Capitalising on the health benefits of cassava starch and its large plantation, the Nhuan Trach agricultural service and cassava starch processing cooperative in Dong Se hamlet, Nhuan Trach commune, Luong Son district, has successfully developed a product that meet the One Commune One Product (OCOP)’s 3-star standard.
The Nhuan Trach cooperative’s cassava starch product has been
introduced by Luong Son district at many events in and outside the province.
Hoang Trong Thu, director of the cooperative,
has been involved in cassava starch production for over a decade. According to
him, starting from the commune’s crop cultivation restructuring policy, many
households in Dong Se have been cultivating high-yield cassava for years. Due
to its suitability to local soil and climate, the plant achieves high
productivity, with the hamlet alone bringing dozens of tonnes of cassava
products to the market annually. However, due to dependence on informal trade,
there were times when cassava prices dropped significantly, causing
difficulties for many households in the sale of the product.
"My family cultivates over 1 hectare of
high-yield cassava, so there are also times when we face heavy price-related
pressure. To rescue our own plantation and support local farmers, my family
decided to learn how to process cassava starch,” Thu said.
In the early days, Thu completely processed the
product manually. After many years of perseverance, his family and eight others
specialising in cassava cultivation established the cooperative to standardise
farming works according to VietGap, ensuring the quality of inputs. Simultaneously,
they invested in a machinery system, thereby building a closed production
process to ensure food safety. By now, the cooperative has developed a raw
material area ofover 8ha, turning out an average of 5-6 tonnes of starch
each year.
Thu stressed that all processes from input to
packaging follow food safety standards.
In September this year, the Luong Son People's
Committee classified the cooperative’s product as meeting the 3-star OCOP
certification.
Once a mountainous province facing many challenges, Hoa Binh has, after more than a decade of implementing the national target programme on new-style rural area development, emerged as a bright spot in Vietnam’s northern midland and mountainous region. In the first quarter of 2025, the province recorded positive results, paving the way for Hoa Binh to enter a phase of accelerated growth with a proactive and confident mindset.
Hoa Binh province is steadily advancing its agricultural sector through the adoption of high-tech solutions, seen as a sustainable path for long-term development.
The steering committee for key projects of Hoa Binh province convened on May 14 to assess the progress of major ongoing developments
A delegation of Hoa Binh province has attended the "Meet Korea 2025" event, recently held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Vietnam, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, and the People's Committee of Hung Yen province.
Hoa Binh province joined Vietnam’s national "One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme in 2019, not simply as a mountainous region following central policy, but with a clear vision to revive the cultural and agricultural values in its villages and crops.
From just 16 certified products in its inaugural year to 158 by early 2025, the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme in Hoa Binh province has followed a steady and strategic path. But beyond the numbers, it has reawakened local heritage, turning oranges, bamboo shoots, brocade, and herbal remedies into branded, market-ready goods - and, more profoundly, transformed how local communities value and present their own cultural identity.