The Modern Agriculture project has been organized by Bangkok Bank for almost 20 years and Bangkok Bank Executive Chairman Deja Tulananda said the bank is continuing its success by encouraging modern Thai farmers to share their knowledge and techniques. Attendees at the "Good Management for Modern Agriculture" seminar were provided with useful advice on how to achieve sustainable development.
The seminar featured a speech on "Thai Agriculture 4.0" by Kritsada Boonrat, the Agricultural and Cooperatives Minister. The bank also invited three Thai farmers to share their success stories under the topic of "Good Management is the Key to Success", namely Yossawat Siri-Atiphan (chili productivity management for industry), Bulakul Tipnate (industry management for cow's milk), and Sakda Kuntipalo (management of Thailand's well-known mango exports cooperative). Dr. Witoon Simachokedee, the President of Kasetsart University Alumni Association and former Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Industry, was the moderator.
"Bangkok Bank has supported Thailand's agricultural sector for more than 50 years with a mission to improve Thai farmers' well-being. Agriculture will continue to be the backbone of Thailand and we believe that if Thailand's agriculture is strong, the country will be able to grow sustainably with benefits for all," said Mr. Deja.
The project aims to encourage farmers to take a professional approach to all stages of management including the production and sales process and adding value to the product in terms of quality, quantity and timeliness, which will lead to better product prices. Through this approach, the bank will help farmers to achieve sustainable income growth.
Based on experience gained over more than 20 years, the bank has found that knowledge is the key to helping farmers grow stronger and more efficient, and this was the initial purpose of this project when created by the former Chairman of the Executive Board, Kosit Panpiemras in 1999. He aimed for the dissemination of all kinds of knowledge to farmers such as agricultural methods, marketing, creating a collaborative network, and financial management.
Sakda Kuntipalo, the chairman of the Mango Farmer Association Cooperative, Chachoengsao province, who is a leader of the mango farmers network in Chachoengsao province, said that the cooperative has applied the four management concepts learnt from the bank's Modern Agriculture project to its farming business. The first concept is to reduce costs by purchasing mangos from farmers in large quantities so as to have more bargaining power. This has reduced the cost of production by 30 percent. The second concept is to have good quality control by using standard benchmarks such as doing pesticide residual tests 15 days prior to the harvest, ensuring that mangos are 80 to 90 percent ripe before being harvested, and doing a drowning test. The third concept is to manage labor needs by focusing on quality not quantity and keeping the orchard size manageable so the farmer doesn't face a labor shortage and high costs. The final concept is to know how to create additional value. In this regard, the cooperative uses QR Code technology to enhance its creditability. For example, consumers can trace information about each mango via smartphone, including the name of the farmer who produced the mango, location, farming and cultivation techniques and the ready-to-eat date. Moreover, to create additional value, the co-op has changed from selling in kilograms to packing the mangos in a gift box.
Additional Information: Bangkok Bank's Modern Agriculture project was initiated by the bank's late Executive Chairman Kosit Panpiemras in late 1999 as it recognized the importance of the agricultural sector which is the backbone of Thailand's economy. The bank has implemented the project by focusing on building the production capability of farmers and encouraging them to strengthen their marketing strategy, build trade networks with local and international merchants, and become players in international markets.