MartinSmetsers

Hi, just back from a trip trying to locate organic producers in the North of Thailand and encountered a surprising explanation from a farmer of what 'Chemical Free' stands for or means

I was told, to my big surprise, that although the words 'chemical free' are used a lot in references to organic farming in Thailand, that actually the practice means that towards the end of the harvest they stop using chemicals, the period before harvest changes and is dependent kind of chemical and/or kind of vegetable/fruit

This of course is very worrying as the choice of words makes one believe that no chemicals are used at all

Looking forward to hear from you all out there on what your take on this is, i.e. is this correct or am I informed incorrectly

Martin Smetsers

Thanks for that !

This is exactly what we intend to do although the certification necessity isn't a requirement because in itself it does not carry much value. (I'm speaking out of experience....)

(A certified farm with a neighboring chemical fertilizer and pesticide user doesn't fit in our true organic requirements......)

We have a laboratory where we test samples already. I'm looking for the 'devoted' organic producer.

Thanks for your help,

Martin

I am sorry I don't have an answer to the question you asked but do have some comments. I think inspections are a wise and also an essential strategy at the core. You must know products in Thailand get labelled as natural, whitening or even organic generally as a sales tool in name only. Another thing to be aware of is farmers don't know what organic means. For instance I know a farmer who spread chicken manure and proclaimed his crop as organic. Never even crossed his mind all the masked men doing periodic spraying for bugs and using chemical herbicides are in conflict with this. To get some confidence of genuine organic then at minimum:

1. If there is an organic certification to be had in Thailand and I would guess there is, insist each farmer get this as a prerequisite, not something that happens later because it won't. This should be your first line of defense so it would be interesting to understand why you don't want this.
2. Make very clear to the farms what is acceptable practice and what would cause their business to be dropped. Make the rules are posted where everyone that works there will see them, not just tell the head guy who nods it off and doesn't communicate it.
3. As part of surprise inspections (not scheduled inspections) collect samples and verify them at a lab

Thanks for that...........

Company just started whichI will be supplying (on a weekly basis) around 10 kitchens of larger resorts in Southern Thailand.

Looking to personally visit the farms to get a feel of level of organic quality.

I guess we could soon need about 80 kg of pork, 60 kg of beef, 150 kg of chicken on a weekly basis but I emphasize it has to be genuine organic, certification not required but visit to producer(s) required.

Any and all help is very welcome

Martin

Martin; I realize your time is valuable, but, if you could give a hint to quantity required, delivery point, live or gutted, your experience/position, company name, etc, it might help for those who may have a interest in selling.

Hi, we're a starting organic trade company and are looking for producers of organic meats in Thailand. Anyone out there able to help ?

Much Appreciated,

Martin