Investing in crop insurance and input subsidies, not price intervention schemes, is the way to support Thai farmers, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said.
Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, said input subsidies such as providing rice seeds and other agricultural aids will encourage farmers to grow more food at lower costs, while crop insurance will protect them in case natural disasters destroy their produce.
Mr Konuma told a UN Model Conference on food loss and food waste in Southeast Asia that this was a "much healthier way" of helping farmers.
His comments stand in contrast to the attempts of some governments in the region to introduce price intervention schemes.
Thailand introduced a controversial rice-pledging scheme under the last government.
Mr Konuma said support for the agricultural sector will prove increasingly important as food security is not guaranteed and faces imminent losses.
Intensified urbanisation processes along with population increases have academics fearing a shortage of farmers — as the current generation ages — and of agricultural produce. With the calorie intake per person per day growing every year, Mr Konuma is pessimistic about the future.
By the year 2050, a 60% increase in global food production will be needed — rising to 77% in developing countries — to keep supplies high, he said.
"If we are to reduce poverty and chronic hunger, the best solution is to support small-scale agriculture and family-farming," Mr Konuma said.
The FAO encourages governments to take a closer look at the vital role small farmers play in the region's food security.
Research and innovation will prove equally necessary to boost crop production, Mr Konuma told his audience including agriculture students from Kasetsart, Srinakarinwirot and Japan's Meiji universities.
The younger generation of researchers must promote efficient farming methods and technology and address the issue of food waste and food loss, he said.
Around 30% of world food production is either lost or wasted annually, further reducing food supplies for the larger part of the population. The issue of food waste, which reflects economic inequalities, must be urgently tackled, Mr Konuma said.
Supermarkets are huge food wasters because competition between firms to sell the freshest produce and expiry date rules mean they throw out edible food.
The FAO has been working to make manufacturers and retailers aware.
The organisation has also been working with the Ministry of Education on the Save Food campaign in primary schools and on integrating the topic into lessons next semester.
Habit changes can go a long way. Following the Save Food drive, a test to measure food waste was carried out in schools and food waste amounts were cut by a few kilogrammes thanks to attention brought to the issue, Mr Konuma said.
"Students stopped putting more on their plate than they could eat," he said.