Ministry aims to sow seeds of growth

The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and two agricultural companies are giving away vegetable seeds for home cultivation under a project aimed at easing financial impacts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Launched yesterday, the offer follows a successful giveaway on May 7 when 10,000 sets of vegetables seeds were given away in about an hour, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on said.

A total of 103,656 people registered for the first giveaway, meaning many missed out on the free seeds, he said.

The new giveaway goes under the title, “Next-door fridges for coping with Covid-19”.

This time, 200,000 sets donated by Chia Tai Co and East-West Seed Co will be distributed free of charge to people who apply for them, he said.

Each set contains between four to five vegetable types including morning glory, Chinese kale, False Pak Choi, cucumber and bird chilli, he said.

Anyone interested in receiving a set must register on the project’s website https://app.doae-gov.org/landing or scan the registration QR Code published on social media and then follow the instructions given, said Khemkhaeng Yutithamdamrong, directorgeneral of the Department of Agricultural Extension.

People in Bangkok will have the seeds delivered to their homes from the two companies, while people elsewhere will have to obtain theirs via the department’s plant breeding centres and tambon administration organisations, he said. How to grow the vegetables can be obtained from the ministry’s website.