Bac Giang chooses three local products to shine

The northern province of Bac Giang province has chosen three local products to develop into five-star products this year as part of the One Commune-One Product (OCOP) programme.

Local residents dry Chu noodles in the northern province of Bac Giang. (Photo: VNA)
Local residents dry Chu noodles in the northern province of Bac Giang. (Photo: VNA)

The specialities are Luc Ngan district litchi, Chu township noodles and Yen The district chicken, said Nguyen Viet Toan, deputy director of the provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Department.

Toan said the province also targeted 30 other products reaching four stars.

Under the programme, a five-star product is defined as a high-quality product at international standards while a four-star product is a good product that could be improved to meet international standards.

To reach the goals, the province plans to focus on strengthening dissemination to make local producers in the value chain change their mindset and standardise products, labels and packaging.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Duong Van Thai told agencies to provide training for about 180-200 producers and 90-100 managerial officers of the programme and send managerial officers to learn from provinces and cities that had effectively implemented the programme.

The provincial department of science and technology was told to support OCOP products’ brand management, including trademark design costs, trademark registration, printing stamps and certificates, establishing industrial property rights and creating brand identity, he said.

The provincial department of industry and trade was asked to support producers to upgrade stores and connect with businesses to consume OCOP products, especially encouraging businesses and co-operatives to build OCOP centres in the province, he added.

There are 93 OCOP products in the province so far, dividing into six categories of food, beverages, herbal medicine, fabric, decoration and tourism. Of which, 40 products reached three stars since last year.

The programme was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in May 2018 to develop one strong product for each commune nationwide.

An estimated VND45 trillion (US$1.9 billion) of State funds is being spent to run the programme.