Thai Nguyen Intensively Improving Value of Agricultural Products

Thai Nguyen province aims to have more than 130 communes recognized to meet new rural standards by 2025; 6 or more districtlevel units recognized to meet the standards of completing the task of building new rural areas; 20 or more communes to become new rural models; the average criteria in the set of new rural commune criteria to reach 18.5 criteria/commune; the life quality of rural residents to be improved, the average income of rural people by 2025 to increase at least 1.8 times compared to 2020.

The poverty rate of rural areas will decrease by an average of 2%/year or more. The total capital demand for fulfilling the program's objectives and tasks in the 2021-2025 period is estimated at VND11,400 billion. The promulgation of specific mechanisms and policies has helped the program achieve and exceed the targets set by the Resolution of the 19th Party Congress of Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee. The income of people in rural areas reached VND38.63 million/person/year. The rate of poor households in rural areas has decreased to 8.47%. Thai Nguyen province has been promoting propaganda and guidance on OCOP program in the period of 2019 - 2025, receiving registration for product ideas, production and business plans and projects, organizing OCOP product development, building systems of management, building product brands, forming the infrastructure system to introduce and sell OCOP products in tourist areas, residential areas, supermarkets, traditional markets, provincial and district administrative centers. Enhancing the role of OCOP program in new rural development

 The focus of the OCOP program is to develop agricultural, and nonagricultural products and services that have advantages in each locality in accordance with the value chain. Private economic sectors and cooperatives will engage in this program. The State will promulgate legal and policy frameworks for implementation; make orientations for areas of production of goods and services; manage and supervise product quality standards; support training, technical guidance, application of science and technology, branding, trade promotion, product and credit promotion for economic development, income improvement for rural people, ensuring the sustainable development of new rural areas.

Thai Nguyen province has nine administrative units including six districts, two cities and one town, with 180 communes, wards and towns, covering an area of 352,664 ha. It has a population of over 1.2 million with 796,200 people living in rural areas accounting for 64.9%. Thai Nguyen now has 25 products labeled OCOP. On August 28, 2019, Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 2734/QD-UBND granting the certificate of stars for products belonging to the local OCOP program in 2019. All products scored from 6.2-8.9 points; in which, there were 13 products with 3-star standards and 12 products with 4- star standards.

Thanh Nga

THE PROGRAM COOPERATED WITH CENTRAL COORDINATION FOR NEW-STYLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT