Thai Chamber Launches Agriculture Project

[Lite Beer]

ANTI-CORRUPTION

Thai Chamber launches agriculture project

The Nation

Members of the Thai Chamber of Commerce believe economic inequality is the main reason for corruption in our society.

To address the problem, an experimental project was kicked off on Monday, in cooperation with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and Agricultural Land Reform Office.

Under the "1 rai, Bt100,000" campaign, a 100-rai area in the Nonthaburi campus of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce will house an experimental project, which will be attended by 85 farmers. They are expected to learn important tips and share them with farmers at home.

According to Pongsak Assakul, vice-chairman of the Chamber, each farmer will be granted one rai. The remaining area will be reserved for the Chamber's training and raw material selection."We at the Chamber are pushing for this project to address the income-inequality problem. We believe that if this knowledge is shared and spread, income distribution would improve and this will mean real sustainability for farmers."

While the Agricultural Land Reform Office is designing the space for the project and selecting farmers, the BAAC will be in charge of project management and budget allocation. The bank will also offer free financial assistance for raw-material purchase.

This experiment follows a pilot project in Khon Kaen, which proved a success. Farmers there earned more than Bt200,000 per rai. Another project was kicked off in Rayong and the Chamber is determined to pursue the course. As it is celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Chamber is committed to fight inequality and corruption to lift Thai society to an international standard.

-- The Nation 2012-07-01

[theblether]

I would say it's greed

and a disdain for the law

Where justice is for sale

There is no justice

[Ricardo]

Perhaps the lessons to be learned might also be broadcast on television, and thus reach the majority of the country's farmers, rather than just the 85 people in this particular project ?

But I imagine that Thai sit-coms are more entertaining than educational-documentaries.

[Thai at Heart]

Strewth. This us ground breaking stuff

[otherstuff1957]

In the late 19th century hundreds of small colleges were established throughout the US. They included 'Normal Schools' which were primarily aimed at training teachers, and the various Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges. The A&M schools trained generations of farmers and skilled workers who were instrumental in transforming the US into a world power.

In Thailand we have the Ratchapat Universities for training teachers and the Tech School for training industrial workers (when they are not too busy being engaged in gang warfare to study, that is) but I don't know of any large number of institutions to train farmers (aside from the Royal Projects). While I do not have much first-hand experience with Thai agriculture, from all I've heard, many farmers simply regard farming as a way of life, rather than as a business. With this mindset and a lack of formal education in their field, it's easy to see why Thai farmers are less efficient than some of their competitors.

Unfortunately, most Thai farmer's children seem to see education as a way off of the farm, rather than a way to make their farms more efficient and productive.

[ballpoint]

In the late 19th century hundreds of small colleges were established throughout the US. They included 'Normal Schools' which were primarily aimed at training teachers, and the various Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges. The A&M schools trained generations of farmers and skilled workers who were instrumental in transforming the US into a world power.

In Thailand we have the Ratchapat Universities for training teachers and the Tech School for training industrial workers (when they are not too busy being engaged in gang warfare to study, that is) but I don't know of any large number of institutions to train farmers (aside from the Royal Projects). While I do not have much first-hand experience with Thai agriculture, from all I've heard, many farmers simply regard farming as a way of life, rather than as a business. With this mindset and a lack of formal education in their field, it's easy to see why Thai farmers are less efficient than some of their competitors.

Unfortunately, most Thai farmer's children seem to see education as a way off of the farm, rather than a way to make their farms more efficient and productive.

The Rajamangala University of Technology's Surin campus has large areas set out for arable farming, including a rubber plantation, mulberry bushes and various fields where things such as sunflowers, sugar and leafy vegetables are grown. These fall under its Faculty of Agriculture and Technology, whose website states "The Faculty provides teaching and research in a number of areas including plant science, animal science, fishery science, landscape technology, food science and technology, biotechnology, chemistry, agricultural machinery technology, electrical technology, mechanical technology, computer science, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, textile and design, and agricultural education". There are three or four other campuses around Isaan, but I don't have personal knowledge of what their agricultural facilities are like. What I've seen, however, would agree with your statement that most of the students are enrolled in other faculties as a way to get off the farm. The near total domination of rice growing in the area also suggests that the vast majority of farmers don't have the inclination and/or the money to send children to an agricultural school, and those who do complete a degree in agriculture are not spreading their knowledge to others in their home villages.

I'm probably going to get lambasted as an anti-poor elitist for saying this, but in over two decades of observation of a Thai rural community, I have to conclude that the people fall into two broad camps. Those that want their children to have a better education, and get away from farming, and those that couldn't care less about what their children get up to when they should be at school. You'll generally find the former working several jobs during the off rice growing season, maybe setting up a small retail business in front of their house. You'll generally find the latter working hard during the planting and harvesting times, but quite content to sit about, usually with a bottle or two of lao khao, the rest of the year, with a bit of fishing and frog catching thrown in. The former are generally more politically aware. The latter, which, at least in the area I'm familiar with, make up the majority, are content to take the money from all candidates, but then either not vote, or go along and vote for the same name as always. They are also more likely to take the money offered by protest groups of both colours. I personally know several people who attended the PAD protests in 2008 and the UDD ones in 2010. Neither group really see agricultural science as a credible option for themselves or their children.