Asia Times: Only one province in Thailand (Surin) earns highest income from organic rice exports

 

 

BANGKOK, 29 March 2017 (NNT) – Hong Kong's The Asia Times news outlet has reported that Surin province was recently cited by the World Bank as an example of dramatic poverty reduction, attributed in part to good coordination between the government, farmers and civil society in implementing the programs such as organic rice farming. 

Surin was lucky to have Luang Paw Nan Sutthaseelo (the abbot of Samakki temple in Tha Sawang subdistrict, Muang Surin district, who died last year) to promote organic farming and a strong civil society network to implement his work. He launched a campaign in Surin province to reduce poverty among farmers by encouraging them to grow organic jasmine rice. 

“The government has to invest more in research for variety improvement,” said a rice expert at the Thailand Development and Research Institute (TDRI). "That should involve consultations with players from the private sector who actually sells the rice,” he said. 

As an upper middle-income country, Thailand needs to eradicate poverty and attain a higher income status, by improving productivity and profitability in the agricultural sector. Farmers should also expand out of farming and into other sectors and the government can help them by developing opportunities in remote areas.

 

-- nnt 2017-03-29

The Surin population have been saying this  for years. The rest of you are slow learners.

One of wifey's friends grows organic Jasmine, dries and bags it herself and sells it at a much healthier profit than the usual white rice crap.

She also works as a librarian so if she can handle all the organisation involved not sure why others don't do likewise.