Xuan Loc Ward creates added value in agricultural production

Xuan Loc Ward is pursuing urban development and accelerating economic restructuring toward a larger share of industry and construction, as well as trade and services. However, with its extensive agricultural land, farming remains a key pillar and a major strength of the locality.

Representatives of a production facility introduce agricultural products and OCOP-certified products from Xuan Loc Ward.

Xuan Loc has identified high-tech, green, and circular agriculture, coupled with the expansion of collective economic models, as priorities. In particular, the One Commune, One Product (OCOP) program has delivered positive results, helping build brands for local agricultural products and increase the added value of key crops and specialties.

Boosting the competitiveness of agricultural products

In recent years, Xuan Loc has restructured its crop and livestock production toward higher-value products. The locality has established specialized growing areas for high-value products such as durian, Hoa Loc mangoes, pepper, and vegetables. Farmer groups and cooperatives have played a key role in building production linkages and improving efficiency.

Nguyen Van Dung, Director of the Xuan Truong Mango Agricultural Service and Trade Cooperative, said the cooperative is the investor behind a large-scale mango production and marketing project in the locality. Mango growers receive support to follow VietGAP production standards and training in new agricultural techniques. As a result, cooperative members have successfully cultivated the specialty mango variety, which requires advanced farming techniques. Many growers have also shifted to off-season production, allowing them to command higher prices. Hoa Loc mangoes have consequently become one of the locality’s highest-income specialty crops.

Cooperatives in Xuan Loc Ward are receiving support to build brands, participate in the OCOP program, and bring agricultural products to modern sales channels, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and e-commerce platforms.

The Suoi Cat Cocoa Agricultural Service Cooperative is another successful example of a new-style cooperative. Its director, Truong Van My, said the cooperative has organized training programs to help members adopt green and circular farming practices. Fertilizers are made from fish protein and plant residues. At the same time, pesticides are fermented from Wedelia grass, and biological antagonists are used to control fungal diseases. Compared with traditional farming practices that rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the shift toward organic production helps reduce input costs and, more importantly, produces safer products for consumers.

Circular agriculture is also being expanded across Xuan Loc Ward in both crop cultivation and livestock farming. Tho Tan Hamlet is a major rice- and corn-growing area covering hundreds of hectares. To increase added value, hundreds of local households have developed cattle- and goat-raising models that use corn, straw, and plant residues as animal feed. Livestock waste is then used as fertilizer for crops. Some households have invested in cattle-fattening facilities to generate higher profits. They grow grass and use corn stalks and other locally available materials to make silage, helping reduce input costs. The Tho Tan Hamlet Cattle Farmers’ Group has also been established, enabling members to exchange farming experience and market information and purchase feed directly from manufacturers or major distributors at better prices while ensuring quality.

Ho Van Tai, Chairman of the Xuan Loc Ward Farmers’ Association, said the locality is committed to helping farmers transform their production methods to increase incomes. Cooperatives and farmer groups are playing a greater role in helping farmers adopt scientific and technological advances and expand clean, safe production models to increase the value of agricultural products.

Building agricultural brands

Xuan Loc is among the leading localities in implementing the OCOP program. Many of the ward’s key agricultural products have now received OCOP certification. Notably, most OCOP producers are cooperatives and farmer groups. These producers are increasingly focusing not only on production but also on packaging, product design, and labeling, while stepping up branding, promotion, and market development.

Truong Van My, Director of the Suoi Cat Cocoa Agricultural Services Cooperative, said that when participating in the linkage chain, members receive support with agricultural supplies, fertilizers, and water-saving irrigation systems, as well as assistance in applying GlobalGAP-compliant cultivation practices. As a result, the cooperative has established a large-scale linkage chain for cocoa production, processing, and consumption. It has also developed an ecotourism model alongside investment in the deep processing of a wide range of cocoa products. The cooperative currently has many OCOP-certified products. In particular, Xuan Loc cocoa experiential tourism has been recognized as a three-star OCOP community tourism product in the locality. The cooperative has also been honored with the CoopStar Awards, organized by the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance and certified by the Asian Economic Research Institute as one of the Top 10 Excellent Asian Brands, thereby strengthening its product brand.

Xuan Loc is also home to long-established traditional craft villages that contribute to the local economy. One notable example is tofu skin production, a craft that has existed for decades and now includes hundreds of operating workshops. Many producers have made substantial investments in machinery, while the locality is supporting efforts to obtain OCOP certification for this specialty product.

Le Thi Hien, owner of An Loc Tofu Skin Production Facility, said traditional production methods are no longer well-suited to current market requirements. Her facility has invested in machinery, with some stages now automated, helping save labor, shorten production time, and improve food safety. As production has expanded, the facility has also focused on registering an exclusive trademark and investing in packaging and labeling. Its products are now sold not only in traditional markets but also supplied to supermarket chains and restaurants across provinces and cities nationwide.

By Binh Nguyen – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho