Vinh City needs to prioritize the development of OCOP products.

Businesses are not interested in OCOP?

According to the 2019 vote, Nghe An has 48OCOP productsStarred, of which 15 products achieved 4 stars and 33 products achieved 3 stars (Nghe An has no products achieving 5 stars).Compared to other districts and towns, in the first year, Vinh City was assessed to have a fairly favorable start with 11 products, but in 2020, for many reasons, Vinh City no longer had many participating products.

Delegates visited the booth and exchanged experiences on the sidelines of the Announcement and Star Awarding Ceremony for Nghe An OCOP products in 2019. Photo: Nguyen Hai

According to information from the Department of Rural Development: This year, Nghe An has 64 OCOP products that have made it to the final round, of which, Vinh city has only 1 product, which is the detox drink of Haconkhan World Joint Stock Company in Hung Loc commune, participating and achieving 4-star standard. This is a completely new product, using Nano technology to extract from turmeric starch and ginseng in Nghe An.

While some districts have 10, even 18 products, Vinh City is the economic center of the province but only has 1 participating product, which is too little and not commensurate.

According to the representative of the Economic Department, Vinh City People's Committee: In fact, this year Vinh City initially planned to have about 5-6 products participating in the introduction, but due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, businesses are facing difficulties so they cannot launch products as planned. The city also wants to find unique and typical products, but they are in the process of surveying and have not been implemented yet.

In fact, although Vinh City is considered a locality with some advantages as the socio-economic center of the province and also has some handicrafts such as sedge mat weaving in Hung Hoa commune, animal husbandry in Hung Dong and Nghi Duc communes; flower and ornamental plant making in Nghi An and Nghi Lien communes, rattan and bamboo weaving in Nghi Phu commune... however, the city currently does not have its own mechanism to support, the capacity and understanding of the city's enterprises in the agricultural economic sector is also quite modest, so not many enterprises participate.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu awarded certificates to 15 representatives of Nghe An OCOP products that achieved 4-star standards in 2019, of which Vinh City had 8 products. Photo: Nguyen Hai

A representative of an enterprise with OCOP products in Vinh City shared: Doing business in the agricultural sector requires not only capital but also true dedication and commitment to the countryside and farmers. It is difficult to get a product recognized, but maintaining the title and developing sustainably is a long and arduous journey, so it requires support and companionship from the State. Unlike other fields, OCOP products are very difficult to succeed without timely encouragement and support from the locality.

Need a "push" for OCOP Vinh city

Currently, because Vinh city does not have a support mechanism, any enterprise that wants to make OCOP products must explore and connect with relevant departments and branches to access the province's general policies. Also because the State's support policy for OCOP is mainly through a support mechanism to enter distribution chains after the process of assessing standards and affixing labels on star-rated products, enterprises must be truly determined to access it.

Representatives of the Department of Industry and Trade inspect the equipment of a wine production line of a business in Nghi Duc commune. Photo: Nguyen Hai

A business shared: In the start-up phase, businesses face many difficulties and confusion, so support from departments, branches and localities is very necessary. Support should be effective and practical. When departments, branches and localities work together, they will know which businesses and products are feasible to support promptly and quickly instead of too many meeting procedures, documents and papers.

From his own experience, a representative of a mushroom production enterprise in Hung Loc commune added: It is difficult to meet the standards, but maintaining reputation and quality is not simple. Nghe An's weather conditions are dry and hot for 6-7 months/year and the mushroom production time is only 1.5 batches/year compared to 3 batches/year in other provinces.

Obviously, the signs of the city's OCOP products slowing down and stagnating need to be seriously evaluated and considered. This not only causes the city to not take advantage of the land in the suburban communes but also loses the advantage of being a large market, the center of the province to connect tourism services and introduce to other provinces.

After focusing resources to reach the NTM finish line, the city had to allocate investment resources to many other areas, so investment in OCOP products is still limited. Recently, when realizing the potential of OCOP products, the city leaders have paid more attention and assigned the Economic Department to survey and research, but due to regulations on the authority of the District People's Committee, it is not allowed to issue separate support mechanisms and policies, so it has not been implemented yet.

Mr. Tran Quang Lam - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee