-
Understanding One Village One Product in Japan, Thailand and
Nepal Ganesh Shakya Agro Enterprise Centre / Japan International
Cooperation Agency
This book is published with funding from Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) and technical support from Masahiro
Kawamura, PhD, JICA Expert for Commercial Agriculture Promotion /
One Village One Product for the promotion of One Village One
Product Programme implemented by the Government of Nepal and
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Responsibility for the contents and opinions expressed on this
book rests solely with the author.
Author:
Ganesh Shakya, Senior Programme Manager, Agro Enterprise Centre,
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Publisher:
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Nepal Office,
Block B, Karmachari Sanchaya Kosh Building, Hariharbhawan,
Lalitpur, Nepal
Mail: Post Office Box 450, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: +977-1-5010310 / 5010305 / 5010311
Fax: +977-1-5010284
Date of Publishing:
September 2011
This copy of the book has been supplied on condition that anyone
who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests
with the Author and JICA and that no quotation from the report, nor
any information derived therefrom, may be published without the
Author and JICAs prior, written consent.
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Understanding One Village One Product in Japan, Thailand and
Nepal Ganesh Shakya Agro Enterprise Centre / Japan International
Cooperation Agency
i
Preface
It is my great pleasure to help publish an article,
Understanding One Village One Product in Japan, Thailand and Nepal
in Nepal written by Mr Ganesh Shakya who is my colleague working as
Senior Programme Manager at Agro Enterprise Centre, Federation of
Chambers of Commerce and Industry. This is the first book which
describes the history and effect of original Japanese OVOP movement
and its dissemination to Thailand and Nepal. In his article, I
found it particularly valuable that he describes the different
natures and characteristics of OVOP in the 3 countries, yet shows
that they have strikingly similar messages: importance of rural
entrepreneurship with positive participation at grassroots level
for the development of their local pride, local materials and local
employment. As he describes in his articles, One Village One
Product movement was born 30 years ago in Japan, my native country,
and has been adopted by various countries and regions in the world,
including Nepal. He has been working as the Senior Programme
Manager of One Village One Product Programme since its inception in
Nepal in 2006. I acknowledge that he is the person who contributed
to the successful operation of this One Village One Product
Programme in Nepal and who knows best about achievements and
potentials, as well as difficulties, in the production and
marketing of all the One Village One Product items in Nepal. I
highly appreciate his hard working and professional nature for his
work, and wish him to be so in future. I hope that he will continue
writing such a meaningful article as this for many years to come. I
wish him great success in his professional work.
Masahiro Kawamura, PhD JICA Expert for Commercial Agriculture
Promotion / One Village One Product AEC, FNCCI / Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives
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ii
Prologue
It is my great pleasure to express few words pertaining to a
book "Understanding One Village One Product in Japan, Thailand, and
Nepal" written by Ganesh Shakya Senior Program Manager of this
Centre. He is working in this Centre since last six years. In
Nepal, OVOP was introduced in 2006 and Mr. Shakya is closely
involved in One Village One Product Program since its inception
period. The OVOP program in Nepal has successfully completed its 5
years of operation. The Government of Nepal has given OVOP a top
priority and extending the program in this fiscal year as well as
in the years to come. At a time when OVOP is getting popularity in
Nepal, this book is sure help understanding the OVOP concept and
practices. The author has cited very interesting example of OVOP
Japan and tried to compare with OTOP Thailand and OVOP Nepal. The
author has clearly explained the fundamental Principles of OVOP
Japan that helps understanding OVOP and also helps effective
implementation of the program in Nepal in the days to come. I found
the book is first in Nepal of its own kind. I hope the book will be
helpful to the implementers of the program as well as benefits the
rural community who are interested in launching of the program. I
as a Member Secretary of the OVOP Secretariat believe that the book
will help those who are working for revitalising the rural
community through OVOP program. I really appreciate Mr. Shakya's
endeavour and urge him to continue this type of creative and
professional works in the future too. Finally, I am very much
thankful to JICA Office Nepal for publishing the book and also
would like to extend my sincere thanks for supporting us in
enhancing OVOP in Nepal.
Pradip Maharjan
CEO Agro Enterprise Centre Member Secretary OVOP Secretariat
iii
Acronym and Abbreviation
AEC Agro Enterprise Centre ASC Agriculture Service Centre DADO
District Agriculture Development Office DCCI District Chamber of
Commerce and Industry DFTQC Department of Food Technology and
Quality Control DOPIC District OVOP Program Implementation
Committee FNCCI Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and
Industry JETRO Japan External Trade Organization MoAC Ministry
of Agriculture and Cooperatives MoICS Ministry of Industry,
commerce and Supply MoLD Ministry of Local Development NARC
National Agriculture Recearch Centre NPC New Plum Chestnut OHOP One
Hamlet One Product OOIEPC Oita OVOP International Exchange
Promotion Centre OPC OTOP Product Champion OTOP One Tambon One
Product OVC OTOP Village Champion OVOP One Village One Product PPP
Public Private Partnership VDC Village Development Committee
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iv
Table of Contents
Preface...........................................................................................................
i Prologue
.......................................................................................................
ii Acronym and
Abbreviation...........................................................................
iii Table of Contents
........................................................................................
iv List of Tables
................................................................................................v
List of Figures
...............................................................................................v
Chapter 1: Introduction
.................................................................................1
Chapter 2: OVOP in
Japan...........................................................................1
Oyama-Machi
Experience.........................................................................1
Starting of the Movement
..........................................................................2
Principles of OVOP
...................................................................................2
OVOP products in Oita,
Japan..................................................................3
Role of Government
..................................................................................5
Role of
Leaders.........................................................................................5
Conclusion
................................................................................................6
Chapter 3: One Tambon One Product in
Thailand.......................................6 Introduction
...............................................................................................6
Philosophy, Activities and Objectives
.......................................................7
Administrative Structure and
Committees.................................................8 Types
of OTOP
.........................................................................................9
OTOP
Promotion.....................................................................................10
Product Sales Trend
...............................................................................12
OTOP focus in 10 years Road Map
........................................................13
Conclusion
..............................................................................................13
Chapter 4: OVOP Programme in Nepal
.....................................................14 Background
.............................................................................................14
Initiation
...................................................................................................14
OVOP
Programme..................................................................................15
OVOP Nepal Products
............................................................................16
Role, Duties and Responsibilities of the Committees
.............................20 Programme
Partners...............................................................................22
Role, Duties and Responsibilities of the
Partners...................................23 Hiramatsu OVOP Award
2010
................................................................25
Support by the Government of Japan
.....................................................26 Strength
and
Weakness..........................................................................26
Conclusion
..............................................................................................28
Chapter 5: Overall
Conclusion....................................................................28
v
List of Tables
Table 1 OVOP products in Japan in
2002.................................................. 3 Table 2
OVOP Product price compared with Motorcars
............................ 4 Table 3 OTOP Producer registration
Year 2010 ...................................... 10 Table 4 OTOP
Product Registration Year 2010
....................................... 11 Table 5 OTOP Quality
Assurance
............................................................ 12
Table 6 Number of OTOP products with
Star........................................... 12 Table 7 OTOP 10
Years Road Map
......................................................... 13 Table
8 OVOP Products in
Nepal.............................................................
16 Table 9 Annual budget
Allocation.............................................................
19 Table 10 Composition of Basket Fund Sub-Committee
........................... 20 Table 11 Composition of District
Committee ............................................ 21 Table 12
Government Partners
................................................................ 22
Table 13 Private Sector Partners
.............................................................
23
List of Figures
Figure 1 Sales Trend
................................................................................
13 Figure 2 Planning
Process........................................................................
19 Figure 3 Shiitake mushroom and distilled barley spirit
............................. 35 Figure 4 OVOP Hiramatsu Award
............................................................ 35
Figure 5 Nepalese participant with Dr Hiramatsu in Japan
...................... 35 Figure 6 Junar orange from Ramechhap and
Sindhuli............................. 36 Figure 7 Lapsi candy and
lapsi fruits from Bhaktapur .............................. 36
Figure 8 Bel tree, bel juice stock, bel fruits and bel squash
..................... 36 Figure 9 Trout raceway, trout and trout
for sale in Nuwakot and Rasuwa37 Figure 10 Coffee nursery, coffee
trees and processed coffee from Kaski
and Syangja
...............................................................................
37 Figure 11 Lokta farmer with Lokta shrubs, Lokta bark, and Lokta
Hat..... 37 Figure 12 Orchid farming in green house and orchid
flowers................... 38 Figure 13 Agro Tourism in Begnas Lake
are (restaurant, fish pond,
panoramic view)
.........................................................................
38
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1
Chapter 1: Introduction
Isson Ippin meaning One Village One Product (OVOP) in Japanese
is a community centred and demand driven rural economic development
programme that originated in Oita Prefecture, one of 47 Prefectures
in Japan in 1979. OVOP is now a popular term of rural development
in Asia followed by Africa and Latin America (Annex 1). A credit
goes to Dr. Morihiko Hiramatsu, the former Governor of Oita
Prefecture, who named and promoted OVOP as a campaign with a vision
of revitalising remote villages at a time when there was a problem
of depopulation due to the migration of village youngsters to big
cities for seeking employment. Dr Hiramatsu retired from the
Governor in 2003, and is now the President of Oita OVOP
International Exchange Promotion Committee (OOIEPC), working for
the promotion on OVOP all over the world.
Chapter 2: OVOP in Japan
Oyama-Machi Experience Oyama-machi is a beautiful village
nestled in mountains 100 to 500 meters high with very little open
country. Three quarters of the area is covered in mountain forest
whereas half the remaining area is covered with orchards for plums,
chestnuts, prunes, grapes, and pears
1. Previously, local people used to work as wood cutters or
seasonal migrant labourers. The Central Government at that time
urged people to plant rice but the local people denied the Central
Government plan. In 1961, Mr. Yahara, the Mayor of Oyama town
launched a New Plum Chestnut (NPC) strategy aiming at transforming
the local agricultural production from rice to more promising plum
and chestnut and this improve the livelihood of the hilly town
which was the poorest in Oita Prefecture. The challenging attempt
of Oyama town whose motto was let's plant plums and chestnuts to go
to Hawaii! proved successful in 1967 when the local people really
visited Hawaii with their increased income. This is an example of
right decision of the local people choosing right products in right
time to revitalise the town. The NPC later changed its name and
natures from an economic to a social one: New Personality
1The Past, Present and Future of the Town of Plums and
Chestnuts, by Oyama-Machi, a hand out in JICA Training Community
Capacity and Rural Development Promotion for Asia Countries - One
Village One Product on June 16, 2011.
2
Combination first and then New Paradise Community which aimed at
human and community improvement
2.
Starting of the Movement The OVOP at the very beginning was
proposed to prevent depopulation and loss of energy in Oita
Prefecture, to find and nurture products/industries that could best
reflect and benefit each region, and to eradicate heavy dependency
upon government, and to promote autonomy and willingness amongst
regional people
3.
Dr Hiramatsu proposed the movement to regional leaders and
delivered lectures on the movement to people of all sectors in all
the regions of Oita. The movement was further publicised through
mass media. Research and guidelines facilities were established for
technical support in various industries within the prefecture. A
special system for the distribution and sales of OVOP products was
set up and finally the achievers of OVOP were rewarded
4.
Principles of OVOP The OVOP movement defined by Oita OVOP
International Exchange Promotion Committee is based on the
following three principles
5.
1. Think Globally, Act Locally 2. Self-reliance and Creativity
3. Human Resource Development The first principle Think Globally,
Act Locally that is meant for the creation of globally acceptable
products and/or services based on local resources. Local residents
are expected to create globally marketable products and/or services
which represent local peoples pride in material and cultural
richness of their home villages/towns. The story behind any product
or its development helps attract consumers attention such as local
flavour will help add values to local products while the use of
local human and material resources will help make economic
activities sustainable.
2 Stenning and Miyoshi (2008) Knowledge and Networking
Strategies for Community Capacity Development in Oyama-machi: An
Archetype of the OVOP Movement, Journal of OVOP Policy vol.1 Oct,
6, 5-20. 3 Oita OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee,
OVOP Movement: Why was OVOP proposed?, at
http://ovop.jp/en/ison_p/haikei.html 4 Oita OVOP International
Exchange Promotion Committee Bulletin 5 Oita OVOP International
Exchange Promotion Committee, OVOP Movement: Principles of OVOP, at
http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/jissen1.html
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3
The second one is Self-reliance and Creativity. These two
factors are crucial since local knowledge and instinct can aid the
discovery of buried treasures in each village/town. Everything
local is potentially valuable, but whether the potential turns into
a reality depends on the initiative and effort of the local
people.
The last one is Human Resource Development which aims at
fostering local people with challenging and creative spirit. For
example, the regional development policy of Japan has traditionally
focused on construction of infrastructure like roads and bridges.
The OVOP movement, in contrast, emphasises visionary local
leadership with challenging and creative spirit. The success of any
OVOP product/service largely depends on its quality - developed and
improved by local people themselves
OVOP products in Oita, Japan In the context of Nepal, majority
of people think that OVOP means only one product in one village.
Actually, this is not the philosophy of the Oita movement. A
village might have one or more products or a single product can be
developed in one or more than one village. In addition to
agricultural items any other products, services or events could be
a successful product under OVOP. It is necessary to understand that
the products should have local essence and worth for value addition
and be of globally accepted products. It is already been 30 years
since OVOP was first introduced in Oita Prefecture. Today's 300 or
so OVOP products include both tangible products. Tangible products
include agricultural products, while intangible products include
building farcicalities, cultural activities, rural development
activities and conservation activities (Table 1)
6.
Table 1 OVOP products in Japan in 2002 Products / activities
Number Agricultural products 338 Building facilities 148 Cultural
activities 133 Rural development activities 111 Conservation
activities 80
6 Oita OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee, OVOP
Movement: Fruits of OVOP, at
http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/seika.html
4
Tangible Products Shiitake mushrooms, (Figure 3), Kabosu limes,
barley spirits (Figure 3), and greenhouse mandarin are the branded
OVOP products of Japan. Shiitake mushrooms is one of the best
products of Oita. In 2001, a total of 1425 tons Shiitake mushrooms
were produced which accounts 28 % of domestic market share
7. Similarly, another product
Kaboshu limes is the product that produces only in Oita. Its
annual production as recorded in 2001 was 6050 tons. Greenhouse
mandarin is another unique product ranking Oita's 4th production.
Its annual production is recorded to 5630 tons. Other products like
Bungo Beef that topped the Japanese Beef Grand Championship in
2002. It is famous for quality throughout Japan. Oita's Distilled
barley spirits (fig 2) is also equally famous product of OVOP. The
combination of Kaboshu lime juice and barley spirits is famous and
smooth in taste. Oitas produces like Shiitake mushroom (Figure 3),
Kabosu lime, Greenhouse mandarin and distilled barley spirit
(Figure 3) has now become national brands of Japan. The price of
100 gm dried Shitake mushroom costs US$ 28 (3,000 yen) whereas the
price of a motor car, if calculated simply by weight, costs just
US$ 1.9 (200 yen) per 100 gm (Table 2)
8.
Table 2 OVOP Product price compared with Motorcars Product Price
(US$ per 100 gm) Dried shiitake mushroom 28 Distilled barley spirit
2.3 Greenhouse orange 2.8 Motorcar 1.9 Intangible Products In OVOP
Japan, there is no limitation in product selection. Tangible or
intangible, any product could be OVOP product. For example, Yufuin
town and Kuju town both have successfully achieved regional
development without compromising natural environment
9. Oita's
Soccer Team Trinita, Annual Wheelchair Marathoon are the events
included in OVOP. Similarly, Beppu Argerich Music Festival and Oita
Asia Sculpture Exhibition are another example of successful
OVOP
7 Oita OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee, OVOP
Movement: Local Yet Global, at
http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/jissen1.html 8 OOIEPC Office. 9 Oita
OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee, OVOP Movement:
Local Yet Global, at http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/jissen1.html
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5
events. These are the example of the right choice of local
products, quality consciousness and value addition wisdom of the
local people.
Role of Government In Japan, there is no such OVOP program or
project implemented by the Central Government. There are only some
Prefectural Governments which supports OVOP. OVOP was initiated
autonomously in 58 cities, towns and villages of Oita
Prefecture
10. In
the year of its introduction, the number of OVOP products
throughout the prefecture was 143, but 20 years later the figure
had increased more than two-folds to 336. OVOP wasn't always met
with success, and there were many trials and errors along the way.
Yet, no matter how unpromising things seemed, the Prefectural
government never attempted to provide subsidies for OVOP regions
because they feared that such assistance would only hamper
self-reliance and prevent lasting success of OVOP. Instead, the
government assisted in product development and distribution.
Through the establishment of institutions such as Agricultural
Technology Centre, Mushrooms Research and Guidance Centre,
Livestock Experimental Station, and Institute of Marine and
Fisheries Science, the government offered guidance in production
and processing technology. Distribution routes were opened and
expanded by the efforts of the Prefectural government and the then
governor Mr. Hiramatsu himself, who organised numerous fairs in
major Japanese cities and abroad, where he personally advertised
Oita's prospective products. Also, regional markets were set up
throughout Oita to encourage local consumption of OVOP products.
Moreover, groups and individuals with outstanding achievement in
OVOP were honoured with rewards.
Role of Leaders OVOP's ultimate goal is fostering global-minded,
challenging leaders, who could drive OVOP into further success
11. Regions that have
successfully adopted OVOP in the past all had such leaders at
the frontier. A number of regional training schools have been
founded to educate potential leaders and students of these schools
usually work by day and study by night. By 2002, 10 years after the
schools first opened,
10 Now OVOP is not officially supported by Oita Prefectural
Government. Towns and villages people themselves promote OVOP with
their own fund. It is up to them to continue OVOP or not. 11
Hiramatsu (2001) OVOP Movement,
http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/gaiko.html
6
there were 1,991 graduates, and they were all actively involved
in OVOP in their respective regions and sectors. Training schools
that were exclusively designed for each industry, such as
Agricultural Training School, Commerce School, International
College, Environment School, IT Academy and OVOP Women's 100 Member
Group, were also established to nurture leaders in a wider range of
fields
Conclusion The OVOP program started 30 years ago in a small
village of Oita Prefecture, Japan as a community centered and rural
economic development program now has been reached to different
countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This program has given
a good lesson of utilisation of local resource, local skills and
local leadership in order to revitalise the poor condition of the
village community. It has emphasised on self-reliance and
creativity whereas attempt to discouraged the dependency nature.
The OVOP in Japan is a cooperative, village or district level
movement but not a central government program. Now, OVOP is not
officially supported by Oita Prefectural Government. The local
people of Towns and villages themselves are responsible for
promoting OVOP with their own fund. The success of failure of the
program depends upon the commitments and dedication of the local
community. Identification of potential local resources, utilisation
of local skills to promote the globally accepted products is the
main theme of the OVOP Japan. The equation of local resource and
local skills utilisation generates local pride creating
Independence mentality amongst the local communities. This
philosophy of OVOP Japan is equally applicable to Nepal also in
order to sustainable development of OVOP Nepal.
Chapter 3: One Tambon One Product in Thailand
Introduction One Tambon One Product (OTOP) is a Thai version of
OVOP. Tambon stands for sub-district. The OTOP is one among many
Thai Government projects which aim for the development at the grass
root level. The former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
launched OTOP in Thailand in 2001 up to 2006. OTOP is considered as
one of the examples of successful programme under OVOP
modality.
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7
Since the OTOP idea was borrowed from Oita, Japan where village
community is the focal point of the movement but, in the case of
Thailand, it is a national perspective. In other words, OTOP is a
national development policy of the Thai Government. Government
announces poverty war and made policy to promote OTOP to confront
the most alarmed problem of poverty. The contribution of Japan
External Trade Organisation (JETRO) was very worth to promote OTOP
in Thailand at its early stage. JETRO launched a one-year programme
to support Thailand's development of OTOP and promote OTOP products
in the Japanese market from January to December 2002. The targeted
industries include textiles, wooden products, baskets, ceramics and
mulberry papers. In conducting this programme, JETRO has
coordinated with the OTOP committee, Department Export Promotion,
and other related organisations in Thailand and Japan.
Philosophy, Activities and Objectives Philosophy The philosophy
of OTOP is entirely based on three fundamental principles of Oita
movement. The OTOP thus is a mechanism aimed to empower the local
villages with the capacity to develop one unique major product of
their own to conform with culture in each a locality. Main
Activities The OTOP has focused on two main activities described as
under: 1. To enlarge local product to marketing Product conforms to
local culture and to be prominent point of locality. Including
developed quality to enlarge market to local network, province and
global market. 2. To produce and create in locality Use knowledge
of human in locality to create product while government support
equipment and new technology. Objectives The main objectives of
OTOP
12 are as follows.
To increase employment and income in community
12 Peace Corps Thailand Volunteer Wiki,
http://pcthailand.wetpaint.com/page/OTOP
8
To strengthen and revitalise local community to be self-reliance
in
area of local development
To promote local wisdom
To promote human resource and human capability, especially in
developing local products in accordance with traditional ways of
living and cultures
To promote creativity base on local way of life and culture
Special Features The OTOP has attempted to discourage the
government subsidy policy. The principle of this process doesnt
emphasise about subsidy to a locality because it destroys self
reliance ability. Government supports technique for developing
quality of product. In marketing thought establish One Product
Corporation for a way to spread products to market.
Administrative Structure and Committees The OTOP in Thailand has
been extended in 70,787 villages within 7255 sub-districts (Tambon)
of 878 districts of 76 provinces and Bangkok. In 2001-2002, the
Thai Government announced to commence OTOP movement and OTOP
Administrative Committee was formed. The committee is responsible
for directing, supervising, and assessing all measures and
activities regarding OTOP to fulfil its goals and objectives. The
committee has formed 9 different sub-committees which were later
replaced by 5 new sub-committees in 2003.
The following are the sub-committees
13 formed in 2003.
Administrative Sub-Committee Production Promotion Sub-Committee
Marketing Promotion Sub-Committee Product Quality Development and
Standard sub-Committee Regional OTOP Sub-Committee 1.
Administrative Sub-Committee This sub-committee is responsible for
execution and coordination of plans and strategies agreed by the
OTOP National Administrative Committee. Similarly, the
sub-committee coordinates with concerned authorities in relation to
the operational planning and budgeting of the
13 International Relations Sub-Division, Community Development
Department, Thailand
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9
set pals and strategies. It is also responsible to develop OTOP
database and create information system with parties involved in the
OTOP project. It is also responsible for monitoring and evaluation
of the project. 2. Production Promotion Sub-Committee This
sub-committee works for entire development of OTOP products.
Fostering the quality enhancement, factor of production
development, improvement of production process (value addition
factors), promotion of local content usage are the major functions
of the sub-committee.
3. Marketing Promotion Sub-Committee This committee is formed
for the promotion of OTOP products marketing in domestic and
international markets. It lay down marketing policies, action plans
and marketing directions. It is also responsible for identification
of distribution channels. Finding appropriate locations for the
setting up of domestic and international distribution outlets is
another important function of the sub-committee. Besides that,
protecting intellectual property of the OTOP products is another
responsible task of the sub-committee. 4. Product Standard and
Quality Development Sub-Committee This sub-committee particularly
deals in quality matters. The sub-committee foster facilities and
provides guidance promoting product standard and quality
enhancement. This includes giving advices on production techniques
and product upgrading methods.
5. Regional/Provincial Sub-Committee The regional level
sub-committee formulates policies and plans essential for the
promotion and strengthening of local community. It works for
strengthening of the producer's competitiveness through promotion
of communities' network. It also helps enhancing producer's
knowledge, skill, and expertise. Types of OTOP For product
selection, there is no hard and fast rule or restriction in OVOP
program. Any type of products like commodity, services, local
culture, ways of life, tourism, traditions etc could be a potential
product of OVOP. The selected product have local essence or not;
local skills have been utilised or not, demand driven or not,
globally acceptable or not, are the most important factor to be
considered. Considering all these factors, OTOP has been extended
in different sectors as under:
10
Products Services Local culture/Ways of life Tourist Locations
Traditions
OTOP Promotion
The OTOP has set up different activities to promote the project.
They are OTOP Registration, OTOP City Fair, OTOP Product champion
(OPC), Regional OTOP Fair, Entrepreneurship Development, Young OTOP
Camp, Knowledge-based OTOP, OTOP Village Champion (OVC), OTOP
Midyear Fair, and OTOP Tourism Village. These activities has been
extended for registration of potential OTOP producers and the
products, publicity and domestic market promotion, awarding STARS
based on quality of the products, business promotion and value
addition through, creation of knowledge based OTOP network that
includes producers, government agencies, private sector and
educational institutions, development of tourism in potential
villages.
OTOP Registration There are three different types of producers
group registered under OTOP Registration Year 2010 (Table 3). They
are Community Occupation group; One-Person Owner group; and Small
and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) group and registered producer groups
whereupon 33,228 groups are involved.
Table 3 OTOP Producer registration Year 2010 Categories of
Producers Number of Groups 1. Community Occupation group 22,200 2.
One-Person Owner 10,303 3. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 725
4. Total 33.228 JICA Bi-Monthly Report, October, 2007, prepared by
Orpan Nabangchang-Srisawalak
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11
Similarly, a total of 85,173 products have been developed under
different categories registered in 2010. (Table 4) The products
promoted by OTOP come under 5 different categories. They are food,
beverage, fabric and dressing wear, furnishing, decoration and
souvenir and herbal products.
Table 4 OTOP Product Registration Year 2010 Categories of
Products Number of Products 1. Food 20,330 2. Beverage 3,073 3.
Fabrics and Dressing Wear 21,386 4. Furnishing, Decoration and
Souvenir 31,334 5. Herbal products 9,050 Total 85,173 JICA
Bi-Monthly Report, October, 2007, prepared by Orpan
Nabangchang-Srisawalak
Quality Assurance The product evaluation for branding of the
products is done by the OTOP National Administrative Committee and
the Ministry of Interior
14.
Community groups, SMEs and individual entrepreneurs must
register their products to participate in this contest. Only one
product can be submitted by each producer. The general evaluation
criteria for the contest are: The product is exportable and has a
brand quality, Production can be sustainable and with consistent
quality, The product can provide customer satisfaction, and The
product has an impressive background story.
The grading of each product is made at various administrative
levels according to established official procedures. First, product
quality will be scored for up to 30 points at the local level.
Second, the marketing capability measured by the number of obtained
markets and the period of group activities will be scored for up to
30 points. Finally, up to 40 points will be scored at the national
level by the use of same criteria of quality and marketing. The
five-star certificate is granted only to the product having more
than 90 points and qualified as good quality and exportable (Table
5).The product scoring 80 to 89 points is branded as 4 Starred
products which means a fairly good quality, nationally recognised
and make exportable upon further improvement. One star product is
defined as a
14 Kiyoto Kurokawa, Fletcher Tembo and Dirk Willem (2008)
Challenges for the OVOP movement in Sub-Saharan Africa, ODI Working
Paper 290.
12
product unable to attain 2 stars due to its many weakness and
difficulty for development.
Table 5 OTOP Quality Assurance
5 stars
90 points and above
Good quality, exportable
4 stars
80-89 points Fairly good quality, nationally recognised,
exportable upon improvement
3 stars
70-79 points Average quality, able to attain 4 stars upon
improvement
2 stars
50-69 points Able to attain 3 stars, periodically assessed
1 star below 50 points
Product is unable to attain 2 stars due to its many weakness and
difficulty for development
Source: Adopted from http://www.pcthailandgigs.org
OTOP Product Champion Based on the score, 10,982 products have
got star certificate as of OTOP Product Champion (OPC) Year 2000 in
Thailand (Table 6). Table 6 Number of OTOP products with Star
Category Number of Products 1 Star 477 2 Star 2654 3 Star 2904 4
star 3498 5 Star 1449 Total 10,982
Product Sales Trend The OTOP program was launched in 2001. In
the same year, The OTOP product sales have been recorded to 245
million Baht i.e. equivalent to 8 million USD. The sales trend
continued to increase in each year till the year 2008. In 2009, the
amount of sales has been found slightly decreased. The sales figure
again increased in 2010 which accounts 68,484 million Baht
equivalents to 2283 million USD (Figure 1). This indicates the
successful implementation of the program in Thailand. The sales
trend of OTOP products is presented below.
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13
Trend of OTOP Product Sales
0100002000030000400005000060000700008000090000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Year
S
a
l
e
s
i
n
T
h
a
i
B
h
a
t
Figure 1 Sales Trend
OTOP focus in 10 years Road Map The OTOP has focused on
different development strategies. They had outlined 10 years
development road map starting from the year 2002 to 2011 to boost
up OTOP program. For each year, they have had a separate plan. The
Year 2002 was announced as the year of in search of OTOP.
Similarly, the year 2011 is a year for OTOP value creation for
creative economy. The 10 year road map is as follows:
Table 7 OTOP 10 Years Road Map Year Categories 2002 In search of
OTOP 2003 OTOP Product Champion (OPC) 2004 Standard Campaign 2005
OTOP Market Promotion 2006 In search of excellent OTOP 2007
Knowledge Based OTOP 2008 Entrepreneur Promotion 2009 OTOP Tourism
Villages 2010 OTOP Network Promotion 2011 OTOP value creation for
creative economy
Conclusion The OTOP Program was launched a decade ago in
Thailand. The former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra
launched OTOP in 2001. Since the OTOP idea was borrowed from Oita,
Japan where village community is the focal point of the movement
but, in the case of Thailand, it is a national perspective. In
other words, OTOP is a national development policy of the Thai
Government.
14
The philosophy of OTOP is entirely based on three fundamental
principles of Oita movement. The program has focused on skill
development, creation of unique products and promotion of market.
The OTOP has extended in products, services, local culture (ways of
life), tourist locations, and traditions sectors. OTOP in Thailand
is a national agenda for economic development from the grass root.
Therefore, the role of government including the prime minister is
very significant. The stakeholders are very active and and work in
an integrated way. The program has given top priority to the
community, groups and local wisdom and utilised them very
prudently. The participation of local community in the program is
very encouraging. The competent government field workers work for
the program. Similarly, they are conscious about quality and
competitiveness. As a result, they have promoted different OTOP
branded products in domestic as well as in the international
market. Finally, OTOP of Thailand could be concluded as a
successful program.
Chapter 4: OVOP Programme in Nepal
Background Inspired by the successful implementation OVOP in
Japan, many Asian, African and the Latin American countries have
started adopting the program as such in their respective countries.
China was the first nation outside Japan to adopt OVOP movement. In
1980, the city of Shanghai initiated a movement with a slogan One
Hamlet One Product OHOP. Similarly, the former Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra launched One Tambon One Product or OTOP in
Thailand in 2001. Tambon means sub-district in Thai version. OTOP
is considered as one of the examples of successful program under
OVOP modality. The impact of OVOP has spread widely in Asian
countries and Nepal could not remain untouched. As a result, Nepal
Government in 2006 spelled out the enforcement of OVOP in Nepal
through its Budget Speech.
Initiation The success of OVOP program in many countries
including Thailand has inspired the Federation of Nepalese Chambers
of Commerce Industry (FNCCI)-an umbrella organisation of the
Nepalese private sector to initiate OVOP in Nepal in a form of
national prioritised program. The FNCCI had discussed and dialogued
with different
-
15
Ministries in order to launch the OVOP program in Nepal. The
Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply (MoICS) now The Ministry
of Industry was also making its best effort to compliment OVOP
program through the possible technical and infrastructural supports
from the Government of Japan under its Aid-For-Trade initiatives.
In 23rd March, 2006 a meeting was held at Ministry of Agriculture
and Cooperatives (MoAC) in the presence of the Minister and the
Secretary of the MoAC, President of the FNCCI, Executive Director
of Agro Enterprise Centre (AEC)/FNCCI, and the under secretaries to
discuss on the concept note about launching OVOP program in Nepal
prepared by AEC/FNCCI. It was suggested At the same time, a
suggestion was also made to form a working task force under the
chairmanship of the President of FNCCI for the implementation of
the program. AEC/FNCCI in coordination with Joint Secretary of the
Agro Business Promotion and Statistics Division, Directorate of
Fisheries, National Citrus Development Program has worked out in
detail on product development like Junar (Sweet Orange), Lapsi (Hug
Plum), Rainbow Trout, and Bel (Stone Apple) to be promoted in OVOP
program. On 14th of May, 2006, a meeting of the High Level
Committee of MoAC under the chairmanship of Honorable Minister for
Agriculture and Cooperatives took place. The Secretary of MoAC,
MoICS, Ministry of Local Development (MoLD), Joint Secretaries,
Third Vice President of FNCCI, Chairman of AEC Board, and Executive
Director of AEC/FNCCI were present in the meeting. The Committee
has principally agreed to implement OVOP program as proposed by
FNCCI. It has decided that the High Level Committee of MoAC would
direct the program at a policy level and a proposed Working
Committee.
OVOP Programme OVOP in Nepal is a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) based program which was officially launched in July 17, 2006
for 5 years as a pilot project. The program in its first year with
4 products has extended in 7 districts. In the second year of its
operation, the program has been extended in two new additional
districts with new products. Similarly, in the fourth year, the
program was successful to introduce two new products in two
additional districts. By the end of five year of its operation, 8
products in 11 districts have been extended.
16
During the period of 5 years, the program has basically focused
on production and marketing side. Different agriculture inputs and
technical training had been provided to the producers for the
extension of the production area as well as quality production.
Similarly, different inputs and technical training had been given
to improve market and marketing system development.
OVOP Nepal Products Products supported by OVOP Programme in
Nepal
15 are shown in
Table 8.
Table 8 OVOP Products in Nepal Products Districts Introduced
Year 1 Junar (citrus Sinesis (L) Osb) Ramechhap and
Sindhuli 2006
2 Lapsi (choeropondias axillaries)
Bhaktapur 2006
3 Bel (aegle marmelos (Linn) correa)
Bardiya and Siraha
2006
4 Rainbow Trout (oncorhynchus mykiss)
Nuwakot and Rasuwa
2006
5 Cymbidium Orchid Lalitpur 2007 6 Agro Tourism Lekhnath, Kaski
2007 7 Lokta paper Dolkha 2009 8 Coffee (Coffea Arabica /
Coffea canephora) Syangja 2009
Junar (citrus Sinesis (L) Osb) Junar is a typical fruit of Nepal
which is also know as sweet orange (tight skin) (Figure 6). Its
botanical name is Citrus Sinesis (L) Osb. Lapsi (choeropondias
axillaries) Lapsi is a unique fruit of Nepal which is rarely found
in other countries (Figure 7). The botanical name is Choeropondias
axillaries. The other familiar name is mombin or hug plum.
15 Annual Report of OVOP Nepal 2010
-
17
Bel (aegle marmelos (Linn) correa) Bel is a wild fruit of Nepal
having plenty of Ayurvedic values (Figure 8). It is also known as
stone apple or golden apple. The botanical name is aegle marmelos
(Linn) correa.
Rainbow Trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) Rainbow trout is
scientifically named as oncorhynchus mykiss which was introduced in
Nepal from Japan in 1988 (Figure 9). Lokta (daphne papyracea) The
botanical name of Lokta is Daphne papyracea also known as Nepali
Handmade Paper (Error! Reference source not found.). Lokta is
flowering shrub that is non-timber forest species. The inner bark
is popularly known as Lokta
16.
Cymbidium Orchid Sunkhari is Cymbidium Orchid. Its botanical
name is Orchidacea (Figure 12). The orchid plants are brought in
Nepal from Darjeeling, Sikkim and Japan and started commercial
farming of orchid in 1996
17.
Agro Tourism Agro Tourism is one of the products of OVOP Nepal
(Figure 13). This program is launched in Lekhnath, Kaski district
aiming at village tourism promotion. A series of agriculture
activities are tied up with the program to attract domestic as well
as international tourists. Coffee The botanical name of coffee is
Coffea Arabica / Coffea canephora (Figure 10). The coffee produced
in Nepal is said to be organic because coffee in Nepal is grown in
the altitude of 2500-4500 feet above sea level. Working Procedures
For execution of OVOP in Nepal, an especial working procedure
called Ek Gaon Ek Utpadan (OVOP) Karyekram Karyanoyen Karyebidhi
has been developed which was amended in 2007. This is an official
document as a guideline to implement OVOP in Nepal. The working
procedures have been drafted by AEC and finally passed by High
Level Committee of MoAC in 2006. 16 Ganesh Shakya, OVOP: Lokta
Handmade paper in Rising Nepal, 2 June 2009 17 Ganesh Shakya,
Cymbidium Orchid Farming in Kathmandu Valley, in Rising Nepal, 28
August 2009
18
Objectives The main objective of the program is to alleviate
poverty in local community and to benefit local producers and the
business enterprises through promotion of demand driven and export
potential local products utilising local resources and the local
skills. Other specific objectives include: Quality and Commercial
Production Value Addition Brand Promotion Internal and External
Market Promotion Overall Economic Development Theses objectives are
based and designed on the 3 fundamental principle of OVOP Japan.
Working Modality The OVOP in Nepal is a PPP based program.
Therefore, the program implementation part is divided into
production and marketing sectors. FNCCI as a private sector takes
care of market promotion activities whereas the government sector
looks after production side. Planning Process Figure 2 represents
the planning process of OVOP in Nepal. Since the program is new in
Nepal, the planning process is based on top down process in the
preliminary stage. For example, products have been selected jointly
by the government and the FNCCI in the beginning year. However, the
product have selected by the technical experts on the basis of
localness, uniqueness, market demand and export potentiality.
Later, bottom up planning process has been exercised. The annual
program is prepared by the related District Committees in
consultation with local producers, local enterprises, related local
government organisation and other stakeholders on the basis of
budget ceiling given by AEC, the Secretariat of OVOP. The proposed
annual program is forwarded to AEC for review. The AEC will examine
the proposed program, budget and the activities at length and
returned back to the concerned District Committee to make more
comprehensive and effective if necessary with suggestions. Then,
AEC will present the proposed annual program to the Central
Committee for rectification. The rectified program will be
forwarded to the Planning Division of MoAC for final approval.
-
19
Figure 2 Planning Process
Budget Provision This program is totally funded by the
government of Nepal under unconditional grants heading called P2
program. Within the period of five years, the government has
allocated a total budget of Rs 133.5 million which is equivalent to
US $ 2 million (Table 9).
Table 9 Annual budget Allocation Year Budget (Rs million)
2006/07 3.5 2007/08 30 2008/09 30 2009/10 30 2010/11 40 Total
133.5
District OVOP Committee
Planning Division, MoAC
OVOP Secretariat (AEC)
Local Producers
OVOP Central Committee
20
Role, Duties and Responsibilities of the Committees For program
implementation, there are 3 major committees two in central level
and one in district level. They are OVOP Central Committee, Basket
Fund Sub-Committee and District OVOP Program Implementation
Committee. The role of each committees and sub-committees has been
described below. OVOP Central Committee OVOP Central Committee has
20 members chaired by the President of FNCCI as coordinator. This
committee has representatives from 8 different Ministries, National
Planning Commission, Central Bank, two departments under MoAC
(Annex 2)
18.
The committee endorses the annual budget, does the necessary
amendments in the working procedures and directs the OVOP
Secretariat for better implementation of the program. The committee
reviews the annual progress report and makes necessary improvement.
It has right to appoint auditor, fixing the remuneration and
forming new sub-committees according to need. The committee is also
works as facilitator and establishes coordination among different
organisations associated with the program. The committee has right
to call the meeting any time as and when needed. There is also a
provision of invitees to the committee meeting.
OVOP Secretariat Recognising the role of the FNCCI in the
promotion of agribusiness in Nepal and its capacity to play a
facilitative/coordination role, the secretariat for the OVOP
program is entrusted to the AEC the technical wing of the FNCCI.
The Secretariat is solely responsible for the implementation and
monitoring and evaluation of the whole program. Basket Fund
Sub-Committee This sub-committee is formed to manage the Basket
Fund. It has 5 members headed by the Joint Secretary of Agri
Business Promotion and Statistics Division, MoAC (Table 10)
19.
Table 10 Composition of Basket Fund Sub-Committee
18 OVOP Working Procedures 2006/07 19 OVOP Working Procedures
2006/07
Organisation Portfolio
1 Joint Secretary - Agri Business Promotion and Statistics
Division, MoAC
Coordinator
-
21
The sub-committee does the program budget expenditure management
as approved by the central committee. Rectifying the proposal made
by the OVOP Secretary relating to adjustment of budget and to
facilitate easy operation of the program is one of the functions of
the sub-committee. It has right to examine financial progress
report and book keeping. It works for fast releasing of budget and
keep transparent. Similarly, it urges for timely auditing of annual
budget program and submits the report to the central committee.
District OVOP Program Implementation Committee This is a core
committee formed in district level to implement the program in the
OVOP launched district. This is a five member committee headed by
the president of District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
as a coordinator (Table 11)
20. The chief of the
District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) represents the
committee as a sub-coordinator. The planning officer of District
Development Committee and two other persons from related
organisations represent as a member of the committee.
Table 11 Composition of District Committee
This committee is sole responsible for execution of the program
in local level. The committee prepares the annual budget and
program and submits to the OVOP Secretary to get approval. It also
works as a coordinator between the local producers/business
entities and the
20 OVOP Working Procedures
2 Representative Planning Division, MoAC Member 3 Representative
Ministry of Industry Member 4 Representative Ministry of Local
Development Member
5 Executive Director Member Secretary
S.No. Organisation Portfolio
1 Chairman District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
Coordinator
2 District Agriculture Development Officer (DADO)
Sub-Coordinator
3 Planning Officer Village Development Committee (VDC)
Member
4 2 Representatives from related local government offices and
/or from other institutions
Member
22
OVOP Secretary. The committee can propose for additional program
with justification based on local communitys demand. The committee
is responsible solving any kinds of problem arises in the field
level. Keeping transparent accounts, reporting of the monthly,
trimester, and annual report is the duty of the committee. It
organises fairs and exhibition in the district and also participate
in the inter district fairs and exhibition to promote the OVOP
products. The committee also does the monitoring and evaluation of
the programme and responsible for making necessary improvement. It
works closely with DADO to facilitate local producers in production
side.
Programme Partners Since OVOP in Nepal is a PPP based programme,
it has different partners in both public and private sectors.
Government Partners There are 5 government stakeholders in central
level involving directly in the program (Table 12). They provide
technical support to the producers. The program formulates the
annual program and allocates the budget which follows the same
process to get approval as described above.
Table 12 Government Partners
Organisation Level
1 Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Central 2. Department
of Food Technology and Quality Control Central 3. Directorate of
Fisheries Development Central 4. Directorate of Fruits Development
Central 5. Directorate of Post Harvest Management Central 6.
Fisheries Development Division (NARC) Central 7. District
Agriculture Development Office District 8. Agriculture Service
Centre District
Private Sector Partners Similarly, there are three different
private sector partners involved in the program (Table 13).
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23
Table 13 Private Sector Partners
Organisation Level
1 Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Centre
2 Agro Enterprise Centre Centre 3 District Chamber of Commerce
and Industry District
Role, Duties and Responsibilities of the Partners Different
partners have different role, duties and responsibilities relating
to program development. They are described below. 1. Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) Since the products developed
under OVOP within the period of 5 years are almost all agro
products. Therefore, the role of the MoAC is immense promoting OVOP
in Nepal. The Ministry proposes the National Planning Commission
for the approval of annual program and gets budget approval from
the Ministry of Finance. Similarly, the Ministry approves and
finalised the annual budget and program proposed by OVOP
Secretariat. It helps formation and implementation of favourable
policy. The Ministry does monitoring and evaluation of the program
and gives instruction to its line agencies and the OVOP secretariat
if necessary to improve the overall program implementation aspect.
2. Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) The
DFTQC is responsible for maintaining quality and standard of
products specially the processed products. Therefore, it provides
practical and technical training to the producers and the
processors in the centre as well as in the field. It has right to
inspect the products. Beside that, a technical committee has been
formed under the chairmanship of the Director of DFTQC. The
committee is responsible for developing the quality standard
measuring criteria for the OVOP products which helps later for
brand promotion of the products. 3. Directorate of Fisheries
Development This Directorate is responsible for helping trout
farmers through technical supports. It also produces extension
manual, posters, pamphlet etc and distributes to the farmers. 4.
Directorate of Fruits Development This organisation helps farmers
especially in the field of orchard management. It provides
technical service and training to the farmers relating to use of
pesticides, insecticides, fertilisers and so on. The
24
Directorate monitors the field regularly and gives necessary
advice to solve the farmer's problem. Beside that, it produces
different technical manuals and distributes to the farmers. 5.
Directorate of Post Harvest Management This Directorate is
responsible for providing technical aid to the farmers relating to
post harvest management. It gives on the spot practical training to
the farmers on grading and packaging. 6. Fisheries Development
Division (NARC) The Fisheries Development Division of NARC is
responsible for undertaking different study on trout fish. This
organisation identifies the potential location for trout farming.
It helps providing training to the farmers on and about trout feed
production, disease control and appropriate trout farming system.
It also produces different technical manual and literature for
appropriate trout farming system and distributed to farmers. It
does regular field supervision and advice the farmers for
improvement. 7. District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) DADO
is responsible for preparing annual production program,
mobilisation of its technical staffs to help farmers, reporting of
the program, collection and compilation of production statistics,
budget mobilisation, and field supervision in close coordination
with District OVOP Program Implementation Committee. 8. Agriculture
Service Centre (ASC) The technicians of the centre supervise the
field, advice what, when and how to do better farming. 9.
Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI)
FNCCI is the prime partner of the program from private sector. This
organisation does policy advocacy, meeting and interaction with
related Ministry for the extension of the program in new areas. 10.
Agro Enterprise Centre (AEC) AEC is the secretariat of the OVOP
program. It is solely responsible for implementing the overall
program. Preparation and to get approval of annual budget and
program, budget releasing to the concerned district and
implementing the program are the major function of the AEC. It
undertakes different study like feasibility study, impact study,
evaluation study and many more as per need. It organises national
level fairs and exhibition to promote the OVOP products in the
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25
national and international market and works for brand promotion.
Identification of new product and new the district is the duty of
AEC. Organising committee's meeting, present the periodic and
annual progress report to the Central Committee and carry out the
activities as instructed by the Committee is the duty of AEC. It
appoints the auditor as approved by the Central Committee and
finalises the audit report and submits to the Central committee.
Publicity is another important function of the AEC. It publishes
reports, product-wise technical manuals, brochures, booklets etc.
and distributes widely. The AEC suggests making amendment in the
working procedures as and when needed. It also organises press
conference to acknowledge the status of OVOP program nationwide. It
establishes coordination among all the stakeholders of the program.
11. District Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) The president
of the DCCI is the coordinator of the District OVOP Program
Implementation Committee (DOPIC). Preparing annual budget and
program in coordination with the DADO and the local community,
getting approval from the OVOP Secretary, and the implementation of
the program in the district are duties of the DOPIC. Besides that,
it organises as well as participates in different fairs and
exhibition to promote its product. It is also responsible to keep
transparent book keeping of the program. The DOPIC can request the
OVOP Secretariat for additional activities with justification which
is not included in the approved annual program. It prepares
periodic and annual progress report and submits to the OVOP
Secretary. For extension and marketing promotion, DOPIC extends the
publicity works through different media. It does regular
supervision of the field for better implementation of the
program.
Hiramatsu OVOP Award 2010 In 2010, Agro Enterprise Centre/FNCCI
has been awarded with Hiramatsu OVOP Award 2010 for successful
extending of the program in Nepal. The message as written and
signed by Morihiko Hiramatsu, Ph.D., Oita OVOP International
Exchange promotion Committee on14th of December, 2010 is as
follows. You have promoted One Village One Product" Movement with
wisdom and passion, and contributed toward regional development and
peace. I would like to commend you for your great achievement,
which will afford boundless courage and energy to the people of the
world
26
Support by the Government of Japan Support of the Government of
Japan to promote OVOP programme in Nepal has been significant. It
provided technical cooperation through JICA for junar orange
production in 1980s and 1990s, lokta paper production in 1990s, and
rainbow trout in 1990s and 2000s, helping to establish the base for
the present OVOP Programme. It has provided a JICA Expert, Junior
Volunteers and Senior Volunteers in the field of OVOP promotion and
OVOP production. It also provided local staffs and producers
working for OVOP Nepal programme with opportunities to participate
in short term training courses in Japan. The expert provided policy
advice to the OVOP Secretariat and MOAC for the improvement in the
programme. The expert and the volunteers had worked in the field of
coffee export promotion, lapsi processing and pathology for rainbow
trout in Nepal. With their cooperation, the coffee produced in
Lekhnath, Kaski under OVOP programme has been successful in
entering the Japanese market and is available at OVOP Market in
Narita International Airport near Tokyo. The coffee cupping contest
recently organised by JICA, MOAC and Helvetas has helped farmer
understanding the quality concern in the international market.
Similarly, the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu has helped marketing
promotion of OVOP products through festivals such as Japan Festival
where the producers had displayed the products for exhibition as
well as for sales.
Strength and Weakness AEC, Secretariat of OVOP programme has
recently conducted an Evaluation Study of One Village One Product
programme in Nepal. The study has been carried out focusing on the
major indicators such as Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness,
Benefits, Sustainability, and the Institutional arrangement. An
overall result of the study has been described below
21.
OVOP Programme is observed successful in the field level.
21 Shiva Kumar Upadyaye and the Study team, Evaluation Study of
One Village One Product program in Nepal, July 4, 2011
-
27
Most of the commodities selected in pilot programme are
indigenous types that have high potentials for expansion in Nepal
due to the suitability of climatic condition.
All commodities have strong market demands both in internal and
external markets.
The programme is properly endorsed by the government in its
policy and development level documents for its proper
implementation.
The programme can be implemented in a highly inclusive manner
and for supporting to reduce rural poverty.
The programme by its nature involves a large number of primary
and direct beneficiaries.
However, there are weaknesses as follows
22.
Local resource, local skills, local leadership and the local
pride
are the most important factors of OVOP Japan philosophy which is
not well addressed in Nepal
Production and marketing (Quality improvement, Value addition,
Enterprise development, Cooperatives, market promotion etc) has to
be developed side by side but the focus on marketing side is
least
Dependent on Government Budget Lack of sufficient subject matter
specialists Delay in decision making process Delay in budget
release Limited budget, increasing demand for new products in
new
districts Delay in brand promotion
22 Shiva Kumar Upadyaye and the Study team, Evaluation Study of
One Village One Product program in Nepal, July 4, 2011
28
Conclusion OVOP Nepal is a part of national agenda pertaining to
poverty alleviation. The programme was designed more or less based
on three fundamental principles of Oita movement. Identification of
potential local products, value addition, branding and the market
promotion are the major objectives of the programme. The OVOP in
Nepal is a PPP based programme. MoAC (government programme) and
FNCCI (private sector) is the major partner of the programme. The
programme is funded by the government. Different line agencies
under MoAC provide extension services to enhance production whereas
the AEC is responsible for market extension. AEC is designated as
OVOP Secretariat which is solely responsible for implementation of
the overall programme in grass root level. The whole programme runs
as per guidelines of OVOP Working Procedures which is made
particularly developed for the implementation of the programme. The
programme was started with 4 products in 7 districts. Within the
period of 5 years, the programme has been extended in11 districts
covering 8 products. The programme has supported the farmers with
all the inputs required for orchard management and market promotion
activities. With this supports, the quality of the products have
been enhanced and the farmers are happy with fruitful returns. The
programme is still working for brand promotion.
Chapter 5: Overall Conclusion
The OVOP is a successful community centred and demand driven
rural economic development programme of Japan. However, it is
entailed with Oyama Towns NPC Movement in 1961. Dr Morihiko
Hiramatsu, former governor of Oita Prefecture, considered NPC
Movement as a successful model for rural development, and he named
it One Village One Product (OVOP) and promoted it as a campaign to
all the towns and villages in Oita in 1979. OVOP Japan has no
limitation in product identification. Any product or service or
event could be the OVOP product. For example, Naoiri town has
promoted carbonated hot-springs and cultural exchanges with foreign
countries as its traits. Similarly, Beppu Argerich Music Festival
and Oita Asia Sculpture Exhibition are the events included in OVOP
as products. Whether the selected product have local essence or
not, worth to value addition or not, and globally accepted or not
is
-
29
the most important things to be considered while identifying the
products. The central government of Japan does not interfere in
village development activities. Only the local government assists
in institution development, market facilities development and
honoured the groups and individuals with rewards. The role of
leaders is also equally important. They educate potential leaders
through regional training schools
23.
In Thailand, the OTOP is one among several other projects of
Thai Government. The philosophy of OTOP is based on fundamental
principles of OVOP Japan. The OTOP aims at empowering the local
villages with capacity enhancement of the local people and develop
one unique product of their own. OTOP is said to be a successful
community development programme of Thailand. The Thai Government
has developed OTOP as a national agenda. The role of Thai
Government to promote OTOP is significant. The OTOP has been
extended in 70,787 villages including Bangkok. The programme has
been implemented in integrated manner. As a result the OTOP product
is now famous not only in Thailand but also in abroad
24.
At a time when OVOP is spreading widely in Asian countries, a
thought of OVOP programme development in Nepal was evolved. FNCCI
the apex body of private sector took initiation for launching of
the programme in Nepal earlier to 2006. Finally, the government of
Nepal officially launched OVOP programme in Nepal in 2006. Since
Nepal is one of the poorest countries of the world and poverty
alleviation is one of the prime challenges to the government. In
this context, OVOP programme could be a best tool for alleviating
rural poverty. Besides that there are many local resources,
cultural traditions and events that could be developed within OVOP
concept. This is reason why Nepal introduced he programme. The main
objective of the programme is to alleviate poverty in local
community and to benefit local producers and the business
23 See also Annex 3. 24 See also Annex 3.
30
enterprises through promotion of demand driven and export
potential local products utilising local resources and the local
skills. OVOP in Nepal is a PPP based programme. Private sector
takes care of market promotion activities whereas the government
sector looks after production side. Different activities have been
undertaken to enhance production and marketing of the selected
products within the period of 5 years. The programme is successful
in quality and packaging improvement to some extent. The programme
has been extended in the 11 districts which were initially started
in 7 districts. But, this is not enough. There are still many
challenges the programme has to face. Local resource, local skills,
local leadership and the local pride are the vital elements of OVOP
Japan philosophy which is not well addressed in OVOP Nepal.
Marketing aspect has been given least attention as compared to
production side. The existing cooperatives and farmer groups are
not active enough. The community is more dependent on government
budget. Delay in budget release, decision making and brand
promotion are big weaknesses. The budget allocated by the
government is not enough to fulfil the increasing demand for new
products in new districts. Most of the local people are not yet
cleared of the concept of OVOP. They thinks OVOP is simply a just
another agriculture project because most of the products selected
under OVOP programme are agriculture products which is not the
concept of OVOP Japan. In addition to agricultural products,
anything products like handicrafts, cultural programme, and tourism
could be the product of OVOP. This message should be extended
throughout the country through extensive campaigning. Finally, it
is up to the local people whether to develop the programme in
sustainable way or not which is not possible without their
commitments.
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31
Annex 1 Examples of the term OVOP equivalents abroad25.
1. One Factory One Product (Shanghai, China) 2. One City One
Product (Shanghai, China) 3. One district One Product (Shanghai,
China) 4. One Village One Treasure (Wuhan, China) 5. One Town One
Product (Jiangsu, China) 6. One capital One Product (Jaingsu,
China) 7. One Village one Product (Shanxi, China) 8. One Village
One product Jiangxi, China) 9. One Barangay, One Product (The
Philippines) 10. One Region One Vision (The Philippines) 11. Satu
Kampung Satu Produk Movement (Malaysiya) 12. Back to Village (East
Java, Indonesia) 13. One Tambon One Product Movement (Thailand) 14.
One Village One Product Movement (Cambodia) 15. Neuang Muang Neuang
Phalittaphan Movement (Laos) 16. Neg Bag Neg Shildeg Buteedekhhn
(Mongolia) 17. One Village One Product Day (Los Angeles, USA) 18.
One Parish One Product Movement (Louisiana, USA)
25 Oita OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee, OVOP
Movement: Fruits of OVOP, at
http://www.ovop.jp/en/ison_p/seika.html
32
Annex 2 Composition of Central Committee
Organisation Portfolio 1 President FNCCI Coordinator
2 Joint Secretary - Agri Business Promotion and Statistics
Division, MoAC
Sub-Coordinator
3 Chairman - Agro Enterprise Centre Sub-Coordinator
4 Joint or Deputy Secretary Planning Division, MoAC
Member
5 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Industry Member
6 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Local Development
Member
7 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Forest and Soil
Conservation
Member
8 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Culture, Tourism and
Civil Aviation
Member
9 Joint or Deputy Secretary National Planning Commission
Member
10 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Finance Member
11 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Physical Planning and
Construction
Member
12 Joint or Deputy Secretary Ministry of Women, Child and Social
Welfare
Member
13 Executive Director Nepal Agriculture Research Council
(NARC)
Member
14 Director General Department of Agriculture (DOA)
Member
15 Director General Department of Livestock (DOL)
Member
16 Chief Budget and Program Section, Planning Division, MoAC
Member
17 Realted Officer - Nepal Rastra Bank Member
18 Chief Agri Busness Promotion Section, Agri Business Promotion
and Statistics Division, MoAC
Member
19 Representative Non Residence Nepali Association (NRNA)
Member
20 Executive Director AEC Member Secretary
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33
Annex 3 Similarity and differences of OVOP in 3 countries26
Oita, Japan Thailand Nepal Year 1979-2003
(continued voluntarily)
2001-2006 (continued voluntarily)
2006-2011 (Phase 1) 2011- (Phase 2)
Covered area
58 cities, towns, villages
22,762 villages 61 VDCs in 11 districts
Objectives / Principles
Local yet global Self-reliance and Creativity Human Resource
Development
To create employment and income To strengthen local communities
To promote local traditional knowledge To promote human resource
development To encourage innovative ideas and product
development
To alleviate poverty in local community To benefit local people
through their entrepreneurship development
Responsible body
Oita Prefectural Government
Regional Development Department, Home Ministry
MOAC and other ministries
Main actors
Cooperatives Leader farmers Community leaders (mayor etc) Local
extension /research
Village groups Individuals Local bodies
Local CCI DADO Farmer groups / cooperatives Technical
offices
Number of producers / products
(2002) 338 agricultural products
(2006) 22,200 community group
About 4,000 producers
26 Dr Masahiro Kawamura (2010) OVOP Program in Nepal:
Achievements, Issues and Future
34
148 building facilities 133 cultural activities 111 rural
development activities 80 conservation activities
10,303 individuals 725 SMEs 38,840 in total
Characteristics
Encouragement oriented Local government led Community
development Various products (eg. football team) Any individuals
and groups can participate
Production and marketing oriented Central government led Cottage
industry development Handicrafts and processed foods Any
individuals and groups can participate
Production and marketing oriented Central government and FNCCI
led Agricultural development Agricultural and forest products
Districts and villages with potentials selected
Results Several villages with strong leadership and commitment
were commercially successful
Several products exported abroad Many products traded
locally
Production is increasing and marketing development in progress
Coffee exported to Japan
Budget ? (Prefectural and village regular budget)
US$ 40.9 million (2006)
US$ 0.4 million (2007)
Economic effect
US$ 1.7 billion for 338 agricultural products only (2010)
US$ 2.1 billion (2006)
? (assessment necessary)
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35
Annex 4 Picture Gallery
Figure 3 Shiitake mushroom and distilled barley spirit
Figure 4 OVOP Hiramatsu Award
Figure 5 Nepalese participant with Dr Hiramatsu in Japan
36
Figure 6 Junar orange from Ramechhap and Sindhuli
Figure 7 Lapsi candy and lapsi fruits from Bhaktapur
Figure 8 Bel tree, bel juice stock, bel fruits and bel
squash
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37
Figure 9 Trout raceway, trout and trout for sale in Nuwakot and
Rasuwa
Figure 10 Coffee nursery, coffee trees and processed coffee from
Kaski and Syangja
Figure 11 Lokta farmer with Lokta shrubs, Lokta bark, and Lokta
Hat
38
Figure 12 Orchid farming in green house and orchid flowers
Figure 13 Agro Tourism in Begnas Lake are (restaurant, fish
pond, panoramic view)