By Dr Suranant Subhadrabanhu Chairman of the Working Committee of the First Asian Regional Round Table on Sustainable Organic/Specialty Coffee Production, Processing and Marketing
Distinguished Guests, Colleagues from the Royal Project Foundation, the Organizing Committee, participants and delegates to this First Asian Regional Round Table on Sustainable Organic/Specialty Coffee Production, Processing and Marketing, Ladies and Gentleman.
It is my priviledge and honour, on behalf of the Organizing Committee to have the opportunity of organizing this First Asian Regional Round Table on Sustainable Organic/Specialty Coffee Production, Processing and Utilization.
This Round Table is a first for the Asian region on Sustainable, Organic and Specialty coffee, and we of the Royal Project Foundation are pleased to be able to join with the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific of FAO in organizing this meeting.
Coffee is widely grown by hilltribe farmers in the Royal Project Foundation areas, in the highlands of northern Thailand. The crop itself has been researched and new varieties and production technologies have been extended to local farmers for many years. I see this meeting as a prime opportunity to share our experiences and exchange information on sustainable coffee production, processing and marketing with delegates from Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, East Timor, Myanmar and Thailand. I hope that during these three days, participants gathering here will get together, use their expertize to discuss and share information to help in solving the problems confronting the coffee industry in this Asian region.
Now, many I have the honour of inviting, Dr Santhad Rojanasoonthon, Chairman of the Research Section, the Royal Project Foundation to officially open the First Asian Regional Round Table on Sustainable, Organic/Specialty Coffee Production, Processing and Marketing.
Dr Santhad Rojanasoonthon please.
