NEW THEORY FARMING
Using a 10-rai plot of land
THE NEW THEORY
How to manage small farms to ensure food security and protect farmers from droughts and debts from fluctuating prices? Through his own hands-on field research to find an answer, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej offered a model of small farm management called “New Theory” based on Sufficiency Thinking.
In a nutshell, the New Theory advises farmers to divide their plots into four sections under the 30:30:30:10 formula. Farmers should use 30% of land for a reservoir to ensure year-long water supply for farming, another 30% for rice fields, another 30% for vegetables, field crops, fruit trees, firewood, herbs, etc., and the remaining 10% for residence and livestock areas. The required size of land to ensure self-sufficiency should be around 10-15 rais (4-6 acres or 1.6-2.4 hectares).
After achieving food security, the second stage of the New Theory advises farmers to get organised to improve irrigation systems and farm productivity as well as to produce, process and market their goods, preferably as co-operatives. They also should pool resources to provide welfare benefits to members. Stage Three is setting fair trade relationships between local organisations and the private sector. This basic model can be modified to suit different geographical conditions and farm sizes. But they need sufficiency thinking to make their farms and their livelihoods sustainable.
Farmers across the country have managed their plots of land as advised by the New Theory. Apart from gaining year-round food security from integrated farming, farmers eventually become debt-free from selling organic produce and processed organic foods. Many also use their farms as learning centres to help other farmers.
ALTERNATIVE FARMING
Monocropping promoted by the Green Revolution in the 60s promised farmers more productivity and riches. But disillusionment quickly set in. Toxic chemicals destroy soil fertility and farmers’ health while expensive farm chemicals and uncontrollable prices plunged farmers into debt.
This widespread problem has triggered an alternative farming movement to heal the land and restore self-reliance. The techniques employed are diverse. Some are engaging in integrated or mixed farming aiming for sufficiency. Others practice agro-forestry, natural farming, organic farming and the fallow system. All imitate the
intricate workings of nature and say “no” to farm chemicals.
What is more important than farming techniques, say the farmers, is respect for nature and determination not to succumb to materialism – the values highlighted by SEP.
The government also gives policy support to alternative farming, thanks to evident improvement in soil fertility, farmers’ health, biodiversity and an increasing popularity of chemical-free produce.
SCHOOL FOOD BANK
For many rural students, free school lunch is the only decent meal they have all day, but lack of funds is a constant problem. Teachers and students in tens of thousands of Thai public schools are working together under Sufficiency Thinking to make their free lunch programme sustainable.
Ban Nong Pai School in Nakhon Sawan is one of them. There, teachers use SEP principles to encourage students to grow vegetables, raise chickens and fish as part of school activities to teach the children the importance of self-reliance, hard work and perseverance. The school will then buy their produce for their school lunch programme. Apart from learning various skills in food producing, students get to eat healthy food, earn some money and learn to save. Students’ nutrition has improved, so has their maturity and self-immunity against consumerism.
FOREST FOR FOOD SECURITY
If people benefit from the forests, they will become the forest guardians. This belief gave birth to community food bank projects to give food security to the hill peoples in northern Thailand by allowing them to collect edible plants from the forests for their own consumption.
Initiated by Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit, the first project using the forest as a community food bank took place at a remote hill village in Mae Hong Son province. By protecting their community forests from land clearing and poachers, the villagers are allowed to use the forests sustainably. They also receive help to raise poultry, cattle, and fish to generate more income in order to lessen pressure on the forests.
RICE SEED BANK
After attaining food security from New Theory farming, a group of rice farmers at Ban Sai Yai village in Nonthaburi province has become self-reliant in rice seed production. They pool resources to select the best from their farms in order to produce high-quality rice seeds to share among themselves and sell to other farmers.
This group also produces other organic goods such as organic fertiliser pellets, organic pesticide liquid, shampoo and other items for household use for members and also for sale.
Ban Sai Yai provides yet more proof that efforts to achieve food security under sufficiency thinking also bring forth financial security, good health, and community cohesiveness. It has become a role model for farm communities nationwide.
PID THONG LANG PHRA FOUNDATION
Massive land-clearing in the mountainous Nan province for corn plantations benefits the animal feed industry but destroys the raincatchment areas of the Chao Phraya River, Thailand’s lifeblood. Meanwhile, the highland farmers remain trapped in hunger and poverty due to expensive seeds and uncontrollable corn prices.
Denuded mountains in many villages in Nan have turned lush green once more, thanks to sustainable farming support from the Pid Thong Lang Phra Foundation.
The foundation uses SEP principles to listen to the hill tribe peoples’ problems and support their bottom-up decision to make change
themselves based on moderation, rationality and self-immunity. The hill tribe farmers finally decided to stop land-clearing and adopt sustainable farming to attain food security. Hunger is now gone, the farmers’ health has improved and many are now free from debt.
DOI KHAM
The Doi Kham Food Products Co. buys organic farm products at fair prices from the hill tribe people in northern Thailand to support their sustainable farming.
Doi Kham is a business offshoot of the Royal Project Foundation which has won worldwide recognition for its success in the eradication of opium cultivation through crop substitution programmes.
Buying the produce at fair prices help prevent the hill tribes from being exploited. Meanwhile, Doi Kham continues to support the highlanders with new sustainable farming techniques to restore highland ecology and the farmers’ quality of life. Consumers also benefit from organic products from Doi Kham, proving that conscientious consumption can end farmers’ hunger and protect the environment.