Hanoi Focuses on OCOP Development in Specialized Farming Areas

Hanoi aims to develop OCOP products while building certified agricultural and medicinal material areas. This includes promoting organic production and ecological agriculture, conserving resources, protecting nature and biodiversity, ensuring food safety and traceability, and preserving rural landscapes and the environment.

Van Duc commune in Gia Lam district is a traditional hub for growing vegetables, tubers, and fruits in Hanoi

Hanoi currently has nearly 1,500 agricultural cooperatives. The city has expanded concentrated specialized agricultural production areas to create a huge agricultural source.

Lying at the foot of Tam Dao Mountain Range, the soil of Nam Son commune (Soc Son district) is very suitable for growing fruit trees. Bananas grown in Nam Son are not only sweet but also fragrant and papayas are both sweet and nice-looking. Hence, in 2020, Nam Son General Agricultural Services and Trading Cooperative picked banana and papaya for OCOP evaluation and classification and got 4-star and 3-star certifications.

Nguyen Van Viet, Director of Nam Son General Agricultural Services and Trading Cooperative, said: “We plant 65 banana plants a sao (360 square meters). A group of banana plants, if harvested during Tet (Lunar New Year), brings in VND300,000-500,000 in revenue. On normal days, a kilo of banana fruit costs VND6,000. On average, a bunch of bananas weighs 20-25kg, earning VND120,000-125,000. Since being certified as an OCOP product, Nam Son agricultural products have been comprehensively upgraded. The cooperative has received support from the city in labelling and trade promotion, so it often does not have enough goods to sell.”

Harvesting Korean white striped yellow melons in Dang Xa commune (Gia Lam district)

Van Duc commune (Gia Lam district) is one of the traditional areas for vegetables, tubers and fruits in Hanoi. Specialized farming areas all apply science and technology to cultivation, including high-quality seeds, mechanization, greenhouse systems and net houses, thus increasingly improving the quality of products. Dinh Thi Luyen, Deputy Director of Van Duc Agricultural Production and Service Cooperative (Gia Lam district), said that the commune has 285 ha of agricultural land, including nearly 200 ha of vegetable area. Each year, Van Duc supplies about 35,000 tons of green vegetables to supermarkets and wholesale markets. To increase production value, in 2019, the cooperative selected products for OCOP evaluation and classification and 17 products got certified. “From the effectiveness of the OCOP Program, in 2024, the cooperative fully prepared documents for OCOP evaluation and re-classification for expired products,” she added.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Hanoi currently has 1,491 active agricultural cooperatives. The city also has 35 rice growing areas, 104 vegetable growing areas, 56 fruit growing areas, 66 aquaculture areas, and 162 key concentrated livestock farming areas. Since 2019, Hanoi has evaluated and classified 2,711 OCOP products, many developed by cooperatives from specialized farming areas. The city has 406 high-tech agricultural models, including 262 cultivation models, primarily in districts like Hoai Duc, Me Linh, Gia Lam and others. These models have delivered strong economic results, fitting Hanoi's context. Additionally, 159 safe agricultural production and consumption chains have been developed, attracting businesses, cooperatives and farming households to collaborate in their growth.

High-tech vegetable growing model in Da Ton commune (Gia Lam district)

Nguyen Xuan Dai, Director of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Hanoi is the second largest city in Vietnam, with about 10 million people. To promote its potential and strengths, ensure effective, stable and sustainable agricultural development, the city needs to invest more in agriculture to enhance productivity and product quality, and protect the ecological environment to respond to climate change and increase income and livelihoods for farmers.

Hanoi will continue agricultural restructuring and build a concentrated, environmentally friendly, climate-adaptive and internationally integrated agriculture by 2030. The city also aims to have at least 2,000 more products evaluated and classified for OCOP certification. Developing OCOP products together with specialized farming areas has contributed positively to economic restructuring and crop and livestock restructuring; developed high-valued commercial crops and livestock to improve effective production and business models; and created a lot of high-quality agricultural products for the market and society, thus contributing to promoting and enlivening rural economic activities.

By Ngoc Minh, Vietnam Business Forum

The page is coordinated by the Hanoi Office of the Coordination of the New Rural Development Program