The One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme has helped encourage active labour among farmers, increasing production and creating high-quality products. In response to the programme, farmers in Phu Cuong commune, Tan Lac district, are working on their local sweet potato branding and forming a concentrated production area for better income and economic development.
Sang Tho, from Phu Cuong’s Vo hamlet,
harvests sweet potato.
Capitalising on its available idle and sandy
soil, suitable for sweet potato cultivation, Phu Cuong has been making efforts
to form a concentrated production area for the plant.
Vo hamlet is home to 140 households with over
700 residents, and nearly all of them have areas for sweet potato farming.
Notably, Sang Tho's household is currently growing over 3,000m2 of the plant.
Tho said this year, sweet potato has thrived as there are fewer pest and
disease issues. Phu Cuong sweet potato is an indigenous variety with a
distinctive sweet and aromatic flavour. Its cultivation is relatively simple;
with proper care, a yield of about 3 - 5 tonnes per hectare can be achieved.
Bui Van Thanh's household, meanwhile, has a
relatively large plantation area of over 4,000m2. Their sweet potato is
purchased by traders from various locations. Thanh said the price of sweet
potato is relatively stable compared to other farm produce. However, the
current capital is still limited, and there is no capacity for investment in
the diversification of production and processing. Therefore, only raw products
are available, resulting in lower selling prices.
"With a good harvest, the sweet potato garden
has generated over 90 million VND (3,722 USD) for my family since the beginning
of this year,” Thanh said.
The sweet potato of Phu Cuong have been
registered for the OCOP programme, with the commune aiming at quality improvement,
OCOP branding, favourable conditions for product consumption, and supply chain
formation serving better productivity and income. To this end, it is actively
forming cooperatives and cooperative groups for sweet potato cultivation,
creating a brand for the root, and supporting participating households in
production, disease prevention, and e-commercial application.
Bui Duc Phuong, Chairman of the People's
Committee of Phu Cuong Commune, said sweet potato is an important agricultural
product of the locality, attracting many traders from in and outside the
province. In the coming time, Phu Cuong will focus on regional planning for
standardised production to process sweet potato into a high-quality OCOP
product, supplying the domestic market and opening up possibilities for
export.
After more than four years of implementing a project launched by the Hoa Binh Party Committee’s Standing Board on developing agriculture and promoting product consumption linked with building new-style rural areas for the 2021-2025 period, the province’s industry and trade sector has made significant strides, greatly contributing to local socio-economic development.
Luong Son district has identified 2025 as the year for the accelerated breakthrough to successfully implement the socio-economic development plan for the 5-year period from 2021 to 2025. The district has been focusing on executing the plans and trying to achieve a GRDP growth rate of approximately 15%.
Since the beginning of this year, under the direction of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the Sub-Department of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Product Quality Management has strengthened the integration of the professional activities to promote and guide the organizations and individuals in the production and trading of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products to comply with the legal regulations regarding the use of chemicals, pesticides and veterinary medicines in crop cultivation, livestock farming and aquaculture. They also provide guidance to processing and manufacturing establishments on keeping the records to trace the product origins and using food additives from the approved list according to the regulations.
Hoa Binh province saw a significant rise in state budget revenue in the first two months of 2025, heard a meeting chaired by Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Quach Tat Liem.
Ha Thi Ha Chi, a 26-year-old graduate in law, has taken an unconventional path by returning to her hometown in Mai Chau district to establish the Tong Dau Cooperative, creating stable jobs for local women and bringing Thai ethnic brocade weaving to the global market.
As the Lunar New Year 2025 approached, pork prices surged, creating a profitable season for farmers in Tan Vinh commune, Luong Son district. Taking advantage of the rising demand, Can Minh Son, a farmer from Coi hamlet, sold over 30 pigs at 69,000 VND/kg, each weighing more than 100 kg. After deducting expenses, his family earned a profit of over 50 million VND.
