Developing OCOP products in Tuong Duong: Enhancing mountain products

Tuong Duong has 213-star OCOP products

Tuong Duong district currently has many outstanding OCOP products, including bo giang, turmeric starch of the Youth Volunteers, candied tamarind products, red-fleshed dragon fruit, tomato segments, candied tamarind... Candied tamarind products of Tuong Duong Tamarind Processing Cooperative in Cay Me village, Tam Thai commune, Tuong Duong district have participated in many trade promotion fairs, promoting products in provinces and cities and widely consumed throughout Nghe An province.

Ms. Kha Thi Dung - Head of the Tuong Duong Tamarind Processing Cooperative in Cay Me village shared: The tamarind candy product has been made by the cooperative since 2021, the raw material source is buying tamarind from local people in quite abundant locality. The tamarind is processed, 65% ripe tamarind, 35% diameter, tamarind candy is used to mix into a very fragrant, cool refreshing drink. It can be used as a sauce, spice in food processing, with typical dishes such as sweet and sour ribs, steamed shrimp...

The output for the product in the summer is usually more stable, with an average consumption of over 3,000 boxes of tamarind candy/month, at a reasonable price of 60,000 VND/box. Tamarind candy is favored by customers because of its smooth texture, moderate sweetness, mild and lasting aroma; the processing and preservation are clean. Therefore, as soon as the tamarind is finished, customers from all over come to buy it, so there is almost no inventory.

Tuong Duong area is also famous for the beef jerky products of Thao Hao Beef Jerky Production and Trading Cooperative in Thach Giam town. The products of this facility have been signed to be consumed by 3 supermarkets in Vinh city, including BigC supermarket, Lotte supermarket, and Tomato clean food supermarket.

Ms. Tran Thi Thao - Head of the cooperative said: The cooperative was established in 2018, with 7 participating households.BAccording to the Thai ethnic group in Nghe An, ò giang means meat for hanging in the kitchen, this product has long become a famous specialty. On normal days, each month the facility produces and consumes about 1.5 to 2 quintals of ò giang.

To make delicious bo giang, you must choose local cows and must choose grade 1 beef to make this specialty dish. After bringing the meat home, the meat is washed, cut into pieces about 20 cm long. Then, the meat is seasoned and marinated, tied with rope to dry in the sun, dried on a wood stove, when the meat is dry and fragrant, then stop. The finished bo giang will be wrapped in plastic bags, vacuum-sealed and stored in the refrigerator.

In addition to beef production, the cooperative also has 3 other products including pork, smoked pork belly, and Chinese sausage.

However, to develop OCOP products in Tuong Duong, there are still difficulties, most OCOP products have seasonal production scale, small output, when the market has large demand, it cannot meet. Cooperatives participating in developing OCOP products have limited internal strength and production management ability; Products are currently maintained at household scale, without close linkage in production and consumption.

Up to now, the whole Tuong Duong district has 21 OCOP products that have achieved 3 stars. These are: Tuong Duong beef jerky, red-fleshed dragon fruit, segmented tomatoes, Khe Ngau sweet eggplant, sticky rice wine, Chinese sausage, dried bamboo shoots, sweet tamarind, traditional rattan table and chair set of Thai ethnic group, Quang Phuc village community tourism, La village super wine, Ha Phuong spicy chili salt...

TStrengthening promotion and connection for consumption of OCOP products

Mr. Nguyen Huu Hien - Vice Chairman of Tuong Duong District People's Committee said: The OCOP program in Tuong Duong has promoted the strength and role of the community in preserving and developing traditional local products.

Through the implementation of the program, clean agricultural production areas have been formed, linked to product value chains, thereby contributing to shifting the economic structure in rural areas, helping people to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

In recent times, Tuong Duong district has prioritized the work of promoting, promoting trade, building brands, connecting supply and demand - consumption of OCOP products. The district has also actively coordinated with relevant units to support bringing products to e-commerce platforms such as Postmart.vn/Agri-postmart.vn.

Beef jerky and sausage products of Thao Hao Beef Jerky Production and Trading Cooperative, sweet tamarind of Tamarind Production and Processing Cooperative; dried bamboo shoots of Production Cooperative... have been connected to participate in trade promotion fairs, promoting products in Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Sam Son Thanh Hoa, Vinh City Nghe An.

Up to now, Tuong Duong district has Built a point of sale to introduce and display OCOP products in Thach Giam town. From 2021 to 2024, Tuong Duong district has integrated project programs, supporting over 1 billion VND to support training, direction, branding, labels, packaging, and trademark registration at the Department of Intellectual Property.

Tuong Duong is continuing to develop OCOP products, reviewing potential and strong products to register to participate in the OCOP program. In 2024, the district will continue to select 8 products to include in the OCOP development program, including: Tuong Duong mango, sticky rice wine, fermented sticky rice (Thach Giam town), dried banana seeds (Huu Khuong), yellow flower tea (Nhon Mai), Dang Sam wine (sam and cau wine), Ban Ve catfish (Yen Na), and Xa Luong sour sausage.

Select, consolidate and improve production and business organizations, establish cooperative groups and economic cooperatives to produce and trade agricultural products and existing ecotourism services in communes and towns to qualify for the OCOP Program. The district supports the expansion of production scale and equipment for 21 OCOP products that have met 3-star standards in the period of 2021-2025. Build 1 more OCOP sales point at the Sang Le - Tam Dinh rest stop.