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KHLONG SONG, Thailand, Jul 06 (IPS) – Hidden in Pathumthaini province simply exterior of Bangkok, 0.24 hectares of land adjoining to Seangsan temple has been became an city vegetable farm managed by members of the Affiliation of the Bodily handicapped of Pathumthani.
‘Farm Samart, Khon Sama’ consists of a giant open greenhouse that sits in the back of the land. In a small grass discipline on the entrance stand six raised beds of bok choy and coriander. To at least one facet are the workplace constructing and workshop.
Contained in the greenhouse, three rows of elevated beds are full of seedlings of a wide range of salad greens, nonetheless too small to acknowledge. The soil is roofed with rice straw to guard the younger crops.
Ten years in the past, Khoen Sapanyabut based the affiliation to highlight the rights to training and employment of differently-abled folks. The land, donated by the temple, sits nearly two kilometres from the principle freeway. One facet of the tree-lined street is flanked by a canal that’s dotted with poor neighborhood properties and outlets. The opposite facet alternates from factories to empty land, to a college.
The land secured, Khoen, who makes use of a wheelchair, was musing over what exercise the members ought to give attention to. He selected vegetable-growing. “Handicapped folks have totally different abilities. Some are good at laptop or fixing gadgets. However rising greens is an exercise that everybody can do, even with out correct training,” he says.
The affiliation first adopted hydroponic farming and grew greens like lettuce, water spinach and bok choy. Though these veggies are straightforward to develop and promote, they’re low cost and never worthwhile.
Additionally, because of restricted house, manufacturing couldn’t’t sustain with demand. The complete value of hydroponics, together with the electrical energy, water system and chemical fertilizer, additionally exceeded earnings.
The shift to soil-based agriculture occurred when the affiliation partnered with Bangkok College three years in the past and began to obtain annual funding and assist, together with the greenhouse.
The farm now has 28 raised beds in whole. All are designed to a sure top to accommodate wheel-chaired farmers. The aisles are accessible by wheelchairs too.
At this time the farm grows crimson and inexperienced oak lettuce, kale, cos lettuce, Frillice Iceberg, and butterhead lettuce that are high-value greens. All manufacturing follows natural farming practices together with the compost, which is made by the members.
Rawan Bo-khuntod, 53, is accountable for the farm’s day-to-day paperwork. She additionally does accounting and typically helps the farmers put together and plant the seeds. Rawan says the job has boosted her working life as a disabled individual as a result of she significantly likes doing administration.
It has additionally made her more healthy. “I discovered it onerous to eat greens earlier than. Now I’ve come to love butterhead lettuce and often add it within the salad.” Not solely do natural greens style higher than chemically grown ones, Rawan provides, “I really feel protected consuming them understanding that it is 100% natural.”
Praset Raitim (left) and Khoen Sapanyabut harvest bok choy. Credit score: Pattama Kuentak/IPS
One further increase got here within the type of a partnership between the farm and the Thai Authorities’s Digital Economic system Promotion Company. Rittirong Chutapruttikorn, dean of the College of Structure at Bangkok College, who led the design of the greenhouse, says that he was searching for methods to make the farmers’ lives simpler. He had seen how tending to the crops, similar to watering whereas sitting in wheelchairs, was each time and energy-consuming for them.
One of many first steps after partnering with DEPA was to put in a digital watering system utilizing a cell phone software. Automated water sprinklers had been connected together with mist sprayers. Temperature-controlled, the system delivers 4 minutes of mist watering 5 occasions a day.
Prasert Latim, who’s disabled because of polio in his childhood, is one in every of two folks tasked with accessing the app through his telephone. He tells IPS that utilizing the automated water sprinklers is extra handy as he does not should preserve monitoring and watering veggies all day. It additionally prevents soil spattering, which may deplete vitamins.
Prasert, 56, notes that good irrigation won’t solely save water however cash too, particularly as utility prices are rising.
Farm Samart, is a part of the Digital Initiative Village (DVI) undertaking supported by the Meals and Agricultural Group (FAO), in collaboration with DEPA, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, and Kasetsart College.
“Our aim is to discover a option to encourage the farmers to undertake extra digital applied sciences,” says Witsanu Attavanich, Affiliate Professor of Economics at Kasetsart College and an FAO lead marketing consultant.
“We will apply the Web of Issues (sensible digital functions) in planting and harvesting processes. All of this could generate extra revenue for each farmers and the neighborhood,” says Witsanu. His workforce of professors from the agriculture and engineering schools will help the farmers in each agricultural and technological areas.
Regardless of members’ willpower, the farm faces challenges. The primary one is restricted house. Additionally, the farm can’t meet market demand due to inconsistencies in manufacturing.
It’s Witsanu’s job to seek out sustainable enterprise fashions not just for Farm Samart however for 2 different DVI farms in Nonthaburi and Chumphon provinces.
For Farm Samart, the professor says he plans to collaborate with native authorities companies and villagers in close by communities with a purpose to improve land, manpower and ultimately, manufacturing to fulfill the demand. Witsanu additionally plans to implement a long-term marketing strategy in an try and nudge extra folks to hitch the undertaking.
On the technological facet, he says that the workforce can even discover further sensible instruments from the Web of Issues to raised help the farmers and be certain that no matter they undertake retains up with rising expertise.
Though “the appliance (that runs the watering system) may be very superior,” as it will probably assist sensors for air temperature, humidity ranges in air and soil, and light-weight depth, Rittirong says that “we aren’t there but” as a result of the farmers nonetheless lack data about expertise, soil, pests and ailments in greens.
The digital sprinkler system watering the greens. Credit score: Pattama Kuentak/IPS
Witsanu says coaching on agriculture, expertise and enterprise shall be offered to each the farmers at Farm Samart and close by villagers. That info shall be collected in a information on the finish of the undertaking.
Khoen has a imaginative and prescient of the affiliation changing into a studying centre with a small cafe promoting drinks and wholesome meals made with greens from the farm. He hopes to set an instance for different associations and surrounding communities.
Though it’s nonetheless on the nascent stage, “I’m proud (of the farm) as a result of it proves that disabled folks can develop greens like regular farmers,” he says.
A world initiative impressed by FAO’s Director-Common, Mr QU Dongyu, the DVI is being piloted within the Asia-Pacific area. This village is amongst many being showcased and sharing its developments with different villages and areas in Asia and the Pacific, in addition to different areas of the world.
© Inter Press Service (2022) — All Rights ReservedUnique supply: Inter Press Service
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