Traditional sales channel facing difficulties
Before the Covid-19 epidemic brok out, every day the Ba Be cooperative, producing turmeric starch and essential oils in Duong Xa commune, Gia Lam district, had dozens of orders. But now, the cooperative has no orders to be shipped.
Phung Dac Kieu, the director of the cooperative, could not hide his impatience, saying in order to maintain production and stabilise the source of raw materials, the cooperative had to consider reducing its labour force and changing the form of work to rotating shift work as well as narrowing production.
But this is not the biggest difficulty the cooperative is facing, according to Director Kieu, there are currently five communes in the district specialising in supplying coriander. Every day, the cooperative collects two tonnes of coriander for distilling essential oils, not to mention the same amount of lemongrass and turmeric.
Traditional sales channels continue to face difficulties; and as the result, the raw area of the cooperative has been seriously affected, with farmers switchign to other crop varieties.
The Thang Long Hi-tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company is also facing many difficulties. Known as the largest solanum procumbens growing and production unit in the country, with an area of about 20 hectares in Dai Yen commune, Chuong My district, Hanoi city and in some localities in Hoa Binh and Lang Son provinces, at present, the company's products are almost "frozen" on the traditional sales channels.
The company's director, Phan Trung Kien, said that because it is not an essential item, the company has not received large orders for many months as localities implemented social distancing. The revenue of the company has been dramatically reduced. Currently 70% of the company's employees have had to quit.
Choosing technology to survive
Hanoi has become the leading locality in the country in evaluating and classifying OCOP products. However, before the complicated developments of the Covid 19 epidemic, some units were making efforts to apply digital technology by opening up new sales channels on e-commerce platforms.
At the Ba Be cooperative, Director Phung Dac Kieu and members of the cooperative decided to put the cooperative's products on e-commerce platforms such as Sendo, Lazada. Meanwhile, the Thang Long Hi-tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company has also put its products to the Tiki and Shopee trading floors. But bringing OCOP products to e-commerce platforms also caused many difficulties.
According to Director Phung Dac Kieu, products listed on e-commerce floors are under a lot of pressure, in addition to price competition, so investment in innovation, research and diversification of product models must also take place. In addition, staff must also be trained in order to have the skills to add products for sale on the e-commerce platforms.
Although the cooperatives know that putting products on e-commerce platforms will be the a key sales channel in the present and future, due to limited economic and human resources, many cooperatives and businesses still remain outside e-commerce platforms.
According to Nguyen Van Chi, Standing Deputy Chief of the Hanoi Coordination Office on New Rural Development, in order to support businesses and cooperatives with sales skills for the e-commerce floor, the unit has cooperated with a number of departments and sectors to organise the "Livestream Promoting Hanoi's OCOP Products Festival" programme to connect OCOP producers to consumers based via social media platforms.
However, besides the efforts of the agricultural sector and the Hanoi Coordination Office on New Rural Development, in order to help OCOP products overcome their difficulties, Hanoi has also developed online distribution channels of agricultural products, boldly applying digital transformation technology to help farmers, productions and businesses have more opportunities to approach consumers.
This year, city has allocated OCOP funds of more than VND60 billion. This is to help cooperatives and businesses supplement and improve human resources, helping them apply technology and bring more OCOP products to consumers.
