Key factors affecting the success of organic agriculture policy implementation in thai local communities

Abstract

Organic agriculture in Thailand officially became a public policy in 2005 and its current provisions are described in the Second National Strategic Plan for Organic Agriculture Development (2013-2016). While organic agriculture has been implemented for a decade and while the global growth rate of organic agriculture has increased; the amount of land dedicated to organic agriculture in Thailand has increased at a rate of only 0.1% annually and comprises only 0.2% of the total land in the nation under cultivation. This is in sharp contrast with the increase in the use of imported agrochemicals in agriculture, from 3.9 million tons in 2008 to 5.7 million tons in 2012. Organic agriculture policy challenges the policy implementation approach as to whether it requires more and different factors than general policy in the implementation context.

This research attempts to study the organic agriculture policy and factors affecting the success of organic agriculture policy implementation in local communities where the majority of farmers are members of organic agriculture and organic agriculture transition groups. This research used qualitative methods to study three levels of organic agriculture, the policy level, implementation level at the community level, and target group level in three case studies.

The study reveals that organic agriculture policy has been an output of the political system, which has been derived from the global trend with suitable land for agriculture demands, support from NGO and competition and international standards to export agricultural products. Compare to chemical agriculture, organic agriculture plays as an alternative agriculture in sharing one percentage of total agricultural budget. Organic agriculture implementation is not included in the routine action plan at provincial level. However, the success of organic farms is from the social capital in a group. The power of the group gives farmers to share and learn knowledge and experience of organic farming, negotiate for higher prices of organic products and obtain supports from both public and private sectors.

To implement organic agriculture policy at the local level, it needs social capital to be a force for growth and maintenance of organic farms. Organic agriculture policy needs to match the characteristics and necessities of groups to support their existing and future endeavors. In order to help organic farming continue at the local level, it should be tailored to each target group by front-line implementers with appropriate knowledge, technology, and innovation, supported by professionals for the different levels of each group’s potential.