Enhancing OCOP brand after merger

There have been concerns about developing the One Commune One Product (OCOP) program after merging and consolidating communes and wards in the city; however, looking at it positively, this is an opportunity to enhance product brands and export goods.

OCOP products of Binh Dao Agricultural Cooperative. Photo: QUANG VIET

Preserving cultural sites for OCOP products

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Environment, up to now, the whole city of Da Nang has 552 OCOP products with valid expiry dates. The OCOP program has affirmed its goal of developing economic sectors, expanding markets, and arousing and promoting the potential and advantages of each locality and region.

OCOP products not only contribute to promoting local strengths and boosting rural economic development, but also help increase people's income and are a strong driving force in building new rural areas in the area.

Binh Dao Agricultural Cooperative (formerly Binh Dao Commune, now Thang An Commune) owns many OCOP products such as peanut oil, black sesame, sticky rice, lotus, and five-leaf tea associated with the brand name “Binh Dao”. The product brand has been built over many years, crystallized from many values and is the Cooperative’s constant effort to improve product quality.

Mr. Vo Tan Sanh - Director of Binh Dao Agricultural Cooperative said that previously, when mentioning OCOP products named Binh Dao, it was easy to recognize because they were built on the cultural story associated with the land. Specifically, agricultural products are the crystallization of the industrious and hard-working spirit of farmers, the unique soil conditions of the sandy land, and the habits and practices of farming and production in the land.

Now that the name of Binh Dao commune no longer exists, the OCOP products will gradually be forgotten. Mr. Sanh wondered, after 36 months, which is the validity period of the OCOP products recognized by the competent authorities, will the cooperative's OCOP products have to be renamed to be associated with the new commune name, Thang An? It is difficult to tell any separate story about the OCOP product "Thang An" associated with the culture, customs, soil, and unique production conditions of the OCOP products.

“The existence of OCOP products is the result of a long-term brand recognition process, deeply rooted in the subconscious of consumers through place recognition. When administrative units are merged and local names are removed from the administrative map, OCOP product names that used to be local pride will face risks. OCOP products will therefore lose the cultural identity of the land where they were born, reducing their positioning and competitiveness in the market,” said Mr. Sanh.

Many OCOP entities in the city are worried that when new communes are merged, the OCOP product brand will decline. Regarding this, the Department of Rural Development of Da Nang City believes that geographical indications and collective trademarks protecting OCOP products are based on the uniqueness of the production area, not the administrative name.

When the administrative unit changes, as long as the production area remains unchanged, the brand value and intellectual property rights still fully protect the OCOP product. For example, Tra My cinnamon is still recognized as a geographical indication regardless of how the communes of Bac Tra My and Nam Tra My districts are reorganized and merged.

According to the city's Rural Development Department, cultural landmarks should continue to be used on OCOP product labels. For example, Binh Dao peanut oil should still be kept and not necessarily changed to Thang An peanut oil as the cultural identity is preserved in the OCOP product brand.

Branding for export

According to some managers, the merger and arrangement of administrative units not only does not create big challenges but also opens up opportunities to develop OCOP in the direction of expanding scale, building large raw material areas, more professional production, going into depth, enhancing brand and competitive position.

Da Nang City has many quality OCOP products. Photo: QUANG VIET

Mr. Tran Van Ninh - Director of Binh Nam Agricultural Service Cooperative (Thang Truong Commune) said that the unit develops OCOP associated with green, circular, organic agriculture. To increase the scale of OCOP product development, on the one hand, the Cooperative cooperates to expand the raw material growing area in the direction of organic, VietGAP to new communes such as Thang An, Thang Truong, Tam Xuan... on the other hand, upgrade factories, invest in machinery, technology, advanced equipment to deeply process products into peanut oil, sesame oil, cakes... Solid waste and impurities after processing will be used as fuel, eliminating the risk of environmental pollution.

Up to now, most of the business households and cooperatives producing OCOP products in the city are still small in scale. The problem of borrowing capital has long been a bottleneck in OCOP development, but now opportunities have opened up. For example, at Agribank Quang Nam branch, the bank facilitates OCOP entities to borrow capital without collateral, with simple and quick loan procedures to meet the needs of production and business development.

Loans are a condition for production households and cooperatives to invest in infrastructure, equipment, and upgrade the scale of OCOP development. Many OCOP entities said that they are focusing on making short, medium and long-term plans for production and business activities; training and imparting new skills and expertise to workers to enhance dynamism and creativity in work.

Ms. Vu Thi Bich Hau - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Da Nang City requested localities in the area to step up propaganda and guide OCOP subjects to continue their efforts, upgrade production facilities and equipment, improve designs, packaging, and labels; ensure food hygiene and safety, and protect the environment.

In particular, improving the quality of OCOP products; applying digital transformation in operations, thereby affirming position, increasing competitiveness, leading the market, and exporting OCOP products.

OCOP entities need to focus on developing OCOP products associated with building brands for specific raw material areas, safe production, and clear traceability. The formation of specialized growing areas according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP standards, organic production, and deep processing will be the way for OCOP products to go beyond local boundaries.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/nang-tam-thuong-hieu-ocop-sau-sap-nhap-3299582.html