A committee for sustainable farming under the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry has approved in principle the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Development Project to boost green spaces in urban areas.
The committee has also green-lit the establishment of a national organic agriculture institute, to help boost the sector's productivity.
The moves were announced by Alongkorn Ponlaboot, an adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, who spoke to the press after the committee met virtually on Wednesday.
He praised the committee's achievements, saying it has succeeded in attracting more farmers to engage in more sustainable practices. As of this year, 200,835 farmers with 468,223 rai of farmland have participated in the committee's projects, he said.
The committee plans to increase the figures even more next year.
Mr Alongkorn said the committee also approved to the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Development Project -- a programme initiated by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on.
The project is aimed at increasing urban green spaces and developing urban agriculture, in line with the principles of organic, integrated farming, informed by the "New Theory Agriculture".
The New Theory Agriculture is an approach introduced by King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great to improve agricultural practices and the management of small farming areas. The approach urges farmers to subdivide their land into four plots with a ratio of 3:3:3:1 -- with the plots used to store water; cultivate rice; grow fruits, herbs and vegetables; and as outbuildings for raising livestock, respectively.
At the meeting, the committee acknowledged the progress of the "One Tambon One New Theory Agriculture Group", a programme intended to increase the number of modern farmland in all subdistricts nationwide.
The ministry will be responsible for 4,009 subdistricts and around 3,000 others under the responsibility of the Interior Ministry, said Mr Alongkorn.
The committee also approved in principle the establishment of the national organic agriculture institute, along with the first draft of its sustainable agricultural operational plan for 2021-2022.
The plan will be submitted to the cabinet for approval before the end of the month.
Moreover, the committee also approved the central criteria for Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) for organic farming.