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KHLONG SONG, Thailand, Jul 06 (IPS) – Hidden in Pathumthaini province simply outdoors 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 big open greenhouse that sits in the back of the land. In a small grass subject 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 crammed with seedlings of a wide range of salad greens, nonetheless too small to acknowledge. The soil is roofed with rice straw to guard the younger vegetation.
Ten years in the past, Khoen Sapanyabut based the affiliation to highlight the rights to schooling and employment of differently-abled folks. The land, donated by the temple, sits virtually two kilometres from the primary freeway. One facet of the tree-lined street is flanked by a canal that’s dotted with poor neighborhood houses 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 deal with. He selected vegetable-growing. “Handicapped folks have completely different abilities. Some are good at pc or fixing gadgets. However rising greens is an exercise that everybody can do, even with out correct schooling,” 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, as a result of restricted area, 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 help, together with the greenhouse.
The farm now has 28 raised beds in whole. All are designed to a sure peak to accommodate wheel-chaired farmers. The aisles are accessible by wheelchairs too.
At the moment the farm grows pink 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 chargeable for the farm’s day-to-day paperwork. She additionally does accounting and generally helps the farmers put together and plant the seeds. Rawan says the job has boosted her working life as a disabled particular person as a result of she significantly likes doing administration.
It has additionally made her more healthy. “I discovered it laborious to eat greens earlier than. Now I’ve come to love butterhead lettuce and normally add it within the salad.” Not solely do natural greens style higher than chemically grown ones, Rawan provides, “I really feel protected consuming them figuring out that it is one hundred pc natural.”
Praset Raitim (left) and Khoen Sapanyabut harvest bok choy. Credit score: Pattama Kuentak/IPS
One extra increase got here within the type of a partnership between the farm and the Thai Authorities’s Digital Financial system Promotion Company. Rittirong Chutapruttikorn, dean of the Faculty of Structure at Bangkok College, who led the design of the greenhouse, says that he was in search of methods to make the farmers’ lives simpler. He had seen how tending to the crops, resembling 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 utility. Automated water sprinklers have 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 among two folks tasked with accessing the app by way of his cellphone. He tells IPS that utilizing the automated water sprinklers is extra handy as he would not need to hold monitoring and watering veggies all day. It additionally prevents soil spattering, which might deplete vitamins.
Prasert, 56, notes that good irrigation is not going to solely save water however cash too, particularly as utility prices are rising.
Farm Samart, is a part of the Digital Initiative Village (DVI) challenge 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 method to encourage the farmers to undertake extra digital applied sciences,” says Witsanu Attavanich, Affiliate Professor of Economics at Kasetsart College and an FAO lead guide.
“We will apply the Web of Issues (sensible digital functions) in planting and harvesting processes. All of this could generate extra earnings for each farmers and the neighborhood,” says Witsanu. His crew of professors from the agriculture and engineering colleges will help the farmers in each agricultural and technological areas.
Regardless of members’ dedication, the farm faces challenges. The primary one is restricted area. Additionally, the farm can not meet market demand due to inconsistencies in manufacturing.
It’s Witsanu’s job to search 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 businesses and villagers in close by communities so as to improve land, manpower and finally, manufacturing to fulfill the demand. Witsanu additionally plans to implement a long-term marketing strategy in an try to nudge extra folks to hitch the challenge.
On the technological facet, he says that the crew can even discover extra sensible instruments from the Web of Issues to raised help the farmers and be certain that no matter they undertake retains up with rising know-how.
Though “the appliance (that runs the watering system) may be very superior,” as it could help sensors for air temperature, humidity ranges in air and soil, and lightweight depth, Rittirong says that “we aren’t there but” as a result of the farmers nonetheless lack data about know-how, soil, pests and ailments in greens.
The digital sprinkler system watering the greens. Credit score: Pattama Kuentak/IPS
Witsanu says coaching on agriculture, know-how and enterprise will likely be supplied to each the farmers at Farm Samart and close by villagers. That info will likely be collected in a information on the finish of the challenge.
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 worldwide initiative impressed by FAO’s Director-Normal, 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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