Nam Truc farmers actively participate in the OCOP program

The products "Peanut and sesame candy" and "Sesame candy" of Ms. Vu Thi Hong's family, Binh Minh commune, were recognized as meeting OCOP standards.

Visiting the crispy rice production facility of Mr. Vu Duc Hao, Nguyen village, Nam Cuong commune, we heard him share about the "fate" to come to the profession. During a trip to a neighboring province, seeing the crispy rice production model being very successful and developing, Mr. Hao cherished the plan to research and learn techniques to apply locally. With the strength of the available delicious rice source of his hometown, in 2021 he started working, focusing on strong development by 2024. To produce crispy, delicious, flavorful crispy rice products, the rice is soaked for 2-3 hours, cooked in an electric industrial rice cooker, cut into molds, then dried and fried. Most of the stages are produced by machines, so the productivity and quality are high. In particular, due to the selection of delicious, suitable rice sources and the focus on production stages to ensure food safety, his family's crispy rice products have a different flavor compared to similar products on the market. With the support of the People's Committees at all levels and local leaders, up to now, Mr. Hao's production facility has had 2 products recognized as 3-star OCOP products, including "Bao Han crispy rice with shredded pork" and "Bao Han crispy rice with bottom of pot". Currently, the products are very popular with consumers in Phu Tho, Hanoi and some neighboring provinces. In addition to distributing to agents and grocery stores, Mr. Hao is also active in developing and expanding sales channels on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Tiktok... On average, each year, his facility produces about 20 tons of rice; creating regular jobs for local workers with a stable income of 3-4 million VND/month.

The Hong Bac candy production facility of Ms. Vu Thi Hong's family in Binh Minh commune has been making peanut candy for three generations. Although this traditional craft is no longer as "prosperous" as it was a few decades ago, the quintessence of the craft village is still being preserved and inherited by generations of local people. Ms. Hong shared that to make peanut candy with a moderate sweetness, crunchiness, and rich aroma, the production process must go through many meticulous stages and many family secrets, requiring not only the dexterity but also the experience and dedication of the craftsman. The ingredients including peanuts, sesame, sugar, malt, and sticky rice flour must all be carefully selected. Up to now, two of her family's candy products have been recognized as meeting 3-star OCOP standards: "Peanut and sesame candy" and "Sesame candy". The products are carefully packaged and labeled, have a prescribed shelf life, so they are increasingly trusted by customers. Currently, Ms. Hong's family's candy production facility is one of the largest in the commune, generating hundreds of millions of VND per year; at the same time, it also creates regular and seasonal jobs for dozens of local workers.

In addition to the products of the two above production facilities, farmers in the district also have many other typical products such as: "Nam Toan ancient bonsai camellia tree" of Nam Dien commune; "Black bean sprout tea - red brown rice" and "Red brown rice sprout tea" of Nam Hung commune; "Nam Hoa wine", "Plum wine", "Cordyceps wine", "Oak wine", "Mulberry wine" of Nam Hoa commune; dried banana, Nam Bao nutritious cereal, green banana resistant starch of Nam Loi commune... In addition to the newly recognized products, the re-evaluated products have all undergone a process of quality improvement, have innovation and development potential, continuing to affirm their position in the hearts of consumers.

Comrade Pham Thi Xuyen, Chairman of the District Farmers' Association, said: The Nam Truc District Farmers' Association at all levels has coordinated to organize and widely implement the OCOP program; promoted propaganda, raised awareness for cadres, members, and farmers about the goals, meanings, and contents of the program through branch activities, association groups, farmer clubs, or conferences, seminars, training courses, and other communication channels. Propaganda for members about safe agricultural production associated with typical products and strengths of the locality; guided farming households to sign commitments to ensure safe production; selected product ideas, and registered products to participate in the OCOP program. Farmers' Association members have changed their production thinking towards organic agriculture, clean agriculture according to safe quality standards, meeting the increasingly high demands of the market, while contributing to increasing income and value on cultivated areas. In addition, the Association at all levels has mobilized and guided farmers to consolidate land plots, build production linkage chains according to the planning of concentrated specialized areas, bring mechanization into production; apply scientific and technical advances, new technologies in product preservation and processing. The Association at all levels also supports members in science and technology, vocational training, access to preferential loans to invest in production development, with priority given to households producing OCOP products and production linkage models. Over the past 5 years, the Association at all levels in the district has coordinated to organize 415 short-term training and vocational training courses for over 25,000 farmer members. Currently, the Association at all levels has coordinated with the Social Policy Bank to receive loans with outstanding loans of over 241.6 billion VND for 5,281 households. Coordinated with the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development to lend capital to 4,200 farming households with outstanding loans of 1,753 billion VND. In addition, Farmers' Associations at all levels in the district also focus on promoting and supporting farmers to participate in booths introducing safe agricultural products, key products, and OCOP products at fairs and on e-commerce platforms.

With the active contribution of cadres and farmer members, up to now, Nam Truc district has had 32 OCOP products achieving 3 stars. These are all typical products, bearing the traditional indigenous cultural characteristics of the locality, contributing to promoting agricultural economic development, building advanced and exemplary new rural areas.

Article and photos: Lam Hong

Source: https://baonamdinh.vn/kinh-te/202504/nong-dan-nam-truc-tich-cuc-tham-gia-chuong-trinh-ocop-a592cd0/