It is the middle of the night and rain is pouring. This is a time to stay in, dry and warm under a cosy blanket in a soft bed. But that is not for Chaiyaporn Promphan.
The man rises, grabs his old hoe and walks through the rain to his rice field. He heaves the hoe hard with his two strong arms and starts to loosen and dig the soil.
“This is the best time to start working. Rain water is good for rice, so the work must be done before the rain stops,” says Mr Chaiyaporn, a 53-year-old rice grower in Suphan Buri province.
“If you want to grow good rice, you need to work hard and do it yourself. Hiring workers and borrowing money from others isn’t smart — and definitely not self-reliant.”
Mr Chaiyaporn started out as a rice grower in 1983. Like millions of Thai farmers, he took up a method of chemical farming. However, seven years later, he decided to switch to organic farming as the chemical method had worsened his finances and way of life.
“Back then, I had mounting debts as a lot of money must be put toward chemical substances to kill mealybugs and other insects, while fertiliser was always needed as soil kept losing its fertility. So not much profit was left after selling the rice, while the pesticides worsened the environment and way of life around here,” he says.
Mr Chaiyaporn has won 17 prizes, including being named Outstanding Farmer of the Year by the Agriculture Ministry and receiving a Smart Farmer award from the Rice Department.
Starting with only eight rai of land, he now has 108 rai. Most is used to grow organic rice, while some land is kept for integrated farming for his household consumption.
Rice farmers spread fertilisers and pesticides at their paddy field in Suphan Buri province. Chemical substances increase costs and destroy soil quality in the long term. Thiti Wannamontha
He normally grows two second crops from May to August and from December to January. Each rai produces 1,000 to 1,050 kilogrammes of paddy, productivity equal to chemical farming. For both crops, 210-215 tonnes of paddy is normally produced.
The normal price of paddy, without government intervention, stands at 6,000 to 7,000 baht a tonne. Mr Chaiyaporn generally makes 1.26 million to 1.47 million baht for both crops. After deducting all costs and expenses, he has 860,000 to 1.07 million baht left in his pocket.
“So who says growing rice can’t make one rich? My income is even better than that of a salaried worker,” he says, laughing.
While productivity from organic farming pretty much matches that of chemical farming, the rice price is sometimes slightly higher as most organic produce can normally be sold as a premium product. What makes a significant difference is the cost factor.
On average, Mr Chaiyaporn explained, the cost of growing organic rice is 1,800 to 2,000 baht per rai, while the chemical method costs 6,000 to 8,000 baht. That difference has turned his life around.
“This is the most important factor in farming — keeping costs low. The lower the costs, the better. That’s because you can control costs but can’t really control the selling price. It’s the costs that you have to closely manage every day on every detail,” he says.
Debt is the farmers’ ugliest enemy, but it no longer stalks Mr Chaiyaporn.
“I have no debts and don’t rely on any government programmes. I grow my own food and all of that means I have enough savings to send all three of my children to graduate schools. And that’s what I’m proud of,” he says.
Mr Chaiyaporn is not alone. He is among hundreds of thousands of organic rice growers who have shunned chemical farming for good reasons. It is a vivid case demonstrating that organic farming is a viable and self-sustainable option for farmers who have mostly remained poor and dependent on bank loans, if not loan sharks, and the government’s helping hand.
“Organic farming is a true way out of a vicious cycle of debts and poverty for rice farmers, and the government should strongly support the concept,” says Somporn Isvilanonda, an economist at the Knowledge Network Institute.
While organic farming gained many adherents, the pledging scheme the past two years lured some organic farmers back into chemical farming for quick, large crop yields to cash in on subsidies.
“This is disastrous,” Mr Somporn says. “The scheme has destroyed the system as farmers have opted for quick and better money, but it isn’t sustainable in the long term. It again forces them to go back to a vicious cycle of being in debt and dependent on others.”
A faulty scheme
The rice scheme has been heavily criticised for its massive losses amid corruption allegations. The government has promised to pay 15,000 baht a tonne for white rice and 20,000 baht for Hom Mali, about 40% above the market price.
A year after the programme was introduced, Thai rice exports dropped by 34% to 6.95 million tonnes before falling further to 6.5 million tonnes last year. Thailand has been overtaken by India and Vietnam in terms of rice exports.
In two years, the government has borrowed 700 billion baht, while it still owes 110 billion to more than 1 million angry farmers. About 17-18 million tonnes of rice are in stockpiles that will take many years to clear. Worst of all, 11 debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in the past month.
Cost factor
Apart from chemical-free soil that promotes a safe environment and natural ecological system, organic rice farming offers much lower costs and generates a higher income for farmers.
Mr Somporn says the lack of chemical substances and pesticides can cut costs by 15% and ensure fertile soil. Fertiliser is not needed, reducing costs by another 15-20%. Most organic farmers have resorted to natural, home-made insect killers made from natural plants and herbs.
As organic farming is based on a do-it-yourself philosophy, most farmers start with a small piece of land and gradually expand. That normally means they can operate on their own land with their own hands without having to rent land or hire workers.
“In order to be sustainable, farmers need to reduce their costs. And by not using chemical substances, insecticides, fertilisers and letting nature do its magic through a natural biological system, the costs per rai will be 4,000 to 5,000 baht cheaper than those of chemical farming,” says Mr Somporn. “The costs they can save are the profit they can make.”
Productivity
On average, the productivity of most organic rice farms and chemical farms are similar, accounting for 700-800 kg a rai, according to Mr Somporn. Within irrigated zones, productivity can rise to 1,000 kg a rai.
In the first few years of a switch to organic farming, the yield per rai will reduce by 20% as soil and the biological environment need some time to adjust.
“It does take patience and hard work,” he says.
Integrated farming
Organic rice farming not only reduces production costs and increases profits for farmers but also lessens household expenditure on food. Most organic rice farmers also produce their own vegetables, fish, chicken and such.
“This self-grown food can help reduce food expenditures by about 50%. It also creates food security within households as they don’t have to rely on others,” Mr Somporn says.
This can even generate handsome income for farmers. Wiwat Salyakamthorn, aka Ajarn Yak, president of the Agri-Nature Foundation, has taught his farmer students to grow their own food, which they can sell for good money.
“Fish such as tilapia, catfish, climbing perch and the like are easily farmed and can be sold at good prices,” he says.
Knowledge matters
“You need to deeply understand how nature works and that takes time. And you also need to love what you do,” says Ajarn Yak.
The most important thing is to educate farmers. They need to know how to keep rainwater through simple irrigation, produce their own fertilisers and restrain unwanted insects through natural biological control and the use of herbs. If they learn to collect their own rice seeds, then they will not need to buy them, while the quality of the seeds will be much better.
“That’s the old, traditional way of rice farming that our ancestors have passed down to us for generations. And that’s why we have grown good-quality rice since,” Ajarn Yak explains.
For many years, Ajarn Yak, who is also president of the Sufficiency Economy Foundation, has been teaching students about organic rice farming. His students include farmers, fishermen, university students, civil servants and many more from all walks of life. More than 50 rice fields have been turned into training centres.
He credits the sufficient economy philosophy originated by His Majesty the King.
Market and opportunity
Wanlop Pichpongsa, secretary-general of the Thai Organic Trade Association, says organic produce has great potential in the global market, particularly in Europe. Demand has continued to expand by 10-20% annually.
For more than two decades, Mr Wanlop has exported organic produce to Europe under his own company. Products include rice, vegetables, fruit and other processed products. He has hired 220 farmer households to grow organic rice under contract. And he has purchased organic paddy back from farmers and exported it to the EU. Annual export volumes, under his company alone, stand at 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes for a value of 100 million baht.
“I’ll continue to seek ways to enter the US market,” says Mr Wanlop, adding that organic rice is of better quality than normal rice and its price is normally 10% more.
He advocates farmer education and investment in research and development.
A happy end
“This is about quality of life. We’ve never had any key performance indicators to measure farmers’ happiness. But if we did, I believe organic farmers would show better scores than many,” says Mr Somporn.