From individual success to scale-up problems
In Can Tho City, Sau Tia plum of Mr. Nguyen Phu Tia is a typical example. After two times meeting 4-star OCOP standards, the product has been present at Can Tho International Airport and many large supermarkets, and has been positively received by consumers. However, Mr. Tia still has difficulty in distribution due to the lack of a systematic consumption network. "During Tet, the demand for gifts increases, but I really hope to have more tax incentives so that OCOP products can be further supported" - he shared.
Also in Can Tho, Lo Ren star apple and pink avocado star apple of Truong Khuong A Fruit Garden Cooperative, directed by Mr. Tran Van Chien, have achieved a 4-star OCOP, expanding exports and significantly increasing value. However, the cooperative is facing an aging situation, causing the output from 300-350 tons/year to decrease to 200-220 tons/year. However, according to Mr. Chien, after the boundary is merged, the raw material area can be expanded to Hau Giang and Soc Trang (old), creating conditions for production linkages and sustainable OCOP development.
Regional linkage to make a breakthrough
Before the merger, Dong Thap province (old) was the leading locality in the Mekong Delta region in terms of the quantity of OCOP products with about 600 products, ranking 4th nationwide. This is also one of the first provinces to put OCOP products on e-commerce platforms and support production households that are qualified to become enterprises. In 2025, Dong Thap aims to develop at least 60 more OCOP products, including 20 products with 4 stars and 5 products with the potential to reach 5 national stars, with a total cost of more than 8 billion VND.
Tien Giang (old) is also a locality with strong agricultural products such as fruit trees, seafood and rice, accounting for nearly 12% of the total OCOP products of the whole region. The merger of the two provinces has created a wider production area, diverse in varieties and seasons, opening up opportunities for domestic and foreign consumption.
According to MSc. Nguyen Phuoc Tuyen - former Director of Dong Thap Agricultural Extension Center (old), "This will be a huge fruit Kingdom. For example, the flowering season of Hoa Loc sand in Tien Giang is around April, while in Cao Lanh (old Dong Thap) it is July-May. Thus, one place is for regular work, one place is for off-season work, and they will complement each other to create combined strength".
From potential to action, OCOP must be associated with a new local identity
In the context of expanding boundaries, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has issued guidelines for implementing the OCOP program according to the two-level government model, ensuring unity and continuity after the merger, at the same time, the authority to evaluate 3-4 star OCOP products assigned to the provincial level, helping localities be more proactive.
Mr. Phuong Dinh Anh - Deputy Chief of the Central New Rural Coordination Office (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) - said that the reconstruction of the regional specialty map not only opens up great opportunities but also poses many challenges for the management, planning and promotion of local typical products.
In terms of opportunities, expanding administrative boundaries helps expand the development space of OCOP products, better integrate raw material areas, human resources and traditional production skills, creating a foundation to build agricultural value chains with higher scale and competitiveness. At the same time, localities can optimize the planning of specialty products, connect OCOP products with rural tourism destinations, thereby expanding the development space of both the economy and culture.
With a larger local scale, typical products also have more favorable conditions to access major trade routes, organize festivals, and inter-regional fairs, thereby enhancing the ability to promote and advertise trade.
However, the big challenge lies in the fact that some traditional place names - which are the "soul" of specialties - can be changed or erased, leading to the risk of losing an original cultural value and making it difficult to identify the brand. In particular, this change affects the brand recognition and product origin system, requiring synchronous updates in databases, OCOP records and digital promotion platforms.
The merger of administrative units is an opportunity to form "new specialty linkage clusters" - areas with larger production and consumption of specialty products, more closely linked and organized in a scientific and modern direction. This can completely become a boost for the entire OCOP Program and agricultural tourism development if localities know how to standardize raw material areas, build craft village landscapes and design attractive rural tourism experiences" - Mr. Dinh Anh commented.
From market booth to global brand
Digital transformation and e-commerce are opening up a large space for OCOP to reach far. Not only stopping at fairs, labels or geographical indications, OCOP products, if properly re-located, will become a bridge between agriculture and culture, between localities and the global market.
The merger of administrative units, if well managed, will become an important boost, helping rural areas not only preserve specialties, but also elevate OCOP products to national pride.
Don't let "each commune has many products" reduce the brand
Dr. Pham Ngoc Trung - cultural expert, former Head of the Department of Culture and Development, Academy of Journalism and Communication - said that re-locationing local specialties is a golden opportunity to build a new brand associated with a larger space.
If in the past each commune only had one product, now a commune can have dozens of OCOP products. It is necessary to screen truly typical products that meet domestic and international standards to focus on investment. Only when it is stable can we continue to expand" - Dr. Trung commented.
According to him, OCOP needs to be viewed not only as an economic product, but also as a means of preserving local culture. In addition to updating the dossier, it is necessary to build an OCOP digital map after the merger to preserve the old mark, while helping consumers and investors clearly understand the history and origin of the product.
Redesignation does not mean removing old identity, but telling old stories in a new, engaging language and associated with a larger space, where OCOP products are not only local specialties but also national symbols, said Dr. Trung.
