Capitalising on the health benefits of cassava starch and its large plantation, the Nhuan Trach agricultural service and cassava starch processing cooperative in Dong Se hamlet, Nhuan Trach commune, Luong Son district (Hoa Binh province) , has successfully developed a product that meet the One Commune One Product (OCOP)’s 3-star standard.
The Nhuan Trach cooperative’s cassava starch product has been introduced by Luong Son district at many events in and outside the province
Hoang Trong Thu, director of the cooperative, has been involved in cassava starch production for over a decade. According to him, starting from the commune’s crop cultivation restructuring policy, many households in Dong Se have been cultivating high-yield cassava for years. Due to its suitability to local soil and climate, the plant achieves high productivity, with the hamlet alone bringing dozens of tonnes of cassava products to the market annually. However, due to dependence on informal trade, there were times when cassava prices dropped significantly, causing difficulties for many households in the sale of the product.
“My family cultivates over 1 hectare of high-yield cassava, so there are also times when we face heavy price-related pressure. To rescue our own plantation and support local farmers, my family decided to learn how to process cassava starch,” Thu said.
In the early days, Thu completely processed the product manually. After many years of perseverance, his family and eight others specialising in cassava cultivation established the cooperative to standardise farming works according to VietGap, ensuring the quality of inputs. Simultaneously, they invested in a machinery system, thereby building a closed production process to ensure food safety. By now, the cooperative has developed a raw material area ofover 8ha, turning out an average of 5-6 tonnes of starch each year.
Thu stressed that all processes from input to packaging follow food safety standards.
In September this year, the Luong Son People’s Committee classified the cooperative’s product as meeting the 3-star OCOP certification.
Hoa Binh Newspaper – en.baohoabinh.com.vn
