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Bliss Foundation rolls out organic initiative

Pacharaphan Panyasuthakul, left and Narin Thongyeesoon produce chicken eggs in their organic farming.

NAKHON PATHOM: Established by the Sampran Riverside Hotel five years ago, the Bliss Foundation is taking its Sampran Model to the next level with a new initiative to develop the world's pioneering "Farm to Function" concept, linking small organic farmers in Sam Phran district, Nakhon Pathom, with entrepreneurs in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry.

Arrut Navaraj, managing director of the Sampran Riverside, said that as a result of a meeting last Friday between the Bliss Foundation and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), nine MICE entrepreneurs had committed to participating in the pilot project based on the Farm to Function concept.

They are: Sampran Riverside, Impact Muang Thong Thani, Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Dusit Group, Twin Towers Hotel, Sukosol Hotel, Rama Garden Hotel, and Plaza Athenee Hotel.

Meanwhile, Minor International's Anantara Hotel is considering participation in the project.

"This Farm to Function scheme is regarded as the first model in the world that creates direct marketing through the integration of entrepreneurs as buyers and a group of small farmers. In addition to strengthening a network of small organic farmers, it is a platform to help enhance the MICE industry's competitiveness with an assurance for customers in regard to food safety and mitigation of carbon footprint," said Arrut.

The scheme is expected to kick off early next year, with fragrant organic rice as the pilot product. The nine buyers will purchase a combined volume of 250 tonnes of rice a year.

According to the plan, the TCEB will operate the scheme and Kasetsart University's Kamphaeng Saen campus will be responsible for logistics management, with financial support from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

The initiative is also in line with the TCEB's strategy to propel Thailand as a premier destination for MICE sustainability. The bureau earlier adopted the ISO 20121 certification standard (the Event Sustainability Management System), the second country in the world to do so, following the UK.

A new form of consumer access

Cooperation between farmers and consumers is the vital link that propels organic farming forwards, said Arrut.

In addition to Sampran Riverside Hotel's restaurants, Sookjai Weekend Farmers' Market and Sookjai Market roadshows at various locations in Bangkok - including SCB Park, Sun Tower, SCG headquarters, Bank of Thailand and Kasetsart University - the Bliss Foundation is expanding the marketing channel through the "Farm to Firms" concept.

Arrut said the concept had been introduced during an earlier roadshow in SCB Park, opening a new alternative for customers to directly order Sampran Model products. There are now 340 individuals registered as the members of the Bliss market.

"The foundation is developing a website as the Bliss market place, offering online registration, updated information about the products, and prices. Each individual can order produce from rice, fresh fruits to fresh vegetables without a minimum volume requirement," he added.

Green market increasingly popular

Sookjai Weekend Farmers' Market, which has taken place at the Sampran Riverside since November 2010, is gaining in popularity among health-conscious consumers.

Next year, the foundation plans to open a daily Sookjai Farmers' Market to meet the growing demand and increase farmers' incomes. The market offers customers easy access to organic-product delicacies at fair prices, said Arrut.

Moreover, the foundation will be holding the second "Sookjai Day" (Bliss Day) from December 18 to 20 at the hotel. The fair is an annual event, and also the largest community market for organic produce in the country.

The event has been expanded from two to three days, offering consumers the chance to enjoy a variety of organics from over 90 booths, an organic clinic, a DIY organic workshop, games, and a panel discussion on the topic "Organics change life".

Besides the Sampran Model's members, organic farmers from other provinces - including Ratchaburi, Surin and Amnat Charoen - will also exhibit their products.

"Bliss Day 2015" is expected to welcome more than 10,000 visitors, compared to 7,000 last year, when sales of around Bt110 million were generated.

Collaboration with local universities, government agencies and local authorities is crucial to the development of the Sampran Model, said the managing director.

Farmers who are interested in organic farming can get an insight from fellow farmers in the project or receive advice from the Sampran Model team.

Government agencies, universities and private enterprises can come for ideas from the model in terms of public-private partnership and community engagement, or even to find a new business partner, he added.

Alternative of a healthier life

One of the earliest farmers to have participated in the Sampran Model is Prayat Pancharoen. Born to a farming family in Sam Phran district, she decided she had to convert her 80-rai (13 hectares) cultivation area from chemical-based agriculture to organic farming 10 years ago.

Prayat, 51, is now a group leader of organic farmers that produce rice and a variety of vegetables and fruits, including swamp morning glory, false pakchoi, sunflower sprouts, guavas, mangos, java apples, aromatic coconuts, as well as chicken eggs and herbs.

Prayat said she had started organic farming a decade ago after suffering growing debt and health problems, the latter mainly due to the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

At the outset, she was not successful, due to the limited marketing channel and less interest in organic produce than there is today among consumers. Moreover, selling prices were set by middlemen.

"Now, the Sampran Model helps free farmers from being financially strapped, and enables them to enjoy better health. Through the organic farming practices, they earn much more income due to a 70-per-cent drop in production costs. The model has opened an option and a window for our group. When the products are sold, they are able to see for themselves the benefit that direct marketing promised us," she explained.

Prayat added that next month, seven of the group's farmers would receive ACT-IFOAM certification.

Pacharaphan Panyasuthakul and Narin Thongyeesoon, meanwhile, were both consumers looking for food safety, and who have recently become organic farmers.

Pacharaphan, 48, was a nursing department chief at a privately owned hospital in Thon Buri, while Narin, 44, was the owner of a grocery shop in Nakhon Pathom. They met in Pacharaphan's hospital four years ago when Narin was visiting a relative who had cancer.

Due to her awareness of the effects on people's health of chemical residues in food, Pacharaphan decided to leave her successful career in the middle of this year, after taking two years preparing for such a major move.

She has since been partnering Narin in starting their organic-farming venture in Sam Phran district.

They also participate in the Sampran Model, in order to gain more knowledge and practice.

They currently produce sunflower sprouts, green-pea sprouts, swamp morning glory and roselle in what has been an enormous change in their lives.

The Sampran Model

Starting from a group of less than 10 farmers five years ago, 108 farmers in nine groups around the province of Nakhon Pathom now participate in the project.

More than 30 of them are certified organic farmers by Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand (ACT). Since gaining IFOAM accreditation at the end of 2002, ACT remains the only Thai independent private certification body that can offer internationally recognised organic-certification services.

Meanwhile, the Participatory Guarantee System is also practised by all groups of farmers under the model. This is supported by the Soil Department of the Agriculture Ministry and the Thai Organic Agriculture Foundation, and is funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Organic certification is an important tool for the growth of the sector. It facilitates recognition and provides consumers with assurance about the organic quality of the products.

Arrut said the Sampran Model could be a role model that engaged communities from upstream to mid- and downstream to develop new supply chains for organic farming.

As it approaches the fifth year of development, the Bliss Foundation will next year launch the Bliss Organic brand for Sampran Model products.

Other farmers who are interested in organic farming are encouraged to join existing groups of successful organic farmers, who can act as role models, he said.

Under the model, farmers do more than mere growing, as they are also involved in production planning, post-harvest activities, processing, logistics and marketing.

In other words, they form groups of organic farmers who can undertake the complete business model, he stressed.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Bliss-Foundation-rolls-out-organic-initiative-30274096.html

-- The Nation 2015-12-06

[Krataiboy]

This has to be a step in the right direction, enabling ordinary working people to form business communities rather than be ploughed under by multinational conglomerates or replaced by robots.

[doremifasol]

It is refreshing reading about this great initiative.

Wish them all a huge success.

Let us have organic, non GMO produce at fair price.

[Muhendis]

It has to be said that there is a ready and willing market for organic (non-chemically produced) products. In my village the rice growers all have two separate crops. With chemicals and without. The chemically (pesticides, herbicides and growth enhancing chemicals) grown stuff is sold to the mills. The organic stuff is for personal consumption.