Ninh Thuan, which is the country’s driest province, has 12 specifically identified products, including grape, jujube, asparagus, aloe vera, sheep and goat.
The south central province also has 69 OCOP products rated from three to five stars under of the OCOP programme, with the highest star being five.
OCOP products include commercial products and services such as food and beverages, handicrafts and rural tourism services.
Ninh Thuan is the country’s largest producer of some farm products such as grape, jujube and sheep.
It has developed two geographical indication certificates for grape and sheep, 10 collective brand names and nine brand names for products and services.
The 10 collective brand names are Van Hai clean vegetables, An Hai clean vegetables, Bau Truc pottery, My Nghiep brocade weaving, Ninh Thuan jujube, Phan Rang garlic, Bac Ai dried bamboo shoots, Van Hai VietGAP grapes, Bac Ai black pigs and Thuan Bac chicken.
The My Nghiep Cham Brocade Weaving Cooperative in Ninh Phuoc district’s Phuoc Dan town has its products produced under the collective brand name of My Nghiep brocade weaving.
Phu Van Ngoi, director of the cooperative, said the cooperative’s products are labeled with the collective brand name logo and QR code stamp for consumers to check the origin and other information.
The cooperative is promoting the collective brand name of My Nghiep brocade weaving, investing in improving its product quality and co-operating with travel companies to offer tours to the My Nghiep brocade weaving village, he said.
The village in Phuoc Dan is one of the province’s most famous traditional craft villages and is home to Cham ethnic people.
The province has implemented various policies to assist producers, cooperatives and companies to register brand names for their products and promote sales.
Its many products have been sold on agricultural product websites and e-commerce platforms.
The provincial People’s Committee has approved a plan to develop an intellectual property strategy to promote the production and value chains of agricultural products to 2030, costing 39.2 billion VND (1.6 million USD).
It targets to have specifically identified products and OCOP products that are supported to register by geographical location, collective brand names or brand names account for at least 40% in 2025 and 60% in 2030.
It also targets the number of products registering for brand names will increase by 13-15% a year.
The province will mobilise resources from various programmes and projects to assist producers, co-operatives and companies to apply advanced science and technology, and produce products under value chains, according to Le Huyen, deputy chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.
It will organise more trade promotion activities to advertise products with brand names, he said.
It will increase the quality of human resources and provide knowledge for farmers, cooperatives and production establishments to improve their productivity, produce high quality products and meet market requirements, he said.
Develop linkages
Ninh Thuan is expanding linkages between stakeholders in agricultural production to secure outlets and improve income for farmers.
The provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities have assisted farmers, cooperatives and companies to develop 57 linkages for growing 14,276ha of crops so far this year.
The linkages have helped farmers improve incomes, contributed to building new-style rural areas, and helped companies have quality inputs and products, according to the department.
The Dong Nam Seed Joint Stock Company in Phan Rang-Thap Cham city contracted with farmers of the Cong Hai Rice Seed Producing Cooperative Group in Thuan Bac district to produce rice seeds on a total area of 70ha for the summer-autumn crop this year.
Nguyen Lam Danh, director of Dong Nam, said the company has implemented a closed production circle and cooperated with scientists and related stakeholders to produce quality seeds.
“The company chooses rice fields that have few diseases and grows one or two rice crops a year. After being harvested, rice seeds are processed properly, so they have high quality and a high germination rate,” he said.
The Nam Mien Trung Hi-tech Agriculture Co-operative in Bac Ai district has linked with farmers to grow honeydew melon in green houses.
The cooperative supplies input materials and farming techniques for farmers and secures outlets for them.
Nguyen Trong Canh, director of the cooperative, said the cooperative’s honeydew melons have been granted a production code that meets export requirements.
“To increase its product competitiveness and develop sustainably, the cooperative is expanding linkages with farmers to transfer the application of advanced farming techniques in production,” he said.
To further develop linkages, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in cooperation with relevant departments, agencies and localities, will boost restructuring agricultural production and developing key products and specifically identified products in combination with their geographical indication development.
The province plans to attract investment for linkages in agricultural production and develop high-tech and organic agriculture, according to the department.
