Rice paper made by the Tân Nhiên Company Limited in Hoà Thành Town’s Trường Đông Commune is rated a four-star product under the national OCOP programme. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

TÂY NINH — The south-eastern province of Tây Ninh is fostering the development of products under the national “One Commune-One Product” (OCOP) programme to enhance their value.

OCOP products include commercial products and services such as food and beverages, handicrafts, herbal products and rural tourism.

The province joined the programme in 2018 and has had 26 OCOP products, five of them with four-star ratings and the rest with three stars, as of October this year. The programme tops out at five stars.

The four-star products are Hoàng Xuân honeydew melon, NATANI custard apple, Vĩnh Xuân custard apple juice, Vương Ngọc Vegan custard apple wine, and Tân Nhiên super-thin rice paper.

The three-star ones include taro fermented bean curd and black pepper salt by Phú Gia Bảo Food Industries Processing Establishment and salted paste and vegetarian fish sauce made from cashew fruit by Vương Ngọc Vegan Company Limited. 

The development of OCOP products create rural jobs and improve people’s incomes, according to producers.

Nguyễn Thế Tâm, director of the NATANI Joint Stock Company in Tây Ninh City, said NATANI custard apples were recognised as a four-star OCOP product last year, which spurred the company to try and export the fruit to demanding markets.   

It has tied up with hundreds of farmers to grow the fruit to Vietnamese good agricultural practices standards, he said.

Tây Ninh has mild weather, a flat terrain and good infrastructure, which are ideal for developing OCOP products, according to local authorities.

Its People’s Committee wants to have all communes registered to make OCOP products and 15-20 more products rated three-star or higher by this year.

The local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will take various measures, including providing assistance to OCOP producers.

Nguyễn Đình Xuân, director of the department, said advocacy activities pertaining to the OCOP programme would be stepped up and producers would be given regular training.  

The province plans to have at least 79 OCOP products rated three stars or higher by 2025 and 130-140 by 2030.

It hopes to mobilise VNĐ140 billion (US$5.7 million) from various sources for implementing the programme in 2021-25, and VNĐ98 billion ($4 million) over the next five years. — VNS