Bangkok, 28 April 2015 – Concerned about food security, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit has initiated model farms in many areas of the country to teach local villagers how to be self-sufficient with their food supply. Many model farms have been established in the southern border provinces, and they have greatly benefited victims of violence.
One example can be found in Wang Phaya subdistrict, Raman district, Yala province, where almost 200 families used to feel hopeless. But their lives have been transformed because of the benevolence of Her Majesty the Queen, who helped establish the Wang Phaya – Tha Thong model farm.
Her Majesty was concerned over the villagers affected by unrest in the deep South. Many of them have lost their family members in the unrest and found it difficult to earn a living for themselves and their dependents. She asked General Naphon Buntup, Deputy Chief Aide-de-Camp General to Her Majesty, to find a plot of land to set up a model farm in Yala in order to create a source of employment and income generation for local residents, especially those affected by the unrest.
In response to the wishes of Her Majesty, General Naphon selected an area in Raman district to establish the Wang Phaya – Tha Thong model farm. This royally sponsored project was launched in 2006. Like other model farms, it serves as a center for transferring knowledge on agriculture to local villagers, based on the principle of self-reliance and with an emphasis on the use of local materials.
The Wang Phaya – Tha Thong model farm covers an area of 98 acres, where villagers plant many kinds of vegetables and raise such animals as fish, ducks, chickens, and goats. Five mushroom farms and a goat milk processing plant were also built.
About 150 farmers living around the area take turn working in the model farm, where agriculture officials provide them with efficient techniques for crop cultivation, animal husbandry, aquatic animal farming, and forest conservation. They are paid for working and being trained at the farm, as well.
The model farm has developed so well that local villagers can produce crops for sale in the market and have enough food for consumption. Its operations are based on His Majesty the King’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy, which emphasizes sufficiency, self-reliance, and moderation.
In this model farm, people learn about making a living in a sustainable way. The project has also brought officials and local people closer together for better understanding.
