At noon and late afternoon, the shop displaying, introducing and promoting typical agricultural products of Viet Yen district at 349 Than Nhan Trung street, Bich Dong township is crowded with customers. Just picking things up, Nguyen Thi Ha, residing at 345 on the same street, said that since the opening day, I have come here almost every day to buy goods, including pork and poultry eggs of Hai Thinh Bac Giang Company Limited, guava of Quyen Phong Agricultural Cooperative (Tan Yen district), and rice papers of Van Ha commune (the same district). Ha surprisingly said: “It turns out that OCOP products are those made by people in the hometown. The only difference is that they are certified for quality, with clear origin and expiry date, so I feel very secure to use them”.

Visitors to a store showcasing the typical agricultural products of Viet Yen district.

Like Ha, in addition to buying agricultural products for use, Duong Thi Nu, who works at the Center for Agricultural Technology and Services in Hiep Hoa district, often buys goods at a OCOP sale point for her relatives far away. Here there are many famous and delicious products of the district, such as: Van chung cake (square glutinous rice cake), black olive (Canarium nigrum Engl) and yellow flower sticky rice... The products are made by reputable businesses, cooperatives, and manufacturers; quickly packed by the store staff; and delivered to the house.

These are only two out of six points for displaying and selling OCOP products opened in 2020. Of which three points in Yen The, Luc Nam and Viet Yen districts and two others in Bac Giang city have got a budget of more than 86.5 million VND (3,773 USD) each from the provincial People’s Committee. In addition, Hiep Hoa district is home to one point in Thang township. These points of sale are located in densely populated areas and tourist sites, and operate under the model of mini supermarket. Prior to their operation, the Sub-Department of Rural Development assigned specialized staff to guide how to exhibit and introduce goods so that they are eye-catching and attractive to buyers.

In addition to help people access local OCOP products, these points are also the places for linking similar products of many provinces and cities for common development.

According to Deputy Director of the Sub-Department of Rural Development Nguyen Thai Truong, currently the province has not had a policy to support the expansion of OCOP product display and sale points. The sub-department has advised the provincial People's Committee and localities to follow models seen in Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Hanoi where businesses, cooperatives and households build, manage and operate such points of sale by themselves. The models are economically autonomous, link suppliers and find consumption markets by themselves, proving high efficiency. In the coming time, the sub-department and the authorities of districts and city will only support local sale points in connecting with suppliers, promoting products and expanding the consumption network.

Bac Giang currently has 95 OCOP certified products and many signature products. In order for these products to gain a foothold in the market, first of all, producers must improve productivity, quality, design and packaging to increase competitiveness; increase trade promotion and product advertisement; and create a supply chain to points of sale. "In the immediate future, localities should encourage the use of existing points, aiming to expand chains of stores selling these products throughout the province", Truong said.

Road linking Viet Yen district and Bac Giang city underway

(BGO) - To expand the connection with Bac Giang city, the People's Committee of Viet Yen district has assigned the district Project Management Unit as the investor of a road connecting the ring road of Bich Dong township (Viet Yen) with the northeast belt road of Bac Giang city.

Bac Giang: Total number of pigs and fowls sharply increases

(BGO) - Thanks to good disease control and the safe raising of new herds of livestock and poultry since the beginning of 2021, the total number of pigs and fowls in the province has sharply increased compared to the same period last year, according to relevant agencies.

The Dai