Bangkok Bank organizes “Modern Agriculture Fair 2023” to showcase quality agricultural products while emphasizing its status as a “trusted partner” and recommending the use of innovation to create
“Smart Farming” to support the Thai agricultural sector to reach international standards
December 22, 2023
Bangkok Bank is organizing Modern Agriculture Fair 2023 to showcase a selection of export-quality Thai agricultural products from 56 stores, including innovative, healthy and local community agricultural products for shoppers to buy as gifts for their loved ones during the New Year festival, with spending at the event expected to be more than 3 million baht. To share knowledge with Thai farmers about Smart Farming the Bank has also organized the Modern Agriculture Fair 2023 seminar at Bangkok Bank’s Head Office on Silom Road, on Friday, December 22, from 8:30 a.m. onwards.
Bangkok Bank Executive Director Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj said that theme of the 2023 Modern Agriculture Fair is “modern technology, proper management towards sustainable development”. This year 56 stores will join the event which is divided into innovative agricultural products, community products, and health-related agricultural products. Export quality products will be sold at special prices at the event such as orchids and ornamental plants, orchid ornaments, macadamia nuts, fresh and processed strawberries, salad vegetables from Plant Factory, kale bread, Sai Nam Phueng orange, melon, honey, export quality Golden Nam Dok Mai mangoes, Tubtim Siam pomelo, Khao Nam Phueng pomelo, Thongdee pomelo, cooked sea bass, northern Thai sausage, specially selected quality chicken eggs, vegetable tofu, products from avocado oil, Thai spicy fermented fish, goat milk products, processed meat and fruit products, various cooked foods, etc. More than 2,000 visitors are expected with spending of more than 3 million baht at the event.
The Modern Agriculture project was the initiative of the former Executive Chairman of Bangkok Bank Mr. Kosit Panpiemras and was launched in 1999 as with the aim of developing and upgrading Thailand's agricultural sector. In the first phase the Bank focused on working with relevant government and private agencies to reduce risks in various fields for farmers while helping them to increase the quality of their produce. In the second phase the Bank supported networking for marketing and production. The Bank also facilitated business matching between producers and exporters with exhibitions of machinery and opportunities for farmers to showcase their products directly to consumers at the Modern Agriculture Fair. In the third phase the Bank is encouraging Thai farmers to adopt Smart Farming, including the use of technology to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural products while reducing costs and increasing the competitiveness of Thai agricultural products in the global market.
“Thailand is an agricultural country with more than 7.7 million farming households making up a significant portion of Thailand’s income so the agricultural sector needs to be strong and sustainable. Over the past 24 years, Bangkok Bank has gone beyond financial services to encourage farmers to continuously adjust and develop to improve their income and quality of life. In this third phase, or the era of innovation, developments will heavily rely on science and technology. Bangkok Bank continues to strengthen the agricultural sector and works with the government and the private sector to support Thai farmers to adopt smart farming and precision farming while helping them to create zero waste and environmental consciousness,” said Dr. Pichet.
Bangkok Bank also organized the Modern Agriculture 2023 award ceremony to honor Thai farmers and encourage them to adapt their farming practices and use technology to increase productivity. The awards are in three categories as follows:
- Outstanding technology adoption is awarded to Mr. Suwit Traichok, Managing Director of Navita Foods from Bang Sai district, Ayutthaya. Mr. Suwit owns a melon farm and pioneered a technique to grow premium graded Japanese melons outdoors using IOT technology. His company can sell melons domestically and internationally all year round.
- Outstanding agricultural supply chain management is awarded to Mr. Soonthorn Sritawee, Managing Director of Blue River Products from Ban Pong district, Ratchaburi. The company produces and exports fresh produce to international markets. Mr. Soonthorn built a systematically strong agricultural supply chain which enables quality control across in every part of the process up to exporting the produce. This efficiently adds value to agricultural products.
- Outstanding young farmer is awarded to Mr. Thitipong Jongmailuck, Director and Manager of Chiangmai Fresh Products from Fang district, Chiang Mai. Mr. Thitipong is a young farmer and the second generation owner of Jongluck Orange Grove. He manages this family business by focusing on enhancing product quality, reducing operational cost using technology and analytics and developing new marketing channels to sell the products nationwide.
On behalf of the Modern Agriculture 2023 awardees, Mr. Suwit Traichok, Managing Director of Navita Foods and founder of FarmConnect Asia said he became interested in adopting innovation to grow melons 20 years ago inspired by his trip to Israel. The existing technology in Thailand at that time couldn’t do what he wanted so he worked with the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPPA), the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the National Innovation Agency (NIA) to find a solution. With the financial support and advice of Bangkok Bank, he was able to successfully develop a smart control system. This measures humidity, temperature and nutrients in the soil and displays results in real time via mobile phone as well as advising on the appropriate amount of watering or fertilizing for the plants' needs. After more than four years, the yield had increased to a consistent level of 90 percent Grade A quality melons, which could be sold at a higher price and meet the demands in the market.
“Many Thai farmers have become more interested in adopting innovation but numbers are still small compared to the total number of farmers in the system and most of them may not understand and use it correctly. The government should support and educate farmers so they can move beyond traditional farming practices to digital agriculture as now Thai agricultural products must be high quality so they can attract high prices as premium products. If farmers do not adjust, they will not be able to compete with foreign agricultural products that have lower costs. We therefore want to be a part of driving the government and Thai farmers to see the importance of this issue," Mr. Suwit said.
This is the first year the Bank has organized the Modern Agriculture 2023 seminar to provide knowledge to farmers, entrepreneurs and the public that will enable them to respond to rapid changes such as climate change, technology, stricter global trade regulations, and consumer behavior. The seminar topics included “Thai agricultural direction in the era of digital technology” by Pongthep Akratanakul, Ph.D., a Senior Expert from Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, Kasetsart University Kamphaeng Saen campus, “THEOS-2 Satellite and Agricultural Sector Development” by Siam Lawawirojwong, Ph.D., the Director Office of Geo-Informatic Management and Solutions, Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (Public Organization), “Water Resource Management for Drought” by Royboon Rassamethes, Ph.D., the Director of Hydro-Informatics Institute (Public Organization) and “Thai Agricultural Sector and the Impacts of Climate Change” by Assoc. Prof. Witsanu Attavanich, Ph.D., the Deputy Director of the Center for Applied Economics Research, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University. There was also a 'Three Modern Farmers 2023' discussion by winners of the 2023 Bangkok Bank’s Modern Agriculture Award, namely Mr. Suwit Traichok, Managing Director of Navita Foods, Mr. Soonthorn Sritawee, Managing Director of Blue River Products, and Mr. Thitipong Jongmailak, Director Manager of Chiang Mai Fresh Products.
Interested members of the public can buy quality agricultural products at the Modern Agriculture Fair 2023 on Friday December 22, 2023 at the Bangkok Bank’s Head Office on Silom Road from 08:30 – 17:30 hrs and join the Modern Agriculture Fair 2023 seminar from 12:15–16:00 hrs at Komut room on the 29th floor of Bangkok Bank’s Head Office.
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