Govt agency to promote organic farming
The Cooperative Promotion Department has launched a campaign to promote organic farming among cooperatives in certain provinces, Atcha Suwanni, the department’s deputy director general, said on Tuesday (August 11).
“As many as 13 co-ops have expressed interest in joining the project, for which the department will support the building of 98 greenhouses for organic farming,” she said. “Each greenhouse will be six by 30 metres in size and will cost Bt50,000 to build. The department will provide a subsidy of Bt35,000, while the rest will have to be paid by the farmers.
“The department will also provide farmers with training on organic farming and marketing, and will coordinate with local administration agencies to expand marketing channels to cover local communities,” she added. “In the pilot project we learned that growing and selling organic vegetables can boost people’s income by around Bt150,000 a year, as the demand for pesticide-free organic vegetables is high thanks to the new trend of healthy eating.
“In the future, we aim to build a network of cooperatives that grow organic vegetables commercially so the product can penetrate modern trade channels,” she said.