Organic agriculture is not a recent phenomenon. Local Thai farmers have practiced traditional farming for hundred of years. Such practices have been developed and enriched through farmers' knowledge of local agro-ecology and environmentally sustainable way of farming. Despite the imposition of modern agriculture, traditional farms continue to exist and local indigenous knowledge of sustainable farming remains. The survival of these farms is the source of the revitalization of modern organic agriculture in Thailand today.
The Thai organic agriculture is part of the larger sustainable agriculture movement, initiated by farmers and local non-government organizations (NGOs) since 1980s. The Alternative Agriculture Network (AAN) was established in 1984 as a national network and provides main discussion forum of experience sharing and policy advocacy for sustainable agriculture, including organic farming.
As organic agriculture gains more and more momentum in recent years, several organizations specializing in organic agriculture have also emerged. Many organic production projects have been initiated by producer organizations, private companies, exporters and even NGOs. Also, a national private certification body, the Organic Agriculture Certification Thailand or ACT (founded in 1995) was also set up to provide professional organic certification services for all farm production as well as processing and handling operations.
An estimate of 8,958 hectares of farmlands are now under organic management. This represented around 0.04% of the total farmlands. Thai organic agriculture is at early stage and productions are dominated by primary food products, e.g. rice and fresh vegetables. Several initiatives, either by private sector or by NGOs, have focused on diversification to new organic products like medicinal herb, tropical fruits, shrimp and even palm oils.
The government policies towards organic farming are generally favourable. Though no direct subsidy for organic farming is offered, the Thai government has focused its attention mainly on developing national standards, certification and accreditation. This has made little helps towards the organic production where the main constraints are.
Critical factors influencing the success of organic agriculture in Thailand would include building domestic markets, developing effective extension scheme to reach small-scale farmers, inventing appropriate post-harvest technology, and strengthening to collaboration between the public and private sector.
