Bangkok--24 Oct--BRIA
Dr. Laddawan Kunnoot, BRIA Consultant, on behalf of BRIA Regional Secretariat, recently congratulated Dr. Apichart Pongsrihadulchai, Former First Director General of the Rice Department, on being appointed as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC). Ms. Ladda Viriyangkura, Senior Specialist on Rice Inspection and Certification and BRIA Thailand Project Counterpart at the Rice Department, also joined in the congratulations.
On this occasion, Dr. Apichart informed BRIA that Thai Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha had mentioned the following initiatives at a recent Rice Committee Meeting:
1. To promote rice consumption to be the staple food of the world.
2. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports should work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to promote agricultural tourism like homestays to teach Thai and foreign tourists to realize the difficulty of rice production.
3. To build a new generation of farmers or young agriprenuers.
4. To provide scholarships to farmers’ children to study agriculture and apply their knowledge to improve their own family farming and become successful farmers.
5. To promote local rice varieties, lost or lesser known, to be popular among consumers.
6. The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives should work together on zoning to determine suitable areas for rice farming to strike a balance between demand and supply.
7. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Commerce should make government policies, guidelines and measures become easier for farmers to understand so farmers recognize government assistance.
8. The Ministry of Industry should prevent areas appropriate for rice farming from being utilized as industrial factories such as Pathum Thani, Pranakorn Sri Ayutthaya, etc.
9. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives should promote crop rotation to improve and nourish soil.
10. To encourage and support the establishment of seed, fertilizer and chemicals banks to loan to farmers for more efficient production.
11. To link the Community Learning Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives with the Dhamrongtham Center of the Ministry of Interior.
12. To enhance the capability in rice research and development of rice research agencies.
13. To increase the manpower of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) to help small holder farmers.