BANGKOK, 17 April 2015 – The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is on track to formulate a plan to promote organic farming in hopes of adding value to Thai produce.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Petipong Pungbun Na Ayudhya gave an interview regarding the organic farming promotion strategy, saying the ministry will place its emphasis on two main issues. One of them is to increase productivity through the expansion of organic cultivation areas by at least 10 percent every year.
The other area of concentration is quality control, in which rules and regulations will be imposed on organic agriculture, aquaculture and livestock farming to ensure that all products meet their standards. Moreover, the new quality guarantee symbol “Organic Thai” will be applied on exported products in addition to the existing Q label in order to reinforce their credibility in the eyes of foreigner consumers.
Mr Petipong said the achievement of the two goals, coupled with good management, will help create more agriculturists specialized in organic farming, disseminate related know-how in a wider scale, provide an alternative for people interested in agriculture and improve the image of Thai products on the global stage.
The minister noted that organic farming usually requires meticulous efforts. Although the practice has already been taken up by many farmers in Thailand, only a few are adhering to the proper procedures.
