Thai public, private sectors to help sustain farmers' income

BANGKOK, February 16 (TNA) - The private sector, through the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, plans to cooperate with government agencies to create income for local agriculturists on the sustainable basis. Issara Wongkusolkit, Chairman of the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, told journalists of the plan on Tuesday, suggesting that local agriculturists also develop quality of their products, cut their production costs and explore ways to boost their exports to the ASEAN Community (AC), which has been formed since January 1, 2016. In the short-term, Issara said, the public and the private sectors will cooperate on raising income for local agriculturists on the sustainable basis. Issara elaborated that the private sector will cooperate with the government to encourage local agriculturists to enlarge their farming areas so that they could become “smart farmers” and to further develop cooperative stores so that they could access to financial sources systematically. Regarding the progress of the Thai Good Agricultural Practice (ThaiGap) phase 1 in the country, which runs from 2014 to 2017, Issara pointed out that it has achieved a considerable success, as in-depth information has been provided to 17 firms, 10 of which have already received standard certificates and the rest are awaiting. Issara acknowledged that 23 newcomers have expressed their interest in joining the programme. (TNA)