Tan Trieu Pomelo in Tan Binh Commune, Vinh Cuu District is a well-known brand throughout the country. This is also one of the most characteristic agricultural products of Dong Nai province. In 2012, Tan Trieu pomelo has become the first fruit product in the province to receive the certificate of geographical indications by the National Office of Intellectual Property.
However, after 5 years of recognition along with the fact that farmers have gradually switched to GlobalGAP production process (global good agricultural practices), the output of this fruit is still very ... unstable.
Long Khanh rambutan fruit is struggling to find consumption market despite its reputation.
Mr. Ngo Van Son, the owner of 2 ha of pomelo garden in Vinh Hiep village, Tan Binh commune, Vinh Cuu district, said that since the geographical indication, most of the gardeners in the region have been hoping to find good output for pomelos and looking forward to export agreements. However, up to date, the output for Tan Trieu pomelos still depends entirely on traders. Therefore, despite being the most famous specialty of Dong Nai, the economic value that pomelos bring to farmers is not really high. "Every year, the product consumption of the whole pomelo garden depends on traders. Traders decide on the price which is not as high as expected. After that, they will sell it is to the market at a much higher price," said Mr. Son.
Similar to Tan Trieu pomelo, Long Khanh rambutan has long been a famous specialty of this land but still struggling to find the output. It is worth mentioning the local rambutans that have created the reputation of Long Khanh rambutan are facing the risk of cultivation area reduction as many gardeners have decided get rid of them. "It is difficult to sell and the price is low, so the farmers have switch Thai rambutan for higher benefits," said Phung Thanh Tam, director of Binh Loc cooperative, TX. Long Khanh said.
The problem of Tan Trieu Pomelo, Long Khanh rambutan is also a common issue of many other agricultural products. Each commune in the province mostly has their own agricultural products, processed agricultural products which are considered the specialty of each locality. But the output of these products mainly rely on traders, which leads to unstable market and prices.
A success story from Quang Ninh province
In Vietnam, some cities and provinces such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Lam Dong ... have implemented the program "each commune has a product" for many years but the results are not quite positive. Except for Quang Ninh, the province has implemented the program since 2013, but thanks to the experiences acquired from Japan and Thailand, and many creative ways and proper investment, the results seem a lot more promising. Statistically, the sales for the last three years since the implementation of this program of Quang Ninh province has reached more than 670 billion, three times as high as expected.
Opportunity to promote the local specialty
With the aim of improving the value of special products in the region, the creation of each product in each village and commune is considered an aspect in new rural construction and has been implemented in some province for nearly the last 10 years. However, due to lack of specific and efficient solutions, the result is not remarkable enough.
Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has just proposed a national program "Each commune has a product in 2017-2020 with orientation to 2030" to the Government, which is considered a new opportunity for specialty products in the region, including Dong Nai.
According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Dinh, Director of the Rural Development Department (DARD), the program "Each commune has a product" is not only a great national program but also an opportunity for Dong Nai. At present, there are many typical agricultural products, non-agricultural products and services. In addition, the province is focusing on forming consumption linkages for agricultural products. Therefore, the program will create the opportunity to create and promote typical products in association with the opportunity to develop trade villages.
Especially, it is not only considered production development, the program also helps the rural areas solve many problems in the development process such as poverty reduction, job creation, creativity and wisdom encouragement, and establishment of sustainable linkage between community economy and new rural areas.
Mr. Dinh also added that the provincial People's Committee has assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to develop the project "one commune has a product". "We are investigating, surveying and re-evaluating the products of each locality to develop the project," Mr. Dinh said.
"Each commune has a product" has been implemented in various countries
The program "each commune has a product" originated from Japan, then many countries have studied and applied it. Thailand is a success story. The main ideas of the program are: the State shall direct and provide support mainly in terms of technological innovation, labor training, product decentralization and product promotion. Local people, including households and groups of households, shall decide on advantageous products, technology investment, skills training, production organization and management from raw materials to consumption (including association with scientists and businesses ...) to create high quality products, aiming to meet not only domestic consumption but also export requirements. The goal is to increase the income of participating members and then promoting the renovation of rural economic structure, increasing income for local people, creating good internal capacity for sustainable rural development.
