OCOP programme expected to boost Binh Duong’s agriculture sector

The southern province of Binh Duong considered One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme as a measure to improve its farming products’ quality, promote trade and services, said a provincial official.

Vice head of the province’s Rural Development Division Van Phuoc Hau said that OCOP was also expected to make a breakthrough in the development of rural areas in the province.

In April this year, the province People’s Committee issued Decision 1166/QD-UBND approving the project on OCOP during the period 2018-2020 with the vision to 2025.

Accordingly, the provinces targeted to develop four products to meet 4-star standard, 30 products to meet 3-star standard and 75 products to meet 1 or 2-star standard.

The province approved the funding of VND68 billion for the project, of which, VND28 billion is mobilised from non-State sources.

This year, the province planned to evaluate at least 30 products. Two districts of Ben Cat and Bac Tan Uyen together with Tan Uyen Town have completed evaluation procedures for the first time.

The three localities would evaluate potential products for the second time this month.

Hau said that almost all key products of localities in the province joined the OCOP programme.

“The implementation of OCOP programme will help boost restructuring in rural labour, take advantages of human resource, protect the environment and achieve sustainable socio-economic development,” he said.

As one of candidate OCOP product, Binh Duong grapefruit is expected to help local farmers go prosperous.

A 60-year-old farmer Dao Van Minh of Thuong Tan Commune, Bac Tan Uyen District said that four generations of his family lived there, seeing grapefruits grow well on this land.

Minh’s grandfather told him that since the early 19th century, people flocked to the Dong Nai River Delta with fertile alluvial soil for reclamation. They brought along with many fruit trees but the only grapefruit could grow well.

Minh said that for the last few years, many local farmers went prosperous thanks to grapefruit. However, prices of the fruits are still mainly decided by wholesalers.

In Bach Dang Commune, Tan Uyen Town, VietGAP standards are applied in nearly 400 ha of grapefruit, providing safe products to market.

Trinh Minh Thanh, director of Dong Thuan Phat Agriculture Co-operative in Bac Tan Uyen District said that Binh Duong grapefruit is small, each grapefruit weighs about 1 kg but it has a thin peel, a lot of water and it is sweet and tasty.

Thanh said that in the past, the grapefruit was cheap because growers usually abused plant protection products.

For the last few years, local grapefruit growers have applied organic farming technologies.

“Wholesalers are interested in organic products. Thus, our grapefruit can be sold at better stable prices,” Minh said.

He said that once the grapefruit was recognised as an OCOP product, local farmers and his co-operative would have more opportunities to introduce their fruit and access new markets.