With the festive season upon us, has anyone noticed a new gift-giving trend? People are increasingly picking organic rice as a present.
The trend is boosted by groups of middle-class city people who have endeavoured to transform the relationship of rice growers and consumers to that of one between friends — with the former growing food for the latter.
These groups of Samaritans are creating the perfect match — rice eaters who happen to be well-paid salary people with low access to chemical-free food, and organic rice growers who are short of marketing knowhow and a distributing channel.
One of the groups, Farmers' Friend Rice, kicked off its project earlier last year to work with about 50 rice growers in Yasothon province.
Their principle is simple; the farmers are taking good care of the rice, while city people take part in improving the well-being of the farmers. Individual city people will pay 10,000 baht in advance for the 100kg of organic rice at the end of the harvest season. The organisers promote the project on social media and draw support from like-minded consumers and some companies with strong social consciousness.
Harvested at the end of the year, the single-crop organic rice, grown from April to late November or early December, has served as an ideal product to be marketed as a New Year's gift.
The buyers don't just buy the product, but the story behind it. At 100 baht/kg, this organic rice may be regarded as pricey for those who are accustomed to conventionally-farmed rice which sells for 30 or 40 baht a kilogramme. But the Farmers' Friend group insists the 100-baht/kg price that comes down to just five baht for a plate of rice is reasonable when you know your friends, organic farmers, do not have to deal with loan sharks and toxic chemicals.
Once the rice is harvested, it is vacuum-packed and sealed with a trendy label, so a family can set aside part of the 100kg portion as a present for a special occasion. Consumers from the city may also visit the growers during seeding in April or May and harvesting season in November to get first-hand experience of how the staple food is grown.
Every time their "friends'' from Bangkok visit Yasothon, the farmers are more than happy to welcome them with the best food they have on their farm — the best form of hospitality from the villagers.
I was with them during the harvest season and talked to Naowaluk Sangsuwan, an Earth Net staffer who has convinced farmers to go organic. She said the farmers are more than happy to grow food for their friends in the city — without stress about fluctuating prices. From 50 last year, the number of organic farmers under the co-op has doubled, with 106 altogether this year. The yields are no less impressive: from 180 tonnes/paddy or 90 tonnes/milled rice last year to 440 tonnes/paddy or 200 tonnes/milled rice this year. The additional rice production that is supplied to the group belongs to the farmers who can sell it separately.
There is a promise between them that if the rice crop fails this year due to natural disasters, consumers in the city will have to wait for rice from the crop next year.
For these farmers, no one has ever shown firm commitment to help them grow organic rice. Some governments seemed to show interest, but Naowaluk said, "they were not sincere".
But such an organic project benefits small-scale farmers. Soon after the launch of the past government's rice pledging scheme, farmers realised it's wealthy rice millers who were the main beneficiaries, not them.
The farmers are hoping the coup-makers will be interested in organic farming and set up an "organic agriculture ministry" instead of the current agency that acts as a sales rep for the food conglomerates.
"Farmers don't need a provincial agricultural extension officer who works more like a sales rep who tries to convince them to shower their rice fields with chemicals," Ms Naowaluk said.
In recent weeks, my Facebook feeds have been busy with photos of friends working in the ricefields, helping organic farmers with seeding, harvesting, and packing. Back home, they are also busy help selling organic rice on social media. No doubt these eye-catching rice packages have hit city markets.
I cannot agree more with Ms Naowaluk and hope the government comes up with support for organic farming so those who care about the health and the quality of farmers' life is not limited to just a few groups of people.
Sirinya Wattanasukchai is an assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.