Integrated Farms and Sustainable Agriculture of the Royal Projects in Thailand

摘要

The Royal Chitralada Projects are research and experimental projects aimed at agricultural development and sustainable agriculture. Data and research results are collected and made available to farmers and the general public. The Projects strive to adapt basic scientific knowledge and modern technologies with available resources in the local environment. In the Royal Chitralada Projects, the emphasis is placed on making a maximum use of combined agricultural inputs and wastes. This method has considerably reduced production costs. For example, the soilless culture of plants uses locally-available materials such as rice husks and coconut coirs as substrates, and plastic sheets as containers. In addition, we have a medium-sized agroindustry which is suitable for the country, as it does not require heavy investments and allows "full-cycle production". The Royal Chitralada's diary project demonstrates a good example. Dairy farmers may start with raising cows in small plots of land, then form themselves into groups along the lines of cooperatives and set up a small plant to process milk. The manure, a by-product, can be utilized to fertilize the fodder grass or to produce biogas. Other Royal Chitralada agroindustry projects include the fruit juice pilot project and the honey products project.