Miss Panunya Charoensawadpong, Co-Founder of Varuna (Thailand) Company Limited, stated, "Varuna greatly appreciated the alliance with BSCM who is the manufacturer and exporter of "Hong Thong Rice," a brand that is universally recognized both in Thailand and around the world. Through the Smart Agriculture for Sustainability in Rice Fields and the Application of Smart Agriculture Technology Project, we hope to enhance the sustainability of agricultural production through the delivery of knowledge and innovation skills for Thai farmers. Varuna brings Smart Farm Solution technology to help manage BSCM's rice fields with an End-to-End Solution, from analyzing and planning, to managing plots. Data collected through Satellite Technology and Multispectral Drone will be accurately analyzed in a timely manner using an advanced AI technology under the "Varuna Analytics" platform that assists in Crop Health Monitoring, Growth Stage Monitoring, and Yield Prediction."
"Additionally, the Sprayer Drone "Aiang" can make spraying of fertilizer and agricultural products much more convenient as it can access large rice fields with ease and great efficiency. The fertilizer would be sprayed directly to the plots, which reduces the labor effort as well as the cost. Plus, the farmers themselves would not have to be in direct contact with the chemicals, lowering potential health risks. And Varuna will provide project participants with theoretical and practical training with our experts."
Dr. Vallop Manathanya, Chairman of Bangsue Chia Meng Rice Mill (BSCM), Manufacturer and Distributor of Hong Thong Rice, stated, "Today, Thai rice farmers have to encounter many problems such as labor shortage and lack of access to agricultural technology. Especially, smaller farmers and entrepreneurs are at a disadvantage, as they do not have the capital or the resources of large enterprises. Furthermore, most of these farmers are elders who still use the traditional method of rice farming. As a result, the goods has low quality, not to mention these processes often cause a lot of pollution to the environment."
"Bangsue Chia Meng Rice Mill (BSCM), as the manufacturer and exporter of high-quality jasmine rice with over 8 decades of experience in the rice industry, we understand the value of knowledge and modern innovation that farmers need to have in order to elevate the quality of Thai agricultural sector. We signed the collaboration agreement with Varuna with a vision to support and encourage farmers, entrepreneurs, agencies, and any related parties who are the target groups of this project, to train and gain new knowledge and skills in Smart Agricultural Solution. In our perspective, Varuna is a leader in Agricultural Technology who uses cutting-edge technology to improve Smart Farming in the Thai agricultural industry. In addition to the overall management of rice farming, the technology also assists in enhancing production quality, evaluating the cultivation process, and predicting yields with high accuracy. Thus, we believe that Varuna could bring in their expertise to aid BSCM in creating a technological knowledge enhancement course for farmers, training them to use Smart Farming Solution to manage their lands in order to increase yields, reduce costs, and provide quality products to the market - ultimately achieving optimal efficiency from upstream to downstream."
"For the upcoming project, BSCM is working to develop of the training courses with Varuna. In addition to public relations and coordination activities, we are also responsible for the selection of agencies, farmers, as well as related parties, to attend both theoretical and practical training at the designated locations - the rice plantation areas in Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani, Pathum Thani, and Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya provinces. We will also follow up on each operation and activity throughout the project. Eventually, the Company hopes that at least 10% of the project participants would be enlisted to the Hong Thong Na Yod Project which, at present, has approximately 3,000 members. Furthermore, we also hope that Thai farmers will be able to better manage their land in order to increase production, reduce cost, and share the knowledge they receive to other farmers outside of the project to ultimately achieve sustainability in agriculture on a countrywide level."
"In Varuna's perspective, we sincerely hope that this collaboration can transfer innovative knowledge and skills to the participants. We aim to elevate the Thai agricultural industry as a whole and enable entrepreneurs, farmers, and related parties to participate in an end-to-end Smart Agricultural Solution to achieve maximum efficiency as we are entering a new era of agricultural technology driven by sustainability development concept," concluded Miss Panunya.
Source: Ogilvy Thailand