BAAC introduces 'A' certification for products to improve quality of life in rural areas
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will work towards improvement of the grass roots economy, aiming to help improve the quality of life of people living in rural areas, Somkiat Kimawaha, BAAC executive vice president, said in Ranong province on Friday (February 14).
“Our organisation will continue providing the loans for SME entrepreneurs, community enterprises, agricultural cooperatives and those farmers with competitive capacity, in order to help them improve and sustain their products and businesses,” he added.
The BACC plans to set up a new department to work on projects for improvement of the grass roots economy. Besides, it aims to establish the centre for local business promotion nationwide.
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In addition, the executive vice president introduced the “A product” certification, to appear on the packages of processed agricultural products.
“The manufacturers of those products are our customers,” Somkiat explained. “We created this certification with our network agencies, such as Department of Industry Promotion and Digital Economy Promotion Agency, to show the quality of the local products.”
“We want to add value to things produced by entrepreneurs or enterprises we support or help to strengthen,” he added.
“The consumers would be assured from the certification that their money will be revenue for rural people, instead of for rich entrepreneurs,” he said.
Presently, there are around 431 “A” certificate products, and the aim is to reach 1,500 products in the future.
The outcome of the certification would take around three months for estimation, since this strategy is new at this time.
The BAAC also introduced the local enterprises it supports financially in Ranong. One of them is the renowned Gong Valley, a coffee brand, and a place where people around the world visit for knowledge about coffee.
Gong Valley has been operated by Supot ‘Gong’ Kornprasitwat, under his concept of “our product, our price”.
He has purchased coffee beans from local farmers at a rate higher than factories, and sold them under his brand in numerous countries.
Besides, he has promoted local coffee farming nationwide, and his network of coffee entrepreneurs totals around 200.
Some farmers promoted or instructed by him were also BAAC customers, and their products received the “A” certification.