In spite of the hype over organics, Thailand has not produced organic products as it should have. According to the Commerce Ministry, organic products now account for only 1% of the Thai food market.
The figure shows that a majority of farmers are still using chemicals and fertilisers as part of their efforts to mass produce their agricultural products. Thailand's drive to expand its food exports has resulted in the widespread use of chemicals and fertilisers by using industrial methods of agricultural production.
But this has to change, especially now that the debate over the future direction of Thai agriculture is getting louder. Incessant calls for farm subsidies and to tackle farmers' debts show that governments have failed to increase the well-being of small-scale farmers. Short-term politically oriented measures such as the rice-pledging scheme backfired.
Instead of dealing with the immediate problems, policymakers should aim to improve the farm sector in the context of a competitive global market. Will Thailand go on producing mediocre agricultural products that end up in government stockpiles, or does Thailand have to be the number one exporter of rice, regardless of the consequences?
The government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha said it places a high priority on the farming sector. The government recently announced a zoning plan for agricultural plantations after it previously promised to hand out money to farmers. Authorities also said they would soon announce more long-term measures to support farmers.
Let's hope these new polices will be different from the previous ones, which only focused on immediate support. As the zoning plan suggests, an effort will be made to centralise agricultural planning.
In fact, the Thai agricultural sector can be a success story, as some small community cooperatives have demonstrated. Modern farmer cooperatives such as chaona pasuk, or green net, show they can be environmentally sound and profitable. Their farmers can independently carry on business and do not rely on subsidy schemes, but only if they have proper management and mix local wisdom with innovation such as marketing activities online.
The members of these cooperatives, for instance, have to agree not to use hazardous pesticides. And they cut out the middleman process by accepting orders directly from their customers. The result is these cooperative groups can make profits without relying on things like the previous government's rice-pledging policy.
In fact, community engagement has historically been the core of Thai agriculture, as seen by the popularity of longkhak, or the traditional ritual where farmers gather to harvest rice together.
In the past few decades, however, the industrial method of agricultural production has dominated farming, driven by Thailand's desire to earn foreign exchange. A series of government subsidies also encouraged farmers to focus on quantity, rather than the quality, of their products. Many are struck in chronic debt cycles as they did not get a fair share of the profits because of a lack of bargaining power. This is especially the case when they produce mediocre-quality products which are subject to the cyclical and unpredictable demands of the global market.
While there is a debate over what would be the appropriate area for farming plantations, the more fundamental issue is how to create a niche for farm products to add more value to them. Farmers may be able to grow less, but earn more. Organic crops are a sustainable alternative. An increasing number of consumers don't mind paying more to eat what they believe to be healthy food. As things stand now, the present supply of organic agriculture in Thailand is inadequate to serve both the domestic and overseas market.
However, the green plantation area in Thailand is growing. Last year Thailand had a combined plantation area for organic growing of 314,000 rai, about 13.9% higher than the previous year's level. Most of this — 200,000 rai — was for rice growing, followed by other farm crops at 68,000 rai and vegetables and fruit at 10,000 rai. These areas must become larger.
The uncontrolled use of agricultural chemicals does not only affect the consumers, but also the health of farmers who are directly exposed to these often harmful substances. Many farmers have not been taught about the harmful effects of the agricultural chemicals they use.
Thailand's Disease Control Department has revealed that one in every 100,000 Thais dies from chemical- or pesticide-related causes, which is considered high compared to the ratio of people die who from malaria. Thais have a greater chance of dying from chemical pesticides than from malaria.