BURIRAM, Buriram province is encouraging farmers to adopt a one stop industrial farming method to lower production costs.
The method is also known as the ‘Major Agricultural Field Project’.
The Governor of Buriram Seri Srihatrai, chaired the opening of a technology broadcasting day intended to demonstrate the benefits of farming on an industrial scale, on a vast area of land. This style of agriculture lowers production costs, increases the amount of produce and boosts rice quality. It can further develop the area into a teaching and learning center through the use of proven local practice, with the addition of academic knowledge relevant to the farmers’ respective areas of agriculture.
The event included input from the provincial agricultural and cooperatives units, the Nakhon Ratchasima and Surin Rice Research Centers, previous members of the program and a younger generation of farmers who also took part in the day of learning.
Activities included methods of producing organic fertilizers, Trichoderma fungi biological products to protect from or get rid of pests, household expense management and educating the younger generation of farmers to pass on farming techniques for the farmer’s sustainable future.
Nowadays, more farmers are interested in rice seeding, currently amounting to 294 farmers, and 3,103 rai of land using approximately 8-10 kilograms of rice per rai. However there are atill 156 farmers who are sowing rice on an area of 1,897 rai using an average 15 kilograms of rice per rai. This means the rice seeders are using 65,515 kilograms less rice than otherwise, amounting to a saving of 1.4 million baht. The province aims to reach a target of 5,000 rai dedicated to rice seeding by 400 farmers. Meanwhile some farmers are hesitant and prefer to wait and see harvest results of the farmers nearby, before deciding whether to join the next year’s rice seeding efforts.
