Rice Fund Cooperative

Organic Rice Mill (Group3)
At Taten Village, Muang District, Surin Province of Thailand.
26 May 2012
Content
I-Team Composition
II-The Place visited
III-Overview of the Enterprise:
2.1. Main activities of the enterprise
2.2. How do they monitor and evaluate those activities
2.3. Problems encountered
2.4. Strategies to overcome the problem
2.5. Who are the stakeholder and what their roles are
IV-Lessons Learned
3.1. About promoting SMEs
3.2. About Data collection method used
3.3. About our working as a team
I. Team Composition
1. Mr. CHAU ARUNNORTEY, Director of Internal Audit Department, MoWA
2. Mr. PHY SOKUN , Director of Planning and Cooperation Division, CNCW
3. Mr. SUN DAVIN, Hydroelectric Project Officer, Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy
(MIME).
4. Mr. YIM SOPHY , Study Research Officer, (MIME).
5. Mr. SOM SOPHEA , Official, Provincial Department of Rural Development of
Mondlkiri, (PDRD)
6. Mr. ME PHON , Official, Provincial Department of Rural Development of Ratanakiri
(PDRD)
7. Mr. HONG Lim HUN , Assistant to Director General, Ministry Of Commerce (MOC)
8. Mr. NHEM PHINARITH , Chief of Bureau Human Resource of Personnel Dept., MOC
9. Ms. VIRAK SAMANANG , Official, Green Trade Company (Public Enterprise), MOC
10. Ms. HENG SOCHEATA , Notification and Legal Compliance Department, MOC
II-The Place Visited
The Rice Fund Surin Organic Agriculture Cooperative, Ltd. Surin Thailand, is located in
TaTen Village, Muang District, Surin Province, some 260 km northern of Thailand.
With the effort of small-scale farmers seeking to practice alternative agriculture method
that support their communities’ health and sustainable livelihoods, the farmers decided
sought to create an alternative market in which they could avoid local middleman and sell
their rice independently at a fair price.
With the help of Surin Farmers Support (SFS), a small organization dedicated to sustainable
agriculture and community development, the members formed a cooperative and sold rice
independently, learned organic farming techniques and ended dependence on chemical
fertilizers.
Previously, the farmers in this area are farming separately by using the chemical fertilizers
and as the area has no rivers, mountains, waterfalls and lakes and most people were
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immigrated from the place to find works outside and the impact is low; they have changed
their chain of production from chemical to natural fertilizers during 2001.
The Rice Fund Agriculture Cooperative, Ltd. has been established in 2001 under the
foundation of the Thai Government. Its main duty is to gather the paddy from 20
neighboring villages (over 8000 hectares) to mill and then export the rice to the abroad.
II-Overview of The enterprise
2.1: Main Activities of the enterprise
The Rice Fund Surin Organic Agriculture Cooperative, Ltd. is the name of organic rice
mill by which it gathers the rice from 20 small villages covered by over 8000 hectares that
combined to form a community.
The main activities of this enterprise are as follows:
- Forming a farmer group
- Disseminating and upholding the principles issued by the government on the use of
natural fertilizers Use natural fertilizer ( use Compost fertilizers and Cow dung).
- Conserve the environments both internal and external
- They conduct farming one season annually due to lack of irrigation system,
mountains…
- The total arable farming land is over 8000 hectares formed from 20 villages
- Perform gathering the 516 Tons of paddies at least per year for milling
- Use external labors
- Export 200 tons of rice/ year (Singapore, French, Switzerland, Australia)
- Having of 34 Labors (female 14) working in organic rice mill
- Salaries 200 bath/ day defined by the government
- Working hours: from 7:00 AM to 17:00 PM
- Exchange knowledge and experiences obtained
- Owned producers and owned sold independently
- Used rice seeds through System of Rice Identification (SRI)
- Create auto target groups example Green Organic Markets
- Increased additional skills (textures) and mixed agricultures for improved income.
chemical free soils of farming
Organic Rill Mill
2.2: How do they monitor and evaluate those activities
In order to increase both the quantities and qualities, the producer-owned cooperative
rice mill has conducting the monitoring and evaluation as below:
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- Make sure the products are 100% fair trade and organic certified both the
quantities and the qualities
- Set up times frame
- Control the staff
- Monitor quality by certified organization: IFOAM, ACT, JAS for exporting
- Technologies and materials
- Follow up price in free markets
- Ensure the fair scale and competitive prices.
The Chemical Free Rice for Export
2.3: Problems encountered
The enterprise also encountered some problems. Those problems encountered are:
- Market finding problem
- Demand of the market (Limited demand for exportation (150-200 tons of rice/
year)
- Payment for the rice transportation 50% as an incentives
- External Market Competition
- Unstable Price
- Unstable weather
2.4. Strategies to overcome the problem
In order to overcome the above problems the enterprise has set up the strategies as below:
- Provide the knowledge/ idea to the farmers
- Improve creative idea
- Improve the natural fertilizers’ soils
- Equal Land distribution
- Faired and loyal scales
- Competitive price and ensure the qualities of the products
- All farmers should sell their rice products to Organic Rice Mill (Rice Fund Organic
Agriculture Cooperative Ltd.- Surin, Thailand )
- Create the green markets
- Seeking more demander
2.5. Who are the stakeholder and what their roles are
- Government (funding)
- Rice Fund Surin Organic Agriculture Cooperative Ltd.,-Surin Thailand
- Farmers (producers)
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-
Singapore, French, Switzerland, Australia (external buyers)
Internal people (domestic buyers of broken rice)
Villagers (domestic buyers)
IFOAM, ACT, JAS (group evaluation of the quality of rice products)
III-Lessons Learned
3.1. About promoting SMEs
- Contribute to reduce the poverties
- Contribute to reduce immigration
- Increased the family income
- Increased domestic job opportunities
- Reduced AIDs due to no immigration
- Healthy
3.2. About Data collection method used
- Group forming and duty
responsibilities
- Prepare the Questionnaires
- Prepare relevant documents
- Interviewing by group and individual
- Photo taking
- Field visit
Mr. Sam Rith, the initiator of the project
3.3. About our working as a team
- Good Internal Solidarities-United
- Share idea/ discussions
- Co operational
- Problem solving
The member of Group 3
Thank you.
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