Do the rice thing

Do the rice thing

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, so this is a wonderful opportunity to write about rice.

Not that I don't want to write about my mother. But because I'm sure you'll be reading a lot about mums in the next few days, I feel I should give you a reprieve. Plus, I write about my mother so often you probably know her as well as I do by now.

I was invited to a very satisfying (in more ways than one) dinner last week. It was a dinner to promote organic rice, hosted by Earth Net Foundation and Bo.lan Restaurant.

When I was young, I was taught in school that Thailand's top exports were teak wood and rice. Isn't it funny how quickly things change? There's now hardly a teak tree to be seen, and wood has become a rare commodity only the richest of the rich can afford.

Thailand used to be known as the world's rice bowl, but now, due to greed and
mismanagement, the crop is the bane of our economy.

But a group of dedicated environmentalists and rice farmers in Yasothon province have been working together to grow organic rice, and their success has proven to their mass-produced rice farming counterparts — particularly those caught up in the rice subsidy nightmare — that it's possible to be your own boss.

It's not an easy path to follow, as dinner guests were told by a female rice mill owner from Yasothon. Many farmers who have been growing rice with fertilisers want to switch to organic rice, but it's not a decision that can be made overnight. She likened it to a smoker who knows lighting up is not good for their health, but can't find the will to take the first step towards quitting.

It takes understanding and awareness, first of all, of the benefits of organic rice farming, both health-wise and to the farmers' survival and livelihoods. It takes determination and willpower to make the switch, to wean off giant conglomerates who sell rice seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. It takes also patience and financial support, because yields won't be certified "organic" for at least three years after the switch, to allow for soil and all related procedures to cleanse themselves of chemical additives.

But slowly the number of organic
farmers is growing, and if consumers would only refrain from eating chemically grown rice, their work would be so much easier.

That was the whole point of the delicious dinner, which combined traditional Northeastern dishes with Bo.lan's modernised  tweaks and presentation. Guests were invited to pledge a monthly sum in exchange for their choice of white or brown organic jasmine rice.

When you hear the horrific news about the scandals that have rocked the government's rice subsidy scheme — the mysterious disappearance of rice, rotten rice, damaged rice, rice that had been fumigated with pesticides — eating organic is, literally, a breath of fresh air, and the obvious right choice.

You think about His Majesty the King's ideas regarding sufficiency economy, which he has been promoting since the 1950s, as well as his New Theory, formulated in the early 1990s. Has anyone been listening?

I don't blame the farmers. Everyone dreams of getting rich, of owning a car, a pickup truck, a motorcycle, a brick house, a new television set.

When you're just trying to make ends meet, and someone purports to be selling a dream, you want to believe. You sell your soul. You might receive an initial influx of cash and become hooked.

Then things start collapsing, and you find you've dug yourself into such a deep hole that you can't climb out. Some, as we've seen, lost hope.

Yet if they look carefully at what farmers in Yasothon are doing, they will realise there is a way out. The dark cloud does have a silver lining. Hopefully they will have learned a lesson, and are now willing to find an alternative.

But it's going to take a huge commitment on their part, as well as support from consumers, to ensure they have a market and a steady source of income to see them through the start-up seasons.

I was truly inspired, as were most of the other guests.

And, by the way, Happy Mother's Day, Mummy! I love you to the moon and back.


Usnisa Sukhsvasti is the features editor of the Bangkok Post.

Usnisa Sukhsvasti

Feature Editor

M.R. Usnisa Sukhsvasti is Bangkok Post’s features editor, a teacher at Chulalongkorn University and a social worker.

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