After nearly 6 years of implementing the OCOP Program, Thanh Hoa province has had 479 products awarded with stars and dozens of products have been re-evaluated and re-ranked after the 36-month recognition period. However, up to now, the whole province has only had 1 product upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars and 1 product has registered for upgrading, awaiting appraisal.

The bird's nest products of Xu Thanh Bird's Nest Production and Trading Company Limited are assessed to have the potential to upgrade the OCOP star rating in the near future.

In 2021, the fresh cordyceps product of Thao Ngoc Viet Company Limited (Nghi Son town) was upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars. This is the only entity in the province to date that has an OCOP product upgraded to a star rating. Director of Thao Ngoc Viet Joint Stock Company Trinh Duc Trong said: "In 2020, the company's fresh cordyceps product was assessed by the Thanh Hoa Province OCOP Product Evaluation and Classification Council to meet 3-star standards. Not satisfied with what has been achieved, we continue to research, learn from experience in cultivation, harvesting, preservation and invest in machinery, technology conversion... to produce the best products. By early 2021, we realized that the process, quality and market expansion potential of the product were relatively good, meeting the prescribed standards for upgrading the star rating, so the company submitted a dossier to the Provincial OCOP Product Evaluation and Classification Council to "upgrade" the product quality to 4 stars".

It is known that after upgrading the product's star rating, Thao Ngoc Viet fresh cordyceps was widely consumed, becoming a "strong brand" in the market. The product's revenue after being upgraded to 4 stars also increased by about 30%.

The advantages of product star rating have been proven in practice. However, nearly 4 years have passed since the first product star rating was given, and Thanh Hoa province has yet to have any more products upgraded. Explaining the reason for the small number of upgraded products, Phan Xuan Hung, Head of the OCOP Management Team of the Provincial New Rural Development Program Coordination Office, said: "Decision No. 148/QD-TTg dated February 24, 2023 of the Prime Minister promulgating the set of criteria and evaluation process of OCOP Program products is very strict. In particular, to upgrade a product from 3 stars to 4 stars, the subject needs to meet standards such as trade promotion associated with geographical indications; chain linkage, market access, origin of product ideas... These requirements are not easy for the subjects to implement, because most of the province's OCOP products have similarities, are produced on a small scale, and are mainly freely consumed in the market... For OCOP products from 4 stars, it is even more difficult to upgrade to 5-star quality, in addition to meeting 4-star standards, the product must also have a regular export market"...

Director of Thang Long Rice Vermicelli Production Service Cooperative (Nong Cong) Truong Huu Hoa said: "After 3 years of being recognized as a 3-star OCOP, rice vermicelli products have had remarkable development in terms of production scale, brand and economic value. Realizing that upgrading the star rating for products is necessary to increase the competitiveness and value of products in the market, the Cooperative has invested in a synchronous production process, supplemented the missing criteria compared to the 4-star standard and completed the registration file to upgrade the star rating for Thang Long Rice Vermicelli products from 3 stars to 4 stars. Currently, the Cooperative's proposal to upgrade the star rating is waiting for the provincial council to review and appraise".

The 4-star fresh Cordyceps product of Thao Ngoc Viet Joint Stock Company is widely consumed in the market.

Research at production entities shows that, in addition to strict evaluation criteria, there are also internal difficulties from the entities, such as: Most of the OCOP product producers in the province are small-scale, so investing in and upgrading production lines and machinery to expand production according to commodity standards requires a relatively large source of funding. In addition, Article 78 of Circular No. 55/2023/TT-BTC dated August 15, 2023 of the Ministry of Finance on Regulations on management, use and settlement of career funds from the State budget to implement national target programs for the period 2021-2025 stipulates: The bonus level for 5-star, 4-star, 3-star OCOP products is 15 million VND, 10 million VND and 8 million VND respectively; Each OCOP product can only receive a bonus once at the same recognized star level. In case of star upgrade, only the difference between the 2 star levels can be enjoyed. That is, if the product is upgraded from 3 stars to 4 stars, the difference is 2 million VND, from 4 stars to 5 stars, the difference is 5 million VND. Meanwhile, according to the new regulations, the procedures and documents for registering to upgrade the star for a product are quite complicated, no different from registering a new construction product... Although understanding the benefits of upgrading the OCOP star, many subjects do not have enough conditions to invest, becoming "indifferent" to upgrading the star for OCOP products.

Recognizing the difficulties in upgrading OCOP products, the agricultural sector and related sectors, localities have stepped up propaganda, training, and support for OCOP product owners to invest, expand production scale, innovate processes, apply science and technology, access new markets through digital platforms and participate in many fairs and exhibitions... Along with that, the province also issued Resolution No. 185/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 10, 2021 on promulgating policies for agricultural, rural and farmer development in Thanh Hoa province, period 2022-2025. In particular, one-time support of 75 million VND/OCOP product to support promotion and propaganda; design models, purchase packaging, product labels, build brands and trademarks for OCOP products with 3 stars or more. However, up to now there has been no additional mechanism or policy to support entities in upgrading OCOP products.

Therefore, to increase the number of OCOP products registered for star upgrade, in addition to the proactiveness, flexibility, boldness in investment, and innovation in production processes of the subjects, it is necessary for the State to participate in issuing more mechanisms and policies to support and accompany, contributing to improving the quality and competitiveness of OCOP products.

Article and photos: Le Hoa