Barriers in upgrading OCOP 'star'

This veal ham production facility creates jobs and stable income for dozens of local workers. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to statistics from the Department of Rural Development, after nearly 4 years of implementing the "One Commune One Product" Program, out of a total of 208 products recognized with 3 stars or more, 4 products have been upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars, including: Chung Tai veal ham; Lotus heart tea and dried lotus seeds of Sen Que Bac Cooperative and Dien Chau lotus peanuts.

According to the assessment, the products after being upgraded to star status all have developed in terms of production scale, consumption market and production and business efficiency, affirming their position in the market, in which, many products have reached out for export.

Although clearly defined, to affirm the prestige, quality and competitiveness, promote the consumption of OCOP products, entities with recognized and starred products need to pay attention to upgrading the stars for the products. However, the process of upgrading the star rating encounters many difficulties.

Finding a unique design for Thanh My grapefruit products to avoid confusion with grapefruit products from other localities is not easy. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan - Director of Thanh My Grapefruit Cooperative in My Son hamlet, Thanh My commune (Thanh Chuong) said: “Thanh My grapefruit products were recognized as 3 OCOP stars in 2020. Although the goal of upgrading to 4 stars was set, the implementation process encountered many difficulties. Firstly, finding a unique design for Thanh My grapefruit products so that they are not confused with grapefruit products in other localities is not easy; investment in labels and product packaging is limited; grapefruit is harvested seasonally, so the supply to the market is unstable and irregular...

In addition, product promotion and consumption on online channels and e-commerce are also limited; the cost of quality inspection and certification is expensive, so people are reluctant to invest because "the revenue is not enough to cover the expenses". Therefore, we are currently maintaining the criteria to maintain the 3-star rating so that the provincial council can consider and evaluate the re-recognition of the OCOP title when the deadline comes."

Hasafood Nghe An Joint Stock Company's dried orange products achieved 3 OCOP stars in 2021. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Always aiming to upgrade the star rating for his OCOP products, Mr. Nguyen Son Tin - Director of Hasafood Nghe An Joint Stock Company (Minh Hop Commune, Quy Hop District) said: “Currently, we have 4 products that have achieved 3 OCOP stars, what we aim for is to achieve 4 stars, up to 5 stars. However, meeting the criteria is not easy. In particular, the criteria on revenue and business scale are too high. Therefore, according to the 2022 plan, we are trying to complete the criteria to have 2 more products achieving 3 stars, but the upgrade will have to be gradual...”.

Progressimprove OCOP productsis inevitable but not mandatory for the subjects. To upgrade from 3 stars to 4 stars, the subject must demonstrate the expansion of production scale, process innovation, and expansion of the consumer market; product quality criteria must be completed according to the 4-star product scale... For OCOP products from 4 stars to 5-star quality, it is even more difficult, when the 5-star level is considered and recognized by the Central Council.

Criteria on revenue and business size are "barriers" in the process of upgrading OCOP star rating. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To invest in and upgrade production lines and machinery, a relatively large amount of funding is needed, while most of the province's OCOP product producers are small-scale and individual producers. Therefore, although they understand the benefits of upgrading stars, many producers do not have enough conditions to boldly invest. In addition, current OCOP product production facilities are limited, lacking criteria on linking raw material areas and criteria related to e-commerce.

Mr. Nguyen Ho Lam - Deputy Head of DepartmentDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Developmentsaid: “Recognizing these difficulties, in recent times, the agricultural sector and related sectors, together with localities, have promoted solutions for propaganda, training, and partial funding support for building labels, packaging, traceability stamps, etc. for producers to improve the quality of OCOP products. As a result, in 2021, 4 products were upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars and 1 potential 5-star product is being submitted to the Central level for approval. In 2022, we strive to have at least 100 more products reaching 3 stars or higher; of which, we will focus on upgrading at least 1 4-star product to 5 stars and 5 products from 3 stars to 4 stars".