Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MAC) is working with the Thai Rubber Board on a sustainable rubber plantation small farming project to encourage coffee planting in rubber plantation areas, said MAC's Permanent Undersecretary Apai, according to a July 10 news release. Rubber plantation farmers participating in the program will receive a grant of 10,000 baht per acre, not exceeding 10 acres per farm, to reduce the area under rubber cultivation. The program is expected to promote coffee cultivation on 10,000 acres with an estimated production of about 3,000 tons.
In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives has formulated a policy to encourage the replacement of corn and farming with coffee cultivation in 17 provinces in the northern region, such as Rai Hing, Muang Phu, Chiang Mai, Phetchabun, Lampang and Chiang Rai, in order to solve the problem of 2.5-micron particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution from the burning of crop residues. The goal is to promote 200,000 acres of coffee cultivation with an expected production of 60,000 tons.
"Thailand needs about 80,000 tons of coffee beans (raw beans) annually, of which 20,000 tons can be produced domestically and the remaining 60,000 tons need to be imported. Therefore, promoting farmers to grow coffee will help replace imports and boost exports if production is large enough."
Apai said the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives had commissioned the Agricultural Research and Development Office (a private organization) to develop a complete research project on replacing imported coffee production, which is divided into a starting phase, the development of varieties and production technology, the mid-term phase of harvesting technology and processing technology and the final phase of the market aspect.