The journey to achieve 'star' status of Nghe An OCOP products

Applying high technology to production

The green tea product of Minh Sang Cooperative, Hung Son Commune (Anh Son) is a product recognized as achieving 3 stars in the OCOP program. Mr. Vo Van Dong - Chairman of Minh Sang Cooperative said: His family has over 4 hectares of industrial tea, currently harvesting over 120 tons of fresh tea buds each year. The Hung Son tea raw material area has a fresh climate, is cared for according to VietGAP process, very suitable for building a clean tea brand. The Japanese JICA has also come to learn about investment directions.

Anh Son farmers harvest tea. Photo: Huyen Trang

When starting production, Mr. Dong strictly followed the production, processing and consumption stages of the product. In addition to not using chemicals to stimulate growth and being fertilized with biological products, the tea buds were picked entirely by hand to avoid crushing or mixing substandard tea and had to ensure the quality of "one bud, two leaves". In addition, the tea products also did not use flavoring additives, the products ensured food safety and hygiene standards. With that direction, Minh Sang green tea products quickly affirmed their brand and were highly appreciated by consumers in and outside the province.

After the clean tea brand was accepted by the market, Mr. Vo Van Dong established Minh Sang Green Tea Cooperative, specializing in producing and processing high-quality, premium traditional green tea. With its own way of doing things and respecting reputation, Minh Sang Green Tea is the pride of Hung Son tea area and Anh Son district. In 2019, the Cooperative produced 5 tons of dry tea, with profits reaching hundreds of millions of VND. Currently, the Cooperative creates regular jobs for nearly 20 workers. In 2020, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee recognized Minh Sang Green Tea products as 3-star products participating in the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program in 2019.
For ATC Mushroom Production Joint Stock Company (Vinh City), successfully building OCOP products as they are today is really not simple.

Customers view products of ATC Mushroom Production Joint Stock Company. Photo: Tran Chau

Mr. Tran Dinh Toan - representative of this company said: Science, technology, passion and people are the core factors for success. To have high quality mushroom products, ensuring human health, the application of science and technology to the product is inevitable. The production, harvesting and post-harvest processing of mushrooms must ensure the correct production sequence, have a plan suitable for the environment when the weather changes,... Harvest time must be suitable for the growth and development time of the product. Maximum use of machinery, equipment and technology in production stages, estimated at 80%. Post-harvest processing is handled by high-tech machinery to ensure the quality and quantity of the product.

Regarding the mushroom spawn production process, Mr. Tran Dinh Toan also said that the company uses automatic spawn packing and steaming technology, which significantly reduces the number of workers and ensures high product quality consistency. The mushroom spawn bag production technology uses a closed production line of machinery and equipment from the stage of screening and mixing sawdust, mixing sawdust with cotton seeds, packing mushrooms, transporting them to the oven and steaming them. Only 3 workers (50% reduction compared to other facilities currently doing so) can carry out the above processes while still ensuring quality, time and technical requirements.

For the sterilization oven, the company uses a fully automatic boiler, using direct water heating technology to draw steam into the oven. The bags of embryos after being steamed are processed evenly, the time is shortened by 1/3 compared to the ovens currently used by other units. The mushroom growing house is designed with a sturdy steel frame, with 2 insulated corrugated iron roofs above for ventilation and cooling in the summer, which is very hot in Nghe An.

Inside is a steel rack system, above is an automatic misting system, below is a drain to regulate temperature and humidity when necessary. With this arrangement, on hot days, mushrooms still grow evenly in the greenhouses.

For the technology of drying lingzhi mushrooms and wood ear mushrooms after harvesting, they must be dried for use. The company is using automatic dryers imported from Korea with infrared drying technology.

Ganoderma mushroom products of ATC Mushroom Production Joint Stock Company (Vinh City). Photo: Lam Tung

Not only at Minh Sang Green Tea Production Cooperative, ATC Mushroom Production Company, but also Hidumi Pharma Green Science Joint Stock Company in Quynh Luong Commune (Quynh Luu), investing tens of billions of VND in production along with asking for international consultants (Prof. Dr. Franz Peter Monforts (Germany) in all stages from algae seed production, farming process, production expansion, biomass collection, biomass processing, product collection, drying, grinding... to the final stage of producing products, so that products meet the standards issued by the Ministry of Health.

Focus on promotion

At ATC Mushroom Production Joint Stock Company, building a brand and trademark for products is focused on. In the difficult start-up conditions, the company focuses on protecting product trademarks, building and designing packaging and labels to ensure beauty, quality, and environmental friendliness for the products; registering QR codes, codes, and barcodes to trace the origin of products,...
For Hoa Tien Brocade Cooperative (Quy Chau), with a variety of brocade products, especially natural silk products, the cooperative's products have now reached Hanoi and international friends.

Cotton harvest in Chau Tien (Quy Chau). Photo: PV

To achieve that success, the Cooperative cooperated with the Center for Research, Linkage and Development of Handicrafts CRAFT LINK Hanoi to introduce products, considering this as the point of consumption of products in the capital, where handicraft products are loved.

The Cooperative also set up websites and Facebook pages to introduce products to customers. Thanks to that, Chau Tien brocade products are getting further and further.

For many other OCOP products, it can be said that if the promotion is not done well, it will be difficult to reach consumers.

Customers visit the Quy Chau brocade booth in Vinh city at the Patriotic Emulation Conference. Photo: Quang An

Ms. Sam Thi Khuyen - a member of the cooperative said that before the Covid-19 pandemic, each member could earn 3-5 million VND per month from brocade weaving, and families with many skilled members had higher income.

In February 2020, 48 typical rural agricultural products were recognized by the People's Committee of Nghe An province as OCOP products and awarded 3-4 provincial stars, which is a great source of encouragement for startups and typical rural products in Nghe An. This initial success still needs to be continued by businesses to invest, preserve and develop achievements, constantly innovate and improve quality.

The secret to building OCOP products in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - Currently, of the 48 OCOP products that have been awarded provincial-level stars, about 40% of the products have been granted trademark registration certificates by the Department of Intellectual Property. Each unit and locality has its own way of creating a brand for its products.