Jarun Jaroensab received the World Food Day Asia-Pacific Model Farmer award from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand.

Successful farmers are often those who possess three particular qualities. They are industrious, committed and clever. Jarun Jaroensap of Thailand is exactly that type of person.

In recognition, Jarun was presented today with the FAO’s World Food Day Model Farmer Award for his success as an organic entrepreneur and businessman.

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who presided over the annual event, presented the FAO’s annual Asia-Pacific award to Jarun and three other farmers from Bhutan, the Philippines and Tonga. All received the awards for their outstanding achievements in agriculture and food production.

From the time he was a child in western Ratchaburi province, Jarun wanted to be a farmer. But as a teenager, he decided a career as a civil servant would be more financially stable. There was just one problem: his parents could not afford to send him to university because their five-rai (0.8 hectare) farm was saddled with debt.

Despite the financial challenges, Jarun was determined to succeed. His instinct told him there had to be a way to farm in a manner that would be free from debt. He did some research and found a book by Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adjulyadej on his Sufficiency Theory of farming.

His Majesty King Bhumibol’s theory advocates a diversified approach to farming, rather than mono cropping for cash, and encourages what are essentially organic methods for sustainability and freedom from borrowing.

Jarun thought the ideas were great and turned to Kasetsart University and the Department of Agriculture for advice on implementation of the practices. He later shared what he was learning with other farmers in his village of Rang Si Mok. At first, using organic methods, yields were low. “It was hard,” Jarun says, “and many of my neighbors gave up.” But not Jarun.

Before long, his yields were high and his farm was self-sufficient. Nonetheless, he and his neighbors were still at the mercy of the market. They grew rice and other crops in the belief that demand was strong. All too often, however, oversupply brought low prices, losses and hardship.

Jarun needed to make wiser choices about what to grow, and he needed a marketing plan to understand how to effectively sell. In search of ideas, he went to work for one of Thailand’s largest agro-industrial companies. With no degree, however, he could only get a job as a janitor. Industrious and clever, Jarun made the most of it. He watched. He listened. He learned. After three months he had developed a business plan, quit his janitor job, and started growing organic asparagus and baby corn, selling the produce at a market just north of Bangkok.

It wasn’t long before buyers who distribute in Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and other countries discovered Jarun’s high-quality organic vegetables. And with his knowledge about marketing, packaging, food safety and international standards he was ready for the next big move. His problem now was growing enough to meet demand, even though his farm has expanded to 30 rai (about 5 hectares). 

Today, Jarun trains other farmers. He is a member of working groups on sustainable methods at two prestigious universities, and is the chairman of the Safe Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Group in his district.

He also managed to put himself through university, earning a degree in political administration. Jarun says he has no desire to be a politician. “I just want to understand how to make government work better for farmers,’’ he says.

The annual award ceremony is part of FAO’s Asia-Pacific 2013 observance of World Food Day, marking the 68th anniversary of the founding of FAO in Quebec City, Canada on 16 October 1945. The theme for this year’s World Food Day is Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition. This reflects the FAO concept that healthy people depend on healthy food systems. A food system is composed of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and delivered to consumers. Every aspect of the food system affects the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious food and the ability of consumers to choose healthy diets.

In addition to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, the World Food Day observance included a keynote address by Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, H.E. Yukol Limlamthong, other senior Thai government officials, Bangkok-based members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of UN Agencies and civil society organizations were also in attendance.

The observance included a welcome statement by Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant Director-General for Asia and the Pacific, who said, “I am pleased to report that the latest FAO food insecurity figures show that the number of hungry people in the world is continuing to decline slowly; down this year from 868 million to 842 million. While this is good news, it still means one person in every eight is undernourished.”