Did you know? How much dedication do farmers have to put into cultivating delicious produce that is sold everywhere? The Practical takes you on a journey to “Suan Yai Da Jae Boonchuen”, a 30-rai vegetable and fruit garden in Rayong Province, where you can not only harvest produce all year round, but it is also a learning center and a prototype area for Smart Farming, which combines local wisdom with new innovations like Zinc Oxide Nano.
This nano zinc oxide is a nutritional supplement that helps plants grow strong, increases the sweetness and size of the fruit, resulting in increased yields. It also creates immunity against disease, helping plants recover and be ready to produce in the next season. With its small nano-sized particles, it effectively and quickly penetrates plants. But despite its all-around properties and Food Grade safety, this is still a new innovation that most farmers are not familiar with.
“We want to see Thai farmers have a better quality of life, good health, and increased income.”
Why do Thai farmers grow more and more poor?
Mr. Suwat began by saying, “I am a farmer’s son. Since I can remember, I have seen rice fields with chemical pesticides all the time. In the past, many of my relatives, siblings, and close friends have gotten sick and passed away from diseases that were caused by those toxins. Just think about it, even insects or small animals die. Don’t even imagine what will happen when those toxins enter the human body.”
When asking farmers why they have to use chemicals that are harmful to the body, the answer they get repeatedly is, “We’ve been using them since our parents’ generation. If we don’t use strong chemicals, the insects won’t die. If we don’t use this chemical, what will we use?” Mr. Suwat sees that this is what makes the living conditions of farmers in Thailand not get any better. Their health is getting worse. The money they earn from selling their produce goes to hospitals to treat themselves. The income is not worth the money and physical effort they put in.
Until Mr. Suwat came to work at IRPC, which was located in the area, he got to know Zinc Oxide, a raw material which is a starting point for creating many products, including cosmetics, sunscreen, deodorant spray, and even animal feed. It can be used in so many ways because Zinc Oxide developed by IRPC has received safety standards for being free of impurities and chemical residues from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Mix the old with the new
“We have continued to develop zinc oxide into agricultural applications. Developing particles to be very small, at the nanometer level, has resulted in zinc oxide nano, a plant nutrient supplement that is safe for users, consumers, and the environment, while also reducing costs for farmers and improving their health.”
Because IRPC is the first factory in Thailand to have this nanotechnology, the team has undergone intensive development and testing of new chemical innovations for many years.
“Ms. Boonchuen, owner of Yai Da Garden. Ms. Boonchuen is a farmer who is ready to accept new innovations. Three years ago, I, who was in charge of the production process together with researchers, brought nano zinc oxide to the experimental plots in durian, longan and mangosteen orchards. During the data collection period, we found that durian trees in the orchards were susceptible to disease and had a chance of dying. So we combined local wisdom, such as acupuncture into the durian trunks, with nano zinc oxide technology. We adjusted the methods together, finding the most suitable steps until we achieved acupuncture on durian trees, which is beneficial and can build immunity for durian trees, helping them fight disease.”
In addition, Mr. Suwat also found the problem of soil imperfection, which certainly affected plant growth. The research team therefore analyzed the soil to check for various nutrients. Then, nano zinc oxide was added to fill in the missing nutrients. After some time, the data collection clearly indicated that the nutrients in the soil were more complete, resulting in increased yields at Suan Yaowada, Ms. Boonchuen.
The heart is to use fertilizers in a balanced way.
Mr. Suwat and his team have developed innovations that all levels of executives have seen the quality and precision of nano zinc oxide, so there are many agricultural products under the name of “White Bear Fertilizer”, which is considered one of IRPC’s sandbox businesses, in addition to the original petroleum business.
“We intend to work with non-profit agricultural organizations from Thai farmers, such as the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), and various community enterprises to prove that White Bear fertilizer is highly safe and can truly improve the quality of farming and quality of life.
“Every time we go to the field, we go as a team: the production team, the research team, the marketing team, and the product development team to make sure that we provide farmers with complete and useful information. Fertilizers or nutrients should not be applied indiscriminately because it not only causes harm instead of benefit, but also wastes capital for farming. In the past, we have gone to the field in many provinces to collect data on which nutrients are truly necessary for plants so that we can produce products that are beneficial in a balanced way for plants, the environment, and farmers.”
Mr. Suwat proudly said, “When we help farmers, the happy smiles and words of thanks from farmers that we receive every time we visit the area are the power that pushes us to be even more motivated to continue, so that our work can be a bridge connecting the industrial sector to the agricultural sector, creating sustainable income for Thai farmers.”
Improving quality of life with innovation
“Consumers want good, beautiful products to buy and sell. If we don’t use pesticides, our crops won’t be able to sell,” said farmers from all regions to Mr. Suwat.
“I would like to inform consumers that consuming produce from farmer groups that are safe fruit trees or fruits that have passed the certification standards for no chemical residues will help farmers gradually reduce their use of pesticides and chemicals. Both farmers and consumers who use the chemicals will be safe from the accumulation of harmful substances in the body, which will affect health in the long term.”
In addition to White Bear Fertilizer, Mr. Suwat concluded that IRPC is currently contracting with the education sector and several universities to develop innovations related to people’s quality of life, such as establishing “Vachira Lab for Society Co., Ltd. or Vachira Lab” in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine, Vajira Hospital, Navamindradhiraj University, to establish the first central laboratory in Thailand and Southeast Asia to provide comprehensive medical device quality testing services in one place, creating confidence and safety for consumers, and supporting the expansion of the medical device manufacturing industry, raising standards to international standards.
“IRPC places great importance on research and innovation. We still have many products inthe pipeline and I am confident that they will help solve multi-dimensional problems for Thai people in many sectors. We always remember that a sustainable business is a business that grows along with society, the environment and the community.”
We adapt, the world changes. The Next Generation: Passing on innovation to create sustainable agriculture.
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We adjust, the world changes The Next Generation because we all can “change” the world for the better. Meet various ideas and actions from the new generation who have risen up to “adjust” their thinking and take action to jointly create a sustainable world.
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