Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi has recently announced it will spend 265 billion VND(11.39 million USD) implementing the local One Commune-One Product (OCOP)programme for the 2019 – 2020 period. 

Accordingto the plan, 100 percent of OCOP programme managers at commune-, district, andmunicipal level public agencies as well as at organizations, businesses andcooperatives registering for the programme will have to undergo training toimprove their building capacity.

Thoughimplementing the initiative later than other localities nationwide, Hanoi isaiming to upgrade between 800 and 1,000 products to meet OCOP standards, ofwhich 500 products are set to be ranked at municipal level and 100 others atnational level.

Thecapital city has set a goal of developing at least two eco-craft villagemodels. It will look to improve the local origin tracing system foragro-forestry-fishery goods () and website serving Statemanagement and demand-supply connectivity related to Hanoi’s OCOP products().

Initially,Hanoi’s OCOP programme will focus on a number of goods groups, including food,beverage, herbs, fabrics and apparel, souvenir – home decoration, andagricultural tourism.

Participatingorganisations will receive support to invest in machines and equipment forproduction; design and register their brand; obtain capital; hire experts, anddistribute goods.

Currently,the city has approximately 7,200 products suitable to six OCOP groups. Of thetotal, there are 2,881 food products (39 percent); 2,417 souvenir – homedecoration products (33.5 percent); and 1,396 fabric and apparel products (19.3percent).

Hanoiholds great potential to make significant progress in implementing the OCOPprogramme. It has 157 large-scale fields and areas producing high-qualitycommercial rice, 157ha of fruit trees and over 80ha of tea meeting VietGapstandards. The city also has 5,000ha for growing safe vegetables, including352.7ha applying the VietGap standards and 40ha of organic vegetables.

Thecity has 76 key poultry breeding communes and 3,232 farms outside residentialareas. It has 11 supply chains for safe vegetables and 21 supply chains forproducts from farm animals.

TheOCOP was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in2008, following the model of Japan’s “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) driveand Thailand’s “One Town, One Product” (OTOP). It is an economic developmentprogramme for rural areas focusing on increasing internal power and values,contributing to the implementation of the National Target Programme on NewRural Development for 2016-2020.

Theclassifications of goods and services defined in the programme include food(fresh and processed farm produce); beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholicdrinking); medicinal herbs (products made from herbal plants); fabric andtextiles (products made from cotton and yarn); souvenirs, furniture, anddecorations (products made from wood, fibres, rattan, metal, and ceramics); andrural tourism services and sales (services for sightseeing, tourism, study, andresearch).

Theoverall objective of the programme is to develop stable and sustainable formsof production for organisations and businesses (with priority given todeveloping cooperatives and small- and medium-sized enterprises), towardsproducing traditional products and improving services with high competitivenesson the domestic and international markets, thus promoting rural economy andnational agriculture industrialisation and modernisation.

In2013, Quang Ninh was the first province in Vietnam to pilot the programme.Concluding the first stage of the programme from 2013-2016, Quang Ninhdeveloped 210 OCOP products. More than 180 economic establishments andhouseholds joined the programme.

Asof late April this year, 60 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide havebuilt their OCOP frame programme at the provincial level, 30 of which havealready completed the programme design and 28 others are collecting feedbackbefore approval. Particularly, Quang Ninh province has entered the secondphase.-VNA