Comrades: Lê Minh Hoan, Member of the Party Central Committee, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Nguyễn Văn Sơn, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Tuyên Quang province People's Committee chaired the conference.

Attending the seminar were leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Ireland in Việt Nam, representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Việt Nam; leaders of provincial departments, boards and branches; leaders of Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development in provinces and cities across the country.

 
After more than 4 years of implementing the one-commune-one-product (OCOP) program, on October 31, 2022, 63/63 provinces and cities had assessed and classified products nationwide. The whole country has 8,565 OCOP products with at least 3 stars. More than 4,392 OCOP subjects have OCOP products with at least 3 stars.  The program has contributed to the transformation from small-scale agricultural production to value chain-linked production.

Speaking at the conference, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyễn Văn Sơn emphasized the importance of the OCOP program for the agricultural and rural economy. Up to now, Tuyên Quang province has 128 OCOP products with above 3 stars. By the end of 2021, 54/122 communes have met new rural standards. The province hoped to receive support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the coordination of provinces and cities across the country...

The Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland to Việt Nam spoke at the conference. Photo: Thanh Phúc
 

Concluding the workshop, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Lê Minh Hoan reaffirmed the significance of the OCOP program and the Rural Tourism Development Program for rural areas. The related authorities need to seek ways to raise awareness of people for OCOP. Local authorities are expected to focus on developing specialties, traditional products and local cultural values. The national program sets a goal that by 2025, the whole country will have 10,000 OCOP products recognized with 3 stars or more.

 

Also at the workshop, a pilot activity "Development of livelihoods to respond to climate change for rural women in the Northern Mountains, Việt Nam" was launched. The activity is supported by the Government of Ireland through FAO with a total cost of 100,000 euros and is expected to be implemented in 2022 - 2023.