Seminar "Supporting OCOP products to reach far ".

After 5 years of implementing the One Commune One Product Program (OCOP Program), as of June 2024, the whole country has 13,368 OCOP products in 7,000 industries, of which more than 70% are rated 3 stars, about 26% are rated 4 stars and the rest are 5 star products.

In many localities, the OCOP Program has had a positive impact on rural economic development, awakening the potential of land, products, and comparative advantages. According to experts’ sharing at the seminar "Supporting OCOP products to reach far" held on July 12, the advantage of the OCOP movement is changing the value of agricultural products.

However, the downside is that the production scale of OCOP products is still small, fragmented, and seasonal; cannot meet an increasingly demand of market; The market also requires guaranteed quantity and quality; The production and commercial distribution capacity of OCOP production facilities is still weak, and the packaging design is not attractive to consumers. The products have also not convinced a large number of partners and consumers due to lack of transparency in traceability.

According to Associate Professor, PhD. Mai Quang Vinh, Director of the Institute of Green Technology, these limitations need to be overcome when the suppliers are available, the technology is ready, and the policy mechanism is supportive. In addition, with the green and digital transformation period, it is necessary to have solutions to enhance the value of OCOP products. If it is "permissive" in recognizing OCOP products, only caring about beautiful designs and packaging without paying attention to quality, transparency of environmental and social issues… it will not be effective it is difficult to dominate the domestic market and export to demanding markets.

In addition, experts and enterprises consider that OCOP product development needs closer coordination from the banking industry because it is not only about interest rates but also related to mortgages and unsecured loans.

For example, at Agribank, to date, this bank has provided more than VND 500 billion in credit capital for customers producing and trading OCOP products; For the preferential loan program for individual customers producing and trading OCOP products newly implemented from January 26, 2024, the loan turnover has so far reached VND 101 billion.

However, Mr. Pham Truong Giang, Director of the State Bank (SBV) of Phu Tho province branch, said that funding or interest rates, or programs for agriculture are not a problem, but there has no specific credit package for customers deploying OCOP products. In addition, the current lending method with the current limit is not suitable because of the characteristics of OCOP related to seasonality, region, place of consumption...

From the above issues, Mr. Dao Duc Huan, Head of OCOP Department, Central New Rural Coordination Office, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recommended that banks should prioritize support to solve the procedures faster because agricultural products related to seasonal issues and capital requirements.