High-value agriculture to be enhanced next year, govt department vows

The department’s deputy director general, Weerasak Boonchern, said on Sunday that this achievement was part of a project to promote high-value agriculture in 500 subdistricts and triple farmers’ income by 2027.

He reckoned that the average income of farmers who participated in the project this year increased by 128.66% year on year, thanks to department officials’ efforts to boost the efficiency of agricultural products and services.

Weerasak went on to explain that 26 orchid farmers in Samut Sakhon’s Nong Nok Kai subdistrict had faced difficulties due to crop diseases and pests, as well as a lack of product variants. Department officials have offered sticky traps to deal with crop pests, while increasing offline and online distribution channels in Thailand and other Asian countries, he explained.

He added that orchid farmers’ income has increased to 260,061 baht per household compared with 94,500 baht last year.

Weerasak further explained that 30 longan farmers in Lamphun’s Ban Hong subdistrict had faced a lack of knowledge on boosting product quality and market expansion. To tackle these issues, department officials had offered instruction on boosting product quality and productivity, as well as promoting distribution to other regions across Thailand, he said. 

He added that longan farmers’ income has increased to 53,100 baht per household compared with 29,000 baht last year.

Weerasak confirmed that the Department of Agricultural Extension is collecting data to develop high-value agriculture further, focusing on farmer networking, business plans to meet farmer and market demands, and ecosystems to boost production efficiency.

This aims to boost the income of farmer households, which will lead to development of the grassroots economy, he said.