activities for OCOP products, he said.

It would promote the sales of these products through modern distribution channels like supermarkets and e-commerce platforms, he said.

Producers would get help in using advanced technologies to improve quality and value, with competent agencies overseeing quality from production to sales, he said.

The province has had 69 OCOP products, including 10 four – star and 51 three - star products as of last year including honeydew melon, jujube, grapefruit, Cà Ná fish sauce, aloe vera products, garlic, and red onion.

These have not only helped improve the value of the province’s agriculture production and rural economy but also promoted its brands, according to the People’s Committee.

The products are in high demand both inside and outside the province.

The Thái Thuận – Ninh Thuận Manufacture and Trading Agricultural Company Limited in Ninh Sơn District’s Nhơn Sơn Commune produces 10 OCOP products, including grape and jujube.

Nguyễn Đình Quang, its director, said through local and central government support policies, the company had developed production linkages for its grape and jujube products.

In early July it began selling its four-star green grapes on e-commerce platform sendo.vn, he said.

“The company will also sell grapes and jujube products on other e-commerce platforms. This will help sell them more conveniently and maintain the production and value of agricultural products during the COVID – 19 pandemic.”

The province is spending more than VNĐ6.1 billion (US$266,000) this year to develop 20 – 30 new OCOP products.

Đặng Kim Cương, director of its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this year the province would also upgrade the quality levels of its existing products.

The province has 38 products, including specifically identified ones, that can be developed into OCOP items, according to a steering board tasked with developing them.

Ninh Thuận, which has the lowest rainfall in the country, has 12 specifically identified products, including asparagus, sheep, goat, Mỹ Nghiệp brocade, and Bàu Trúc pottery.

Its asparagus, for instance, enjoys great demand and stable prices even amid the pandemic.

The province has more than 200ha under asparagus, mostly in Ninh Phước, Ninh Hải, Thuận Bắc, and Ninh Sơn districts and Phan Rang – Tháp Chàm City.

Ninh Thuận is the country’s largest producer of asparagus, grape, jujube, sheep, and goat as its weather and soil are ideal for them.

Along with tourism

The province is promoting OCOP products together with tourism.

Its Department of Industry and Trade is showcasing the province’s OCOP products at six popular tourism destinations including the Vĩnh Hy and Hang Rái tourism areas and the tourism night market.

Last year it organised two fairs to introduce the products and two conferences to discuss linking up with buyers in Bình Thuận and Lâm Đồng provinces and HCM City.

The province also subsidised 50 companies that participated in eight trade fairs held locally and in other provinces and cities last year. – VNS

Red onions grown by the Thanh Hải Agriculture Service Trading Co-operatives in Ninh Hải District are recognised as a three – star OCOP product. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành