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Operations
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The Thai government has been
committed to counseling farmers
in northern Thailand to engage in
agricultural activities and reduce
op i um poppy cu l t i va t i on . On
November 6, 2010, the Royal
Project Foundation (RPF) and the
TaiwanICDF signed an agricultural
technical cooperation agreement
and began to carry out the first
phase (2011-2013) of the agricultural
technical cooperation project.
Since then, the RPF, founded by the
royal family, and Taiwan began to
expand the exchange of agricultural
t e c h n o l og i e s , a s s i s t i ng t h e
Foundation in planting key crops and
raising the technical skills of northern
Thai farmers through extension and
consultation work.
Focusing on the problem of plant
diseases discovered during the first
phase of the project and selecting
citrus and passion fruit as extension
crops based on market demand, the
Thai government proposed a second
phase (2014-2016) to the agricultural
technical cooperation project.
Due to the lack of a healthy
seedling management system and
disease detection technology, the
Foundation had been
unable to effectively
help farmers prevent
and control pests and
diseases, and improve
their yields. As a result,
f a r me r s h ad be e n
unable to increase their
incomes and therefore
had had no incentive
or intention to invest in
healthy seedlings, thus creating a
vicious circle.
Propagating Healthy
Seedlings, Improving Pest
Control Techniques
To improve the livelihood of
northern farmers, the main content
and objectives of the project are as
follows:
1. Assist in establishing a healthy
seedling propagation system
for citrus and passion fruit, and
provide farmers with a reliable
supply of the seedlings they need
for cultivation.
2. Research and develop biopesticides
and improve integrated pest
ma n ageme n t t e c h n i q u e s ,
effectively helping to reduce losses
through the control of insect pests
and diseases.
3. Enhance the technical capacity
of RPF personnel so that they can
effectively guide farmers to improve
their cultivation techniques.
To date, the project has produced
66,516 virus-free Tainung No. 1
passion fruit grafted seedlings that
were delivered to local farmers to
replace diseased plants, which
increased passion fruit
production and farmers’
income.
I n add i t i on , RPF
workstations have been
guided in the production
of biopesticides to
control passion fruit
diseases and reduce
losses. It is expected
that passion fruit and
citrus farmers who have received
guidance will see an average
increase in their annual income by
20 percent. The ratio of virus-free
seedlings used for replacement has
reached 50 percent.
In addition, we also sent out
experts from time to time to conduct
on-site visits to determine the
effectiveness of Thailand's capacity
to control citrus and passion fruit
diseases and insect pests. As well,
we organized 16 workshops aimed
at project extension staff to improve
their skills, which they can then pass
on to local farmers.
20
Increase in farmers
’
annual income
%
Thailand
Pathology Prevention and Control of
Citrus and Passion Fruit Project in Royal
Project Foundation
1
Case Study