The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a conference in the Central province of Thua Thien-Hue on October 24 to gather ideas for the national program on “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP). MARD Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam said that OCOP wil help more than six million farmer households. He stressed the need for strong communication to raise public awareness in preserving and promoting the value of traditional products. 

Under the new-style rural area building program, in 2020, 80 percent of communes are expected to meet criteria in locals’ income and 85 percent in production organization. To reach the targets, the MARD has restructured the agricultural sector towards stronger value chains and linked production and sales, initially focusing on national products, and strong products at provincial level and district-commune levels. The ministry has also enhanced the application of science and technology, especially in agro-forestry and fisheries production. 

OCOP has been designed to suit specific communes, concentrating on different products for each locality. Participants at the conference agreed that the program should be comprehensive in all aspects of economy, culture and society, with community engagement. The promotion of chosen products will help increase their production and sales, thus creating more jobs and improving incomes, while speeding up reinvestment to increase competitiveness of the products, they said. 

A national survey showed that 4,736 products of 63 provinces and cities nationwide have high potential for the OCOP program.

Source: VNA