The plots thicken in deep South
Farmers are being taught how to make more of their land with new animal husbandry, crop techniques to earn more and weather catastrophic floods, writes Aree Thongboonrawd
Traditional farming practices used in much of the deep South could push crop productivity with new techniques that combine wisdom and technology, and a foundation is in the region to give them a helping hand. Some 56 local volunteers are working hard to coach people there how to sustain their livelihoods through various kinds of new farming and livestock-raising practices.
The volunteers, trained by the Royal Initiative Discovery Foundation for between two and five months, learned the techniques that will be taught as part of a pilot project in two villages of Narathiwat.
They were recruited locally as they understood the local people well, including their culture and traditions.
The project was devised to spur farming developments in seven villages across Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, the three southernmost provinces long troubled by security violence. The scheme has been undertaken for two years.
Two of the villages are in Narathiwat. They are Ban Hutae Tuwor in tambon Khok Kian of Muang district and Ban Khok Yamu in tambon Praiwan of Tak Bai district.
The other two are in Yala, namely, Ban Jum Poon in tambon Tha Thong of Raman district and Ban Komo 26 in tambon Tano Putae of Bannang Sata district.
The three villages in Pattani are Ban Pan of tambon Pan in Sai Buri district, Ban Surao in tambon Thanam of Panare district, and Ban La Pho in Mae Laen district’s tambon Parai.
Between five and nine “farm coaching” volunteers are now based in each village.
They are responsible for demonstrating the farming practices and uphold the “Understand, Access and Develop” principle bestowed by the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Local farmers do not feel alienated speaking to coaches who are from the same neighbourhood or province, experts contend. They are more comfortable voicing their opinions or discussing problems they and their communities encountered with people closer to home.
Their views are being gleaned so that community development plans can be formulated to suit their needs. This valuable information is also being shared with government agencies to thrash out development plans.
The starting point is to build water supply infrastructure that can cover both farming and household consumption, the foundation said. After that, the focus shifts to livestock raising. The concept is to show local farmers how they can rely on themselves more as well as collaborate with fellow farmers to form social enterprises where they can collectively innovate methods for farming and livestock raising, which augments their productivity but does not require any more labour or investment.
Ban Khuan Plang Ngoo School in tambon Parai has since been transformed into a venue where locals can learn how to grow straw mushrooms in a demonstration plot. The programme also teaches farmers to properly pick the mushrooms, which fetch handsome prices at market.
Pongpan Kaewjun, a project volunteer at the school, said straw mushrooms can be grown in between rows of rubber trees. The money they generate can substantially supplement the income of families facing hardship from tumbling rubber prices.
“Palm bunches discarded from factories after the fruit is picked can be used to grow the mushrooms. Three tonnes of palm bunches only cost about 150 baht,” said Mr Pongpan.
He said 300-325 baht worth would be needed to grow 10 mushroom plots, each measuring about 80 centimetres by 4 metres.
Mushrooms can be harvested after 16-31 days and sell for between 80-100 baht per kg, depending on size, he said, adding farmers stands to earn 2,700-3,000 baht per plot.
Afterwards, the soil can be turned over and the plots used for planting other crops such as melons or garden vegetables.
“The mushrooms are cooked and integrated into the school lunch programme, which serves as food for thought and shows parents and school staff that this new farming practice really works,” said Mr Pongpan. The plan is that the locally harvested mushrooms will either be consumed by the families that grow them or sold in their communities, he added.
If production can be ramped up, there may be some left over to sell to middlemen. About 100kg of mushrooms would be enough to launch a small commercial enterprise.
Mushroom-growing techniques have been taught at 10 training courses for local farmers in Mae Laen district, with about 50 students per class. The farming and harvesting knowledge is also being passed on to another 10 villages in tambon Parai.
Wannipha Saephu, a 65-year-old rubber farmer in Ban La Pho who took part in the programme, said the free fall in rubber prices drove her family income down to just 200 baht a day, 33% below the minimum wage.
“I was advised to grow mushrooms by a coach who said my land is suitable for that,” said Ms Wannipha. She set aside 10 between-row plots on her rubber farm to harvest them. Now she makes an additional 20,000 baht a month.
The earnings far exceed her investment of 300 baht per plot. The farming method also delivers the output over a relatively short period as the mushrooms are ready for cutting and sale after just 15 days.
She has also been trained to farm mushrooms on “elevated” plots to keep excessive water from ruining crops during the wet season.
Already 40 farmers in the region have begun growing straw mushrooms as a result of the programme, the foundation said.
Another project has been launched in Ban Surao to promote household vegetable farming, with 51 people from five villages signing up so far, it added.
Programme members can borrow crop seeds from a so-called “seed fund”. They then repay their debt by returning the seeds they collect from the vegetables they plant. Members are also beneficiaries of the “Fertiliser Fund”, which makes fertiliser available at below-market prices.
Some members of the group are reportedly now growing sweetcorn, peanuts, sweet potatoes and chilies. Other short-life, staple crops like cucumbers, morning glory and aubergines have been farmed by the group and will soon be ready for picking, the foundation said.
In terms of livestock raising, the foundation, with the cooperation of livestock officials and the Faculty of Natural Resources of Prince of Songkla University, has ushered in a programme to train people how to modernise their method of raising goat. This involves educating farmers to select the right animal feed, conduct a simple health check, and treat any ailments detected in the animals.
Sunee Chumnopparat, the 45-yearold head of a goat-raising community enterprise at Ban Thanam, recalled her experience of being taken on a goat-raising study tour in several provinces.
Ms Sunee said MR Disnadda Diskul, secretary-general of the foundation, visited her area and made it known that HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn would donate 25 Black Bengal goats to village residents so they could be bred for their meat.
The foundation delivered another 10 goats to enterprise members, and offered financial support to buy the materials needed to build new pens that are more hygienic and conducive to raising healthy animals.
Ms Sunee said her group has 10 members. They are required to have at least one or two years’ experience raising goats.
The members’ goats, however, must obtain a clean bill of health from certified vets to prove they are not carrying any diseases before they can be admitted to the programme.
She said the group, which has 130 goats, sells the animals via the group’s chairperson. That person has a stockpile of information including how many goats each member has and how old each of the animals is.
The goats are generally sold when they are two years old and can fetch between 2,000 and 5,000 baht apiece.
Ms Sunee said her group has created a fund that members are required to deposit 50 baht into each month. Some of the money will be used to buy animal feed, she added.
A portion of the fund has also been set aside for emergency spending.
“We are a role model for farmers in the three southernmost provinces. We let them see for themselves what standardised goat-raising practices are all about,” said Ms Sunee.
We are a role model for farmers in the three southernmost provinces. SUNEE CHUMNOPPARAT HEAD OF A GOAT-RAISING COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE BASED IN PATTANI