“Apisit” tells Thai agriculture, it’s time to overhaul, pointing to global warming, fertilizer shortage problem Health trends forced to adapt The government has to squeeze budget to help change technology to reduce costs. dismantling price assurance measures Stop giving “Nattapong” sow pattern, urges the state to support SMEs to compete in the global market.
from academic seminars on the topic of “Turn Thai Agricultural Reform Plan in the 5G Era” of Maejo University Chiang Mai Province held (today) Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, former Prime Minister gave a speech on the topic “It’s time to overhaul Thai agriculture” with the main theme and comments on the current situation of Thai agriculture that needs to be “overhauled” most urgently in order to keep up with the changing world.
“We are always proud that the Thai agricultural sector has the advantage of long-standing fertility: in the water there are fish, in the fields there is rice. The surplus from domestic consumption is exported. never have to be pressured But nowadays, we have 40% of households in agriculture, but earning less than 10% of the country’s GDP. therefore causing high inequality Farmers became the poorest group that the state had to use. Huge budget to help Importantly, the productivity of our agricultural output is low, even among the top crops we export in the world.”
Mr. Abhisit said that from now on there will be many factors increasing external pressures, including global warming that affects fertility. catastrophic problem Combined with trade barriers in the same way that Thai fisheries have faced before, the Ukrainian-Russian war that has resulted in fertilizer shortages. In which Thailand is almost entirely dependent on fertilizer imports, preparation measures are needed urgently.
“The trend of the world is paying more attention to health. focus on organic products Production that aims to be natural without using chemicals. directly affecting the demand for agricultural products At the same time, Thailand has more competitors, especially Vietnam, which is considered a formidable competitor in many products such as rice and durian.”
Mr. Apisit said that the heart of the overhaul is the use of technology to reduce the cost of soil, water, air management, adapting to full precision agriculture. But to be able to do so must start with having Upskill program for Thai farmers to learn how to use these modern tools ready to receive Opportunities from increasing the value of products and marketing The government provides support in terms of infrastructure. and the funds that will be required to make adjustments
Mr. Abhisit went on to say that States should take the opportunity during this transition. Improve government policies towards the agricultural sector. by implementing tools currently used to support farmers, such as the Income Insurance Scheme to determine conditions and conditions Motivation for farmers to adapt and take this opportunity to implement policies on increasing the bargaining power of farmers and farmer groups so that the changes do not benefit only large businesses, and create platforms for farmers to have direct access to the global market more easily.
“It is urgent to improve and develop Thai farmers. Thailand is out of time If we are still standing still, we cannot compete in the world market. But if the overhaul is successful It will raise the level of both the agricultural sector and the livelihood of farmers. Tackling poverty and inequality as well as strengthening Thailand’s position in the face of food insecurity in the world,” Abhisit finally said.
Mr. Nattapong Phankietpaisarn Advisor to the President of the Committee on Commerce and Intellectual Property gave a lecture on “Thai Farmers and Sustainable Trends” that Thai agricultural products still have a great future on the world stage. especially food processing agriculture and health products, but the problem is that there must be a balance between exporters or large and small entrepreneurs to have similar processing and export capabilities Because small entrepreneurs can create more value-added products. and distribute raw materials from farmers more widely at a more fair price By investing in processing machinery, technology, and food science that has greatly improved and costs have been reduced. If the government looks at these relationships and have the right promotion policy Integration with the research sector Small and medium sized
“Processed agricultural industry will be the future of the country. And will benefit the people in the country more than all other industries in the future, ” said Mr. Nuttaphong.
