In Gia Lam district, Da Ton commune has long been famous for its tradition of growing green vegetables. To increase production value, since 2018, Ms. Duong Thi Thuan, Director of the Da Ton General Service Cooperative, has mobilized 12 members to establish a cooperative and build a modern greenhouse system for growing hydroponic vegetables, herbs, and organic vegetables.

On an area of ​​1 hectare, the cooperative has arranged 8 greenhouses, a processing area, and a product showroom. By 2022, more than 10 types of vegetables from the cooperative had been evaluated and ranked 4 stars under the OCOP program. However, limited land area and urbanization have led to a shrinking of agricultural land in Da Ton.

Faced with this challenge, since the beginning of 2023, the cooperative has expanded its raw material area by linking with farmers in Moc Chau (Son La province) to cultivate 3 hectares of vegetables. As a result, the cooperative supplies 1.8 tons of high-quality green vegetables daily. All products, after processing and packaging, are distributed to supermarkets and organic food stores. Thanks to this solution, the 12 members of the cooperative have stable jobs with an income of approximately 6.5 million VND per person per month.

In Chuong My district, a hub for traditional craft villages with significant potential for OCOP product development, the rattan and bamboo weaving villages possess many advantages but currently face major challenges regarding raw materials. Previously, materials like rattan and bamboo were easily sourced from northern mountainous provinces, but now this supply is severely lacking, forcing imports at high costs and lacking proactive control.

Faced with this situation, producers in Chuong My have collaborated with research units to process raw materials from papaya, loofah, and banana plants. Artisans have created handcrafted products from these materials, meeting export requirements and initially gaining market acceptance. However, this is only a temporary solution; in the long term, the craft villages hope that Hanoi will support the development of a sustainable raw material supply area to meet more stable production needs.

Handicraft products from Phu Vinh village, Chuong My district, are popular with many people.

According to the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the city currently maintains 159 supply chains from production to consumption of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products, including 53 chains of animal-derived products and 106 chains of plant-derived products. Between 2020 and 2024, Hanoi collaborated with 43 provinces and cities nationwide to build more than 1,000 safe food supply chains, an increase of 22 provinces and 211 chains compared to the previous period.

Hanoi aims to increase the number of OCOP products meeting 5-star standards in the near future, while also promoting the development of value chains in the following direction.economyCircular economy and green OCOP. To achieve this, OCOP products need to meet stringent food safety standards.

According to a report by the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, 100% of current supply chains have been granted food safety certification. Notably, 40% of these chains apply production standards such as VietGAP, HACCP, ISO 22000, or organic farming.

The city has also developed many concentrated production areas, including rice, vegetable, and fruit growing areas, as well as livestock farming areas. Famous specialty products such as Linh Chieu village's "royal water spinach" (Sen Phuong commune, Phuc Tho district), Huong Tich apricots (Huong Son commune, My Duc district), and Tich Giang tangerines (Phuc Tho district) have great potential for developing OCOP products.

However, these specialty crop varieties are facing the risk of degradation and difficulties in expanding production on a commercial scale. Therefore, protecting and developing these specialty crop varieties is a crucial solution to promote their growth.restructuringThe agricultural sector creates high-value products and promotes the agricultural value chain.

With its existing potential and active support from all levels of government, Hanoi is facing a strong opportunity to develop OCOP agricultural products. The application of science, technology, and innovation will help OCOP businesses expand their raw material areas, improve product quality, and increase their competitiveness in domestic and international markets.

In particular, developing raw material areas linked to processing and connecting to consumer markets along the value chain will significantly contribute to promoting the OCOP program, while improving the lives of rural people and making a positive contribution to sustainable agricultural economic development.

Linh Nguyen