Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sector in Thailand
Report on Field Research June – July
2010
by Tamara Baillie, Business Development Officer & VIDA Volunteer
Table of Contents
1. Field Visits Around Chiang Mai
1.1 Pun Pun Project
1.2 Fair Earth Farm
1.3 Punya Project
1.4 Rainbow Farm project
1.5 The Chiang Mai Thai Organic Farm Cooking School
4. Future Impacts
4.1 Areas for reflection
4.2 Experiences
4.3 Contacts information
5. Annex
Itinerary
Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Focus on growing own organic food and seed saving. Large collection of seeds
and network of other savers. Largest crops are organic rice and sticky rice, water
from community resevoir, via canal system.
Established 7 years ago by Thai farmer and American wife. Has attracted lots of
media attention and now some sponsorship money from Red Bull, through an
intermediary organization. In exchange for cash support, Red Bull is permitted
use of facilities for corporate training and events.
Income sources:
guest houses (THB300/night for food and room)
group training/meeting facility for external groups
scheduled training courses in seed saving, adobe building, cooking courses, etc
residential, fee paying internships, attended by mostly foreigners
Sponsorship from Red Bull
small shop and café on presmises selling coffe, shakes, etc plus recycled crafts,
seeds, some organic body care products.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Jeff had been running a CSA for Chiang Mai residents but found very difficult to
find suppliers. When it was running he supplied rice, duck eggs, Thai herbs, local
vegetables, seasonal fruit and occasionally exotic vegetables.
Has now turned focus to his own permaculture/organic food production. Jeff is
also a researcher/journalist attached to Chiang Mai Uni, working in natural
resource management in northern Thailand, including sustainable food
production and food sovereignty issues.
Jeff’s farm/garden includes a food forest, duck ponds, fish nursery, fruit and other
edible trees and many integrated vegetable beds. Key features of Jeff’s farm:
• uses a lot of mulching with manure, newspapers and straw and notices that
this greatly enhances plant growth rates.
• grows in mixed beds, does not till the soil and uses crop rotation.
• grows water hyacinth in waterways and uses for mulch as it’s up to 40%
nitrogen
• ‘duck tractors’ ducks are let onto the rice field to churn up the soil
• has fish nursery to protect fingerlings from aggressive snake head fish,
promoting fish stock diversity in the water areas
• grows food on verges of canals, to green the area and produce more food
(eg. banana, sweet potato, sorghum, pineapple, etc)
In his village just north of Chiang Mai, much of the traditional knowledge has
been lost and now mostly chemical production. Locals not interested in revivgin
tradiational, non-chemical techniques as they expect their land will soon be sold
for future housing developments. As a result of his troubles finding produce for
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
the CSA, Jeff has started his own project as a catalyst for city people to meet
farmers and make connections.
In his immediate area many former food producers are moving into flower
production which they think will be more lucrative, despite evidence of over
supply already. This is even more chemically intense than the food producing
crops and is further reducing food supply. Many of these farmers no longer
bother to keep records so don’t’ even know is they are making any profit and
don’t have any record of what has been successful or not.
King’s diversified growing theory proposes that agricultural land use (for each
individual holding) should be 30% rice, 30% fruit & veg, 30% aquaculture and
10% living and livestock.
The Upland Hill Development Project, working with hill tribes to grow organic
food to sell directly to restaurants and local farmers markets has been very
successful. Working with local schools, kids and younger farmers are learning
about ecology, health, economy,etc through farming. The focus is on biodiversity
and how it can help farmers. eg. soil is important because it has ‘life’ which
needs to be protected,supported. Also uses basic permaculture techniques.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Focus at Punya is on straw bale building and self sustaining organic farming.
There is also some small scale experimental projects such as teak planting. The
main income source is from teaching permaculture design courses, largely to
foreigners who come for 3 week residential courses. There is a full time
community of mainly foreigners living here.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Tawan studied Rural Development at CMU and started this project with support
from Japanese NGO in 2004-9. He is now self supported and provides advice to
number of farmers, loosely connected as Rainbow Farm.
Tawan helps farmers with problems with their crops. His organistaion also buys
organic rice from farmers (especially when the price is low) at market price plus
THB1/kg. He then processes and packs it to sell in his rice shop at a profit, that is
used to support the organization. There are about 300 families in 10 villages that
sell rice through this model. They grow many varieties of rice – brown rice, brown
jasmine rice, red jasmin rice, long grain, sticky rice, etc.
Members in about 14 villages come to learnings 4 times each year – farmers pay
their own costs to attend but are given books and food for the course. Farmers
are supported initially but once strong, they make their own market and become
independent. Many sell from the farm door to local community, some take their
produce to farmer’s markets in Chiang Mai.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
As there is a local and direct relationship between farmers and consumers, they
don’t see need for standards or certification systems.
In 2009 Rainbow Farm produced about 250 tonnes of rice, mostly sold within
Thailand in the local area. They prefer to sell locally to save energy and pollution.
Focus is on teaching farmers to get higher prices when they change to better
products (ie. organic) and packaging for sale in market.
Duck/rice circle: duck gets food from rice crop, duck and fish live together int eh
dam, duck house can be covered with rice husks, duck poo/husk mix becomes
fertilizer for rice crops. Duck poo is composts by Yakuchi method
Rainbow project
members produce either 1. organic rice (about 400 members, growing mostly
jasmine rice 3 crops/yr no fertilizer)
2. organic animals (about 33 members)
They get a small grant from government and the animals come from Rainbow
farm. They must record all the data for Tawan’s study and give/sell animals to
other farmers in the project. They can give/sell to Rainbow Farm if difficult.
organic farming logo required to sell at JJ market (about 13 sellers) or use ISAC
logo (well known in local area).
CMU is largest producer of organic vegetable, at Wed market has maybe about
100 growers.
running youth camps twice a year to train city kids to grow rice/harvest rice.
Teach a lot through songs- many songs on many topics.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Most of his rice is grown for seed for other farmers in the organization.(1 hectare)
Farm Visit 1
Rainbow project gave this farm 50 chickens and 50 ducks and built the coops for
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
mushrooms: everyday income from direct to public sales. Grown in shady area
(shade cloth covered) on rice straw and wood. Can harvest for 4 years, 2
harvests per year.
bamboo shoots, vegies, duck eggs: every day money, direct to public sales about
THB 200-300/day
Farm Visit 2:
5 hectares, 1,000m2 is vegetables, 5,0000m2 is rice and rest is forest.
forest farm/agro-forestry mixed use land. Aim is to keep the forest but have
income generating activities in same area.
- some cows, lots of chickens and many types of mushrooms, grown in
holes in trees, dead logs, piles of pine needles and rice husks, in shady
areas.
- Also grow turmeric, ginger, bamboo shoots (about THB 50/kg)
- teak timber trees planted about 75 year ago. 1 large tree can get about
THB 30,000 but trees as young as 20 years old still make good money.
- Neem trees grown and used for insecticide
- Soybean mushrooms grown in piles of soybeans, sell for about THB 80/kg
and beans can be used for compost afterwards
- vegetables: eggplant, chili, beans, pumpkin, thai basil, edible acacia,
bananas, papaya, edible leafy plants.
- rice and soy fields, receives run off from forest so don’t need fertiliser.
- Vegies etc cold at market in Chiang Mia, once a week.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Farm Visit 3
1,600m2 mostly organic animals – hub for poultry
duck and chicken hatching machine used to sell/supply other project members.
Before new members get poultry they must submit plans and how are for building
coops and have it approved/inspected by the group. eg. org gives 50 chickens to
new farmer at no cost but he must then give 50 chickens to farmer members in
his area.
Anti-avian flu measures include separating areas for different birds and age
groups.
Now building new area for abattoir to which all project members wil be able to
bring their poultry for slaughter and processing. Members will pay a small fee for
this service. Staff of group will buy live chickens from farmers and kill, process
and package them for sale at market in Chiang Mai twice a week.
Aims: 1.teach, 2. give/raise chickens for project, 3. killing and learning about
selling.
Income:
2 rice retail stores in Chiang Mai:
15% profit for Tawan (pays his salary)
10% management of shop
5% development
50% to workers in shop (1 manager gets small salary plus 50% of this sales
amount. Workers get small salary plus % of sales)
20% training and development
rely on technology to keep costs low, eg. computer sales system, e-banking.
Last year there was some money from a govt grant to support project so they
made t-shirts for group members and gave farmers a bonus of THB 1,000 is
been organic for 3 years, 1,200 for 4 yrs, 1,500 for 5 yrs plus based on area. (Up
to THB 5,000 per farmer).
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
This farm only supplies ingredients for the cooking classes and staff. It’s more
like a small garden but is important for showing people the ingredients in their
natural state – eg. herbs and vegetables and fruits.
On pick up a small note is provided and each person marks which dishes they
want to cook: there are 2 options for each so people can make what they want.
This is also important for the guides who then purchase the ingredients such as
meat, tofu, fish sauce, etc at the market on the way to the farm.
At farm: 3 kitchen rooms, with max about 8 cooking areas in each kitchen. I
building has divider in it so could be used by 1 large class of 16 people. Each
area has 1 gas burner, 1 work bench, plus chopping board, utensils, and space
for ingredients, etc. Sinks for washing dishes and area for staff to make
preparations are outside. Also eating is outside in shaded area.
1 fluent English speaking guide and 1 driver in each vehicle, for group of max 8-
10 people. Additionally about 4 assistants stay at the farm to prepare ingredients
on trays for each dish, eg. washing veg, chopping meat to correct portions,
washing dishes, setting out crockery.
No airconditioning but lots of shade. Provide full colour recipe booklet, including
photos of Thai ingredients, information about ingredients and all recipes from the
day.
8.30am collect from hotels in open back ute, pay fee on pick up.
10.00 –10.30 visit local food market: guides show and talk about
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
ingredients such as rice, fish sauce, curry pastes. Some simple deomonstrations
with stall holders such as coconut milk extraction.
11 – 11.30 arrive at farm and tour gardens with guide - Thai ingredients
1.30 – 2.30 cook desert and spring rolls – containers to take home
Green Net began about 15 years ago to link producers with markets/consumers
Started with green shops but found quality was inconsistent and difficult to supply
as there were few organic farmers.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
The farmers needed more support and at same time Europe was providing
support for sustainable supply chains, eg. fair trade, organic.
Started with local support and some aid funding for specific projects.
Registered as a cooperative, initially most members were consumers concerned
about sustainable, healthy food but now most members are farmers.
More diverse products such as fruit and veg are sold in domestic market which is
not so complex for transport and customs regulations. Domestic market accounts
for only 20% of GN income but is much more diverse product range.
Strongest situation for farmers is when they are growing diverse crops for
multiple markets. eg. some rice for export market plus veg, eggs, fruit for
wholesale in domestic market and for local community marketplace.
GN staff are located throughout Thailand, mostly in areas of quality control and
business support. Usually located at cooperative offices as GN ONLY works with
farmer groups, NOT individual farmers. GN believes farmer groups are much
more effective use of resources and give farmers more power.
Key factors for GN success are:
1. internal control systems eg. PGS type system, strong internal quality
control
2. providing ‘extension’: technical support for organic farmers,
knowledge/advice easily available from extension officers located at
coops, providing/sourcing inputs such as good seeds, etc
Some farmer groups have their own staff to provide extension and GN can also
provide Earth Net staff but preference is always to employ locals.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
AGM for all shareholders held in a farmer group area to hear management
reports and elect board of management: about 9 members, serving for about 4
years (or 2 x 2 yr terms?)
The Rice Price Committee meets 4 times/year to set price GN will pay farmers
for rice. Includes representatives of producers plus GN staff.
- tendency for the group leader to put in more time/energy for same return
as other members. Need to develop a mgmt team to share mgmt
duties(about 3 people) to safe guard against turnover and burnout.
- open, transparent accounting system essential. Employ a dedicated
accountant at each group but ensure the account signatories are 2 other
people (eg. leader and secretary)
- Impose max period for returning unused funds from purchase
requesistions in order to limit cash lying around.(eg. 2 weeks)
- Ask farmers to invest in group themselves to provide incentive to make it
work.
- Quality management systems – set prices according to quality so that
farmer income rise when quality rises. Then provide extra help for farmers
producing low quality.
Traceability
Self-monitoring systems used: selling as a united group so need to monitor each
other.
Mostly by date: eg. packaging has codes for date packed and date milled
Label details logged at farm/packing house and label travels with produce.
Approved farmer list for each group, maintains log of quality, quantity, etc
Harvest estimates supplied by each farmer. Record kept of this estimate and
investigation if significantly different from actual harvest to find out where the
‘extra’ produce came from (or if they need tech support for low yields)
Each farmer keeps has a farm map and farm history with records of
planting/harvests
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Married couple, started CSA with their own farm for 2 years (distribution
organised by Green Net) but then transferred production to current farmers.
10 farmers, all relocated Karen, each about 2 rau land, in separate areas but
same village. Each family works own land but must communicate about planting
plans and shared water use.
Farmers were already growing organic produce for supermarkets, certified under
OACT. (Poyong was inspector for OACT) They moved to CSA as its offers more
stable income.
Uses slash and burn method: cultivate an area for 1-2 years then leave fallow for
3-5 years then slash & burn vegetation and cultivate again. Use sprinkler system
for water – better for this oil structure and uses less water.
Diversified income: growing areas have timber (long term: teak, mahogany and
short term: bamboo) and cinnamon trees around edges.
Farmers paid THB 50/kg, THB 40/kg goes to management and THB 60/kg for
transport costs.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Members join for fixed 6 months, Jan-June or July-Dec. About 100 members.
Quantity of produce delivered to each member varies with seasons: in good
growing season they receive more and in poor growing season, less. Averages
out over the year.
Jane deals with consumers and communicates to farmers if there are new
members or other changes. Each member gets same produce, so mostly orders
don’t change too much.
Truck collects boxes from farm late at night and drives to Bangkok over night to
deliver early morning. Set drop off points, mostly offices, schools and some
private homes.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Bangkok CSA makes use of natural materials for packaging wherever possible.
Banana leaves are used for many vegetables.
3.3 Traceability
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
information is available on the internet but we could ask for more detailed
instructions from PunPun, or even fund a visit from one of their members to train
our farmers.
Simple bamboo and plastic water pipe frame with plastic sheeting at Bangkok
CSA
This is a very cheap and simply made temporary structure. The arch supports
are made of bamboo bent into shape and pushed into the ground. (possibly
needs supporting stakes on outside?) The longer supports horizontal to the
ground are hollow plastic water pipe. This structure is covered with heavy duty
plastic sheeting but shadecloth could also be used. It is tall enough to walk under
without bending and open at each end to allow air movement.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
The shade structure at Chiang Mai Organic Cooking School garden is more
substantial but still simple materials. This style is a welded steel tube frame with
shadecloth panels. The structure would need to be custom designed and made
but is still light weight and strong. The shadecloth fabric is permeable so that rain
and wind can still move through it but with less force, providing a buffer for
plants. This fabric is very effective at protecting plants from sun. It is attached to
the frame with these plastic and wire clips so that it can be removed when not
needed. There is also some areas of clear plastic, which provide more protection
from rain and wind but no protection from sun.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
3.4.4.2 Mushrooms
I visited a few places where mushrooms were grow organically. This photo was
taken at a Rainbow Farm project farm, the vertical logs are used to grow oyster
mushrooms, while a smaller mushroom grows on the rice mulch on the ground.
The area is well shaded on the top and around the sides. The oyster mushrooms
earn about $5/kg, while the rice straw ones are about $3/kg
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
At another Rainbow Farm project logs were used where they were found as part
of a mixed use agro-forestry area. The holes are currently bottle caps but will be
planted with mushroom spores in the growing season. The logs are in a naturally
shady forest area.
These mushrooms grow in soy bean mulch pile in a shady forest area. They
mulch from soy bean crop is used for the mushrooms and then goes into
compost. These mushrooms are a premium crop fetching about about $3/kg
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Poultry
Ducks
Chickens
4. Future Impacts
4.1 Areas for reflection
Most farmers visited also sold produce in different ways to different markets.A
common pattern is for farmers to sell some herbs and vegetables at the local
community market, sell eggs and/or meat at the ‘farm door’and to sell rice to
wholesale buyers. There may commonly also be a focus crop such as longan,
other fruit which could be grown in sufficient qualities to supply wholesale
markets. Again many farmers also had some timber/bark crops planted, either
short term such as bamboo, cinnamon or longer term such as teak, mahogany.
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
4.2 Experiences
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
Yao Subai
http://www.punpunthailand.org/
Ph: 081 470 1461
Panya Project
near Ban Mae Jo village, 2 hours north of Chiang Mai
panyaproject@gmail.com
www.panyaproject.org
Bangkok CSA
near Muang Thao village, Kanchanaburi (4-5 hrs north west of Bangkok)
Mr Yong (Technical Support): 089 837 6113
Ms Jane (Customer and Farmer Coordinator): 089 981 8581
suphanorganic@fastmail.fm
ISAC
363 Moo 4 Tambon Nong (Mae Jo) Chom Sansai, Chiang Mai
Mr Boontahong (Director): 081 885 6272
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
5. Annex
Itinerary
Monday 28th June Travel and farm tours Rainbow Farm, Mai Rim area
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
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Learning from Thai Organic Sector July 2010
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