(HBO) - With a hope to introduce Hoa Binh province’s agricultural products to the world, Banana Viba Cooperative in Lien Son commune, Luong Son district, has carried out closed processing from production to distribution following VietGAP standards, with a focus on building the "Banana Viba” brand.
Banana Viba was recognised as a three-star OCOP product by the provincial People’s Committee.
In 2019, Banana Viba was recognised as a three-star OCOP product by the provincial People’s Committee. The cooperative sells an average of around 1,000 tonnes of banana, earning over 10 billion VND a year.
Tran Trung Duc,
Chairman and Manager of the cooperative, said that the cooperative’s total area
of banana is over 25ha, of which 9.5ha are grown following VietGAP standards.
The material area of the cooperative has expanded to Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh
city and Hanoi. The cooperative has provided support in variety, capital,
technical issues and product distribution for its members. The members, in
turn, have to strictly obey production process.
The cooperative installs
automatic sprinkler systems and covers the growing area with nylon membrane. It
also invested in building a 1,000sq.m semi-processing factory. All purchased
products are semi-processed, classified and marked with traceability stamps.
The cooperative has
three rooms to ripen bananas with high technology with a maximum capacity of 5
tonnes a day. Bananas ripen naturally thanks to absolutely safe bio ethylene.
As the fruit is ripened at a temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius, all
vitamins and minerals are kept, and it has a bright colour and can be stored
for five days.
The Banana Viba
Cooperative also invested in building an incubator with a total area of
2,000sq.m to nurture strong young trees to proactively serve production.
With high quality and
bright skin, Viba banana has affirmed its prestige to consumers. At present,
the cooperative has over 1,000 partners nationwide, including such major
supermarkets as Vinmart and BigC. In the first half of 2020, it sold more than
600 tonnes of banana, earning 6 billion USD. Per capita income reached over 10
million VND per month.
The cooperative also generates jobs for 10 labourers
with a monthly salary of 5 million VND per person. Especially, in 2019, the
cooperative signed a contract to serve 2 quintals of banana a day on flights of
the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines. This is a great opportunity for
this kind of fruit to reach the world./.
Dao Village’s honey – a product certified with a 3-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) rating by Thong Nhat Agricultural Cooperative in Dao Village (Hoa Binh City) – is highly regarded by consumers for its quality, richness, and variety in packaging. The distinctively sweet taste of Dao Village’s honey leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has tried it.
In alignment with Project No. 07-DA/TU, issued by the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee on November 1, 2021, Lac Thuy district has actively promoted investment and supported the sustainable development of its industrial and handicraft sectors during the 2021–2025 period. Alongside this, the district has remained committed to preserving and revitalising traditional craft villages.
Located in the northern part of Lac Thuy district, with a temperate climate and fertile soil, Phu Thanh commune has great potential and advantages in growing tea. The long-standing experience, combined with strict adherence to organic farming practices in the tea gardens, ensures that the dried tea products from Phu Thanh and Lac Thuy as a whole are sold out immediately upon production, providing a stable and prosperous life for the local people.
Amid efforts to streamline the administrative apparatus, Hoa Binh province has intensified measures to address challenges in land clearance, resettlement support, and infrastructure investment, aiming to speed up the progress of key projects.
Hoa Binh province has posted an unprecedented economic growth rate of 12.76% in the first quarter of 2025, marking its highest quarterly performance to date and positioning it as the second fastest-growing locality in the country, trailing only Bac Giang province.
Under current regulations, products in the One Commune – One Product (OCOP) programme that are rated three stars or higher must undergo re-evaluation every three months. However, in reality, some of these products fail to consistently meet the required standards, raising concerns about the sustainability of their OCOP certification. This underscores the urgent need for producers to enhance product quality and gradually develop their OCOP products into strong, marketable brands.