Project Name：Raising Capability on Horticultural Crop Cultivation in Thailand through the Application of Smart Farming Systems

Project status：Projects in Operation

Cooperating Country：Asia-Pacific, Thailand

Project Description：

This project aims to assist the Royal Project Foundation (RPF) in implementing smart farming systems. It focuses on developing RPF personnel’s capability on establishing optimal cultivation models and enhancing agricultural extension through the assistance of various production devices and information technology for targeted horticultural crops. By practicing the concept of precision agriculture, this project reduces production costs, improves crop quality and yield, and increases farmers' income through rational use of pesticides, fertilization, and irrigation. In addition, it will also be conducive to establishing a low-resource-consumed  and sustainable agricultural environment in the mountainous areas of northern Thailand, achieving a win-win situation between agricultural production and environmental protection.

Implementation Start Date：2023-09-01

Implementation End Date：2026-08-31

Project Objectives：

1. Assisting the Royal Project Foundation of Thailand in implementing smart farming systems to enhance scientific research capabilities in agriculture field.

2. Developing the capability to establish the optimal cultivation model for the Royal Project Foundation.

3. Conducting various technical exchanges, personnel training, and capacity building works.

Executing Agency：

Taiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Thailand / Royal Project Foundation (RPF)

Current Progress：

To the end of June 2025, the following activities have been completed:

1. Assist the Royal Project Foundation in implementing smart farming systems by setting up a total of ten smart agricultural demonstration sites—greenhouses and open-field cultivation areas—at the Foundation’s headquarters and its field stations.

2.Use the smart farming system to collect environmental sensor data from the demonstration sites and develop seven block-program management modules for four target crops—melon, tomato, chrysanthemum, and tuberose. These modules cover automated controls (such as nutrient solution irrigation, nighttime lighting, fans, water walls), automatic recording in Google Sheets, and real-time mobile notifications including operational messages, alerts, and scheduled environmental monitoring updates—to support field management operations and decision-making.

3. Utilized the smart farming system to support field management of target crops and completed as follow:

．4 production seasons of melon cultivation at the Chiang Mai and Pang Da stations;

．3 production seasons of cherry tomato cultivation at Mae Hae station;

．3 production seasons of chrysanthemum breeding trials at Inthanon station;

．2 production seasons of cut-flower chrysanthemum cultivation at Huey Luek station;

．The first year of tuberose cultivation trial at Pang Da station.

4.Establish four crop calendars (cultivation schedules) for the target crops: melon, tomato, chrysanthemum, and tuberose.

5.Invite Taiwanese short-term experts to Thailand for a total of 3 person-times to provide guidance, training at least 60 Royal Project Foundation personnel.

6.Conduct four training sessions on the installation, operation, and maintenance of the smart farming system, training at least 22 Royal Project Foundation personnel.

7.Organize two field observation visits with a total participation of 100 personnel from the Royal Project Foundation and farmers.

8.Conduct two study visits to Taiwan, with 12 Royal Project Foundation personnel participating.

Project Performance：

Comparing with conventional methods, the cultivation model established by using the smart farming system increases the crop yield 10% and reduces the amount of chemical pesticides used 15% in the end of project period.

Project Contact：Ellie S. Y. Shen

Phone：+886-2-28886136

E-mail：s.y.shen@icdf.org.tw

Signing Date：2023-07-25

Cooperating Stakeholders：Royal Project Foundation

Mission：Taiwan Technical Mission in Thailand