Strengthening
agricultural research-extension linkages in Thailand
Of
the $166 million government spending in 2009 on Research and Development
(R&D), $109 million was for agricultural R&D. Crop production
research is conducted by the Department of Agriculture and research output is transferred
to beneficiaries by DOAE. Research and extension on livestock and fisheries are
carried out by the Department of Livestock and Department of Fisheries,
respectively.
Ms. Dissataporn
said farmers are regarded as end users of research and innovation developed by
the Department of Agriculture which are disseminated at national, regional,
provincial and district levels through training courses, demonstration plots,
exhibitions, field visits, seminars and mobile extension clinics. Research
topics are usually identified by DOAE, though, in some cases, other research
centres share their work with DOAE for transferring to farmers.
DOAE
is emphasizing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in research-extension systems
on food security and nutrition and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) with a research institute to promote GAP. The MOU has set up a GAP Committee
to formulate policies and identify pilot projects. The research institute is also
a GAP inspector, evaluating agricultural practices. Farmers passing the
evaluation are eligible for a GAP certificate from the Department of
Agriculture.
Challenges
to GAP implementation include inadequate extension agents and staff calibre. The
inability of economic research to prove financial returns on GAP means farmers
have low incentive to adopt GAP.
The presentation was followed by open house discussion with comments and questions from the
floor focused on research-extension roles in responding to climate change and
declining investment in extension. It
was pointed out that Thailand has conducted agricultural carbon footprint research
focused on export-oriented products.
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