Caption: Ninh Thuận’s OCOP products are sold at the Hang Rái Tourism Area in the province’s Núi Chúa National Park. – VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành

NINH THUẬN – Ninh Thuận Province is prioritising the national “One Commune-One Product” programme, developing brand names for the products and combining rural tourism with it to increase their value.

The south-central province has 65 OCOP products, nine rated four stars and 56 rated three stars. The highest level is five.

The products include food and beverages, fine art products, herbal medicines, and rural tourism services.

The province is developing OCOP products that can be part of value chains and meet market requirements.

Lê Huyền, deputy chairman of its People’s Committee, said the province is encouraging businesses and co-operatives to participate in the programme to improve and diversify OCOP products to give a fillip to the economy, improve rural incomes and lives, preserve culture values, protect the environment, and help build new-style rural areas.

The province aims to develop 20-30 new OCOP products rated at least three-star by year-end. It also aims to get more stars for at least half of all existing products.

It wants at least 30 per cent of co-operatives and 40 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises to make OCOP products.

It has instructed local authorities to roll out support polices and mobilise resources to help combine the OCOP programme with other programmes and projects.

It has set up 15 missions and solution groups to implement the OCOP programme, focusing on encouraging and supporting co-operatives, enterprises and others to adopt advanced techniques to improve the quality and value of their OCOP products.

It plans to boost trade promotion activities through fairs and exhibitions, set up showrooms for introducing and selling OCOP products at tourism and cultural destinations and rest stops.

More and more OCOP producers are offering tourism services at their production sites to promote sales.

Nguyễn Khắc Phòng, director of the Thái An General Agriculture Co-operative in Ninh Hải District’s Vĩnh Hải Commune, said while the NH 01-152 grape is recognised as a four-star OCOP product, his co-operative has other seven three-star products - dried jujube, sugar-free dried grape, dried pink grape, grape honey, dried agar jam, red grape, and grape wine.

Most visitors to the co-operative buy these products, he said.

The co-operative is expanding the cultivation of five new grape varieties in poly green houses that are expected to attract tourists from Tết (Lunar New Year) onwards, he said. The festival falls in the early part of each year.

Local co-operatives and enterprises are rapidly developing linkages with supermarkets, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms to sell their OCOP products.

Authorities closely manage and evaluate the quality of products before and after they get OCOP recognition. – VNS