After five years of implementation, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme has brought practical economic benefits and sustainable income to people in rural areas, establishing itself as an important resource in the building of new-style rural areas.

A store selling Quang Ninh Province's One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme (Photo: VNA)

OCOP Vietnam - Fundamental achievements

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of November 2023, the OCOP programme has been carried out in all 63/63 provinces and cities nationwide, with a total of 10,881 products having been rated as 3-star or more.

In many localities, OCOP has become a mandatory criterion for the evaluation of communes as new-styled, exemplary, and advanced rural areas.

In recent years, many new mechanisms and policies have been promulgated and deployed synchronously from the central to local levels. Prominent among them included Decision 919/QD-TTg on enhancing the role of authorities at the district and commune level in implementing the OCOP programme and Decision 148/QD-TTg on identifying the set of criteria for evaluating and classifying OCOP products for 2021-2025.

The newly-promulgated set of criteria for OCOP products specifies the programme's orientation and approach, focussing on three pillars: community development, product quality, and marketing capacity.

The newly-promulgated set of criteria for OCOP products specifies the programme's orientation and approach, focussing on three pillars: community development, product quality, and marketing capacity. It has helped localities proactively develop support mechanisms and policies to better implement the programme.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has put forward guiding circulars and programmes providing specific guidance for cooperatives and craft villages to develop raw material growing areas and enhance the application of science and technology in production. The ministry has also provided direct support and consultation on brand protection, packaging, and market promotion.

As of December 2023, most districts across the country have established evaluation councils and allocated budgets to implement the OCOP programme.

At the central level, many pilot models to develop OCOP products from the community and community-based cultural tourism village models have been implemented.

Several international promotion events, digital transformation among OCOP stakeholders, live streaming, and trade fairs introducing OCOP products have also been held to help localities, firms, and cooperatives promote high-quality Vietnamese goods and OCOP products.

Production of lotus tea at Son Dung Tea Cooperative in Thai Nguyen Province.

Enhancing the implementation of the OCOP programme

According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, the OCOP programme should focus on developing products imbued with indigenous resources of the localities while encouraging startup ideas.

He also noted that creating a product is difficult, but it is even more difficult to introduce the product to the market and maintain its sustainable development.

Under the OCOP programme, simple products from a community have been applied with science and technology to turn into marketable products.

For example, perch soup – a typical dish in the northern province of Hung Yen – is upgraded into high-end products for export with proper packaging and preservation.

Another example is the famous fresh vermicelli in Phu Do Village, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, which is also packaged and preserved to extend its life even further instead of being used on the same day as before.

It is important to raise the awareness of OCOP stakeholders on the OCOP programme so that they can develop clear ideas and orientations for the building and development of their products.

However, facts have shown that many provinces and districts are having difficulty finding available products to join the OCOP programme, not to mention that many OCOP stakeholders have not yet been fully aware of how the OCOP programme can benefit them. This has led to the fact that many OCOP products had to stop operating just after launching.

Therefore, it is important to raise the awareness of OCOP stakeholders on the OCOP programme so that they can develop clear ideas and orientations for the building and development of their products.

In addition, OCOP products must be continuously improved and upgraded to meet the increasing demand of the market and customers.

Therefore, the development of OCOP products requires close watch from the early stages, when the products are initiated and manufactured, to the promotion and selling process.

It is hoped that with full participation and practical actions from authorities at all levels, the OCOP programme will develop more sustainably and bring more economic benefits to the people, actively contributing to the building of new-style rural areas.