The Nan model

The Nan model

The Pid Thong Lang Phra foundation's use of sufficiency economy philosophy to help farmers in the North is gaining traction in government and among businesses.

Nathnicha Mangkla, a farmer at Ban Nam Pak in Nan's Tha Wang Pha district, was distraught after she saw her three rai of rice plantation destroyed by heavy floods and rockslides on Sept 5, 2008.

Ms Nathnicha displays some of the different crops she’s able to grow under the Pid Thong Lang Phra scheme.

A year later, a drought caused her rice output to slip to 300-350 kilogrammes per rai and she was now 67,000 baht in debt.

Her future looked dim until the Pid Thong Lang Phra (doing good without any intention of getting anything back) programme initiated a weir and reservoir development project at Ban Nam Pak and nearby areas in 2010. It suggested the communities apply the sufficiency economy philosophy of His Majesty the King.

The royally sponsored initiative specialises in rural development using the sufficiency economy philosophy to tackle the problems of deforestation, flooding and poverty. It was initially implemented in three districts — Song Khwer, Tha Wang Pha and Chalerm Prakiat — covering 250,000 rai and 8,588 farmers.

The royal project also aims to promote reforestation and crop diversity to maintain soil quality.

In the first phase, the project and the communities mutually agreed to build three weirs, covering 41,723 rai.

Ms Nathnicha, her piglet and MR Disnadda in the village.

Thanks to the royal initiative, Ms Nathnicha’s rice production increased to 650 kg per rai in 2011, and she grew other crops in parallel to the rice such as vegetables, bananas, sweetcorn, chillies, as well as pig and chicken farming, enabling her to repay her debt in three years.

Last year she spent 43,080 baht and had income of 237,358 baht, a profit of 194,278 baht.

“We survived because of the sufficiency economy,” Ms Nathnicha says. “We think other Thai farmers should learn from our experience.”

MR Disnadda Disakul, secretary-general of the Pid Thong Lang Phra project, says Nan is a perfect model for sufficiency economy development and forest rehabilitation.

The northern province's forest was ravaged from 2007 to 2009. The area deforested to grow maize surged to 852,00 rai in 2009 from 378,00 rai in 2007, while the area cleared for rubber plantation grew to 707,000 rai in 2009 from 478,00 rai in 2007.

Farmers had debt of 127,524 baht per family, and some 25% of Nan’s population was found to have a toxicity of about five times over the normal rate in their bodies during the period studied.

MR Disnadda says the royal project proved that adequate water supply and the sufficiency economy can help farmers to repay their debt, earn more income and rehabilitate the forest.

The project is now building 420 weirs worth 200 million baht covering over 100,000 rai in Nan. Their construction is scheduled to be completed by April or May this year.

He says the project has asked for more cooperation from companies to help buy products from farmers and set up a seed fund worth 60 million baht to celebrate the 60th birthday of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.

“Our first meeting with major companies on Jan 8 showed high potential that they would agree to buy more agricultural products from farmers,” says MR Disnadda.

Companies are also urged to help
educate farmers on how to increase quality and productivity.

Thanakorn Ruchtanon, adviser to Nan’s chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, says companies are willing to join because it offers a chance to practice corporate social responsibility. He adds farmers can grow other crops such as tomatoes, given the strong market demand.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is scheduled to visit the project on Feb 17 to study the Nan model so that the government can address poverty in other provinces. The Prayut government plans to spend 8.67 billion baht over four years (2014-17) to promote development in 19,000 villages based on His Majesty the King's sufficiency economy philosophy.

Under the new initiative, the Agriculture Ministry will be instructed to strengthen existing agricultural cooperatives, as they are regarded as a vital tool to raise farmers’ income. The government has also vowed to rearrange its existing land plots nationwide in order to allow landless farmers to grow crops.

The Industry and Commerce ministries will be required to support processing of agriculture products and enlarging market access.

About 500 listed companies have supported the development projects run by the foundation.

The government is committed to developing small reservoirs nationwide and supporting farmers to develop their own small reservoirs as part of a broad water management strategy.

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