TOTA and Organic Sector Development SESSIONS/PLENARY 5/WANLOP...Agenda Overview of Thailand organic agriculture Role of TOTA in organic sector development Lessons learnt/ recommendation

TOTA and Organic Sector Development

Wanlop PichpongsaThai Organic Trade Association (TOTA)

Organic Asia The Way Forward 30 October 2008

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

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Agenda

Overview of Thailand organic agriculture Role of TOTA in organic sector

development Lessons learnt/ recommendation Challenges



Certified Organic 2006

§ 22,550 Ha (0.108% of total arable land) § 7,186 farms (0.141% of total 5.1 m

farming families)



Certified Organic Produce

Tiger prawns, fishAquaculture

Fa talai joan (Andrographis paniculata) Indian Mulberry, Cissus quadrangularis L.Medicinal herbs

Wild honeyWild products

Dried tom yam seasoning, coconut milk, sugar, tapioca flourFood ingredients

Tea (Thunbergia laurifolia L), dried bael fruits, dried lemongrass, rose teaHerbal teas

Banana, papaya, pineapple, jackfruit, mango, longanFruit

Fresh baby corn Frozen or bottled baby corn, asparagus, okra, salads, tomatoes, Chinese vegetables

vegetables

Soybeans and peanutsBeans

White and brown rice (Hom Mali, Lueang-On, red jasmine)Rice



Organic Market

§ Start since 1990s with export market§ Domestic started around the same time

with the raise of health concerns§ By 2000s, domestic market started to

regain momentum§ Organic vegetables are the most popular in

the market place for domestic market



§ Domestic markets, mainly through modern trade, e.g. supermarkets and discount store§ Direct market also exists, e.g. box

scheme (Bangkok) and farmer market (provincial)§ Majority is exported to EU and USA§ Exploring Asian and Pacific markets

Organic Market



Organic agricultural policy

7.

§ National Committee for Organic Agriculture Development founded in 2007, to design the national strategy which integrates the OA related works of different government agencies.



Organic Operators

Five types:-§ Single farms (family farms)§ Company s farm (large scale)§ Public project (e.g. Royal project, Surin

Province)§ Growers group with private companies § Growers group with NGOs



Organic Certification & Regulation

§ ACFS as accreditation body (voluntary)§ Various public CBs e.g. DoA, Rice

department, DoF, DoL (free of charge)§ One national private CB (ACT) § One participatory guarantee system

(NOSO)§ Several foreign CBs working in Thailand



Which Certification?

Organic Certification in Thailand % of land certified

ACT 37% Northern NGOs 0.3% DOA, Organic Crop Institute 13% Foreign CBs 50%



Supporting structures: research, education, extension

11.

§ Research: Some, but in many cases did not serve to support OA

§ Education: Very limited§ Extension: Limited



About TOTA

Thai Organic Alliance Society was founded on 22 April 2004 by 6 founding members. August 2004, TOAS held press

conference against open field trial of GM crop in Thailand. Coordinated with the Department Export

Promotion to exhibit in BioFach in February 2005



Registered with the Ministry of Commerce as Thai Organic Trade Association (TOTA) in October 2005 by 7 founding members Current members = 16



Press conference foundation of TOTA



Major areas of workMarket

Development

Info and knowledge dissemination

Policy



Market Development



TOTA has market promotion initiatives in both export and domestic market Export: Trade fair e.g. Biofach Germany,

Thaifex Thailand Trade delegation to meet with potential

customers Domestic: working with leading retailers to

promote organic products

Market Development



Biofach, Germany



Biofach, Germany



Biofach, Germany



Biofach, Germany



Biofach, Germany



Trade delegation to France and UK9-17 September 2007



Trade delegation to Canada and USAApril 2008



Thaifex 2007



Thaifex 2008



Organic & Green Fair, Nov 2007












TOTA has organised the seminar on organic market in Thaifex, the largest international food fair in Thailand, since 2007 TOTA has been invited to speak in

various seminar with regards to organic agriculture Training for the entrepreneurs/ the private

sector who are interested in going organic




Growing interest in going organic from the private sector But not know how to start, attending

seminar and conference not sufficient Capacity building training and one to one

consultation required to enable entrepreneurs to go organic




Importance of organic entrepreneurs

Producers/ Production

Market/Consumers

Organic entrepreneurs

organic entrepreneurs can boost the expansion of organic agriculture by acting as the link between production and market



Thaifex 2007: Seminar on Organic Business Outlook















Organic training for entrepreneurs, July 2008












Policy



TOTA has become a representative organisation of organic operators of Thailand Appointed as an OA committee of the

Ministry of Agriculture Appointed as a member of the National

Committee for Organic Development

Policy



Lessons learnt/ Recommendation

Formation of an association of organic operators can crate a greater impact on the organic sector development To increase the numbers of capable

organic operators/ entrepreneurs is one of the key factors to the growth of OA



Challenges

Given continuing growing demand What will be the impact on OA as

consequence of the financial crisis and economic recession in EU and USA, which is spreading to Asia like Japan, Korea, Singapore?



สมาคมการค้าเกษตรอินทรีย์ไทยThai Organic Trade

Associationwww.thaiorganictrade.com

Email: [email protected]


http://www.thaiorganictrade.com

mailto:[email protected]


Documents

TOTA and Organic Sector Development SESSIONS/PLENARY 5/WANLOP...Agenda Overview of Thailand organic agriculture Role of TOTA in organic sector development Lessons learnt/ recommendation