Farmers in Yala turn to oil palm trees instead of para rubber trees

YALA, 11 October 2015 (NNT)-Farmers in several sub-districts of Yala's Muang district are turning to oil palm trees in instead of para rubber trees in a bid to diversify their sources of income.

In Yupo subdistrict, farmers are trialing the crop and have been growing oil palm trees for two years. Their produce will start to generate income within six months. Local farmer, Lumlert Chuaynukul said she started two years ago after she learned how to diversify from television reports and on the internet.

Currently, the fruit from the oil palms remains small and can be sold at just 10-20 baht a kilogram. Growing oil palm trees requires a lot of fertilizer, otherwise the crop won't be suitable for harvest. Fertilizer must be added every three months. However the fruit can be harvested within 15-20 days after it starts developing on the trees.

Her family has also been growing various kinds of fruit for some years, following the principle of His Majesty the King’s sufficiency economy philosophy, allowing them to harvest fruit and generate income.

-- NNT 2015-10-11

The trouble with changing any fruit crop is the time it takes for the new trees to become economically viable. It literally takes years with constant outgoing cash for fertilizer and water with little or no return, not many Thai farmers can afford the loss of income.

Two and a half years to get a marketable harvest -

When a farmer is already under heavy debt and has invested significant capital in current farming operations, it's not a simple matter of changing crops to create a sustainable income. Even then, if there is an inadequate processing and distribution infrastructure, a successful crop might not generate any profits.

Thus far, the government's answer to a sustainable agricultural economy seems to be, "Get a job." It needs to provide a financial bridge for farmers to diversify and establish the necessary ancilliary infrastructure to get products to market. This is not an overnight solution.

Doing it properly, 3 years before harvesting a crop, not 2.5 years. Also the current price is around 3-5 baht a kg, not 20-30 baht per kg. Uninformed incorrect article. Again...