On July 4, Party Central Committee member, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting to give opinions on the proposal to amend the set of criteria and the process of evaluating and classifying products under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) Program, ensuring consistency with the model of organizing local government at 2 levels.
Reporting at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Thanh Nam said that up to now, the whole country has 16,855 OCOP products with 3 stars or more, of which 126 products have reached 5 stars - recognized as national products.
There are a total of 9,822 OCOP entities. Currently, more than 3,000 cooperatives have participated in the production of OCOP products.
However, in reality, there are still some difficulties in implementation such as lack of professional staff, limitations in access to credit, technology and stable raw material areas...
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development proposed to amend Decision 148 in the direction of transferring the authority to evaluate and classify 3-star OCOP products to ensure consistency, objectivity and enhance brand reputation.
According to Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Agriculture and Rural Development Ho Xuan Hung, assigning authority to the provincial level is necessary to protect the reputation of the OCOP brand - which is being positioned as a national brand, with economic, cultural and foreign values.
Speaking at the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the OCOP Program is of great significance in enhancing the value of agricultural products, promoting the commercialization of rural products, helping farmers gradually participate in the global market.
After a period of implementation, the program has created a positive effect, spreading strongly in the community. However, in the new period, it needs to be improved to better suit local management capacity; at the same time, ensuring quality, food safety, intellectual property protection and OCOP product brand.
The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that OCOP is not only a local specialty product but needs to reach the level of becoming a national commodity brand. If products meet national standards, they must be protected and supported to expand international markets.
Therefore, the assessment and recognition need to be organized in a professional, objective and unified direction.
Government leaders agreed on the policy of evaluating OCOP products with 3 stars or more implemented by the provincial level; at the same time, requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to receive comments and promptly complete the draft amendment to Decision 148, submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation, to avoid policy gaps.
In the long term, it is necessary to build a systematic OCOP Program, with a long-term vision, converging all factors such as high quality, food safety, added value, market size, geographical indications, brands, digital transformation and e-commerce technology.
OCOP products must have Vietnamese brands, be protected and promoted by appropriate policies. Each product needs to have its own story, associated with culture, history, food hygiene and safety, science and technology, digital transformation" - said the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Deputy Prime Minister also stated that the ultimate goal is to build thousands of unique and standard Vietnamese products that meet international standards and conquer global markets.
