NAKHON PHANOM — A female farmer from Nakhon Phanom in northeastern Thailand has learned innovative methods to add value to rice in order to increase her income, and has transformed herself into a rice-processing entrepreneur with solar drying systems.
Nim-Anong Kaewpaisan, the founder of Phetpaisankamkhun Co, Ltd, started with a piece of family farmland used for rice cultivation. However, selling paddy rice to middlemen did not provide sufficient income for a sustainable livelihood. She then decided to return to her roots and look for ways to increase the income from rice cultivation.
In 2015, twelve rice farmers from Ban Huai Hai founded the Ban Huai Hai Agricultural Product Processing Community Enterprise. They started to grow organic rice and process rice products such as brown rice, sprouted rice and milled sprouted rice to increase their income.
In 2018, the group expanded into a large-scale farming community called “Ban Huai Hai Large-Scale Farming” in Ban Kho Subdistrict, where 53 members grow organic rice on 939 rai.
In 2021, Nim-Anong founded Phetpaisankamkhun Co., Ltd. to support and purchase organic rice from the members for processing and marketing, including exporting rice and processing other agricultural products. Today, members are spread across all districts of Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon provinces, including Kusuman, Phon Na Kaeo and Khok Si Suphan districts.
Ban Huai Hai Agricultural Product Efficiency Learning Center received a budget of 739,658 baht ($22k) from the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund in 2022 to install an 8×20.8 meter solar drying system and use biomass ovens to dry rice products.
Traditionally, rice was dried in the sun, which required large areas of land that many farmers lacked. The produce was often contaminated by insects, dust or rain, resulting in inferior products and delays in meeting market demand.
However, with the introduction of the solar drying system by the community, product quality improved. The rice became less moist, was free of insects, mold and fungi and had a pleasant fragrance. The drying time was significantly reduced, allowing two drying cycles per day, which increased production efficiency.
The community processes a variety of organic rice products such as sprouted jasmine rice, sprouted rice with rice berries, sprouted rice with black glutinous rice, ground sprouted rice, brown jasmine rice, brown rice with rice berries, brown rice with black glutinous rice, ground jasmine rice powder, ground rice berry rice powder, black glutinous rice powder, dried bananas and dried sweetened pineapple. Initially, they only produced sprouted rice and brown jasmine rice.
All products are certified organic by Bio Agri Search (Thailand) Co, Ltd. The Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) also guarantees that the group’s products are sugar-free, making them suitable for diabetics, people with high blood pressure and pregnant women with toxemia, as well as people who require tube feeding.
Due to the diversification of rice products, the price of the group’s rice is higher than the normal market price. For example, the price of jasmine rice is 1 baht per kilogram higher, while other rice varieties are 3-4 baht per kilogram more expensive. Colored rice is bought for 18 baht per kilogram. This has increased the income of community members by around 30 percent as they no longer have to sell the normal paddy rice.
The group also guarantees its members the price of Grade A rice at 18 baht per kilogram, Grade B at 17 baht and Grade C at 16 baht every year. This price guarantee increases the members’ income from farming and protects them from market fluctuations. If rice prices rise, the group adjusts accordingly.
They also process rice into nutritional supplements such as rice powder drinks with kale, instant drinks made from brown sprouted rice powder, banana powder drinks and lemongrass pandan leaf powder drinks. These products are developed using clean, standardized processes and with the support of various government agencies.
The Group currently supplies products to exporters in several countries, including the UK, Hong Kong, China and California, USA. Exports include 48 tons of rice germ per year at 150,000 baht per ton, 300 tons of white rice per year at 500,000 baht per ton, 12 tons of colored rice per year at 25,000 baht per ton and 250 tons of paddy rice per year at 20,000 baht per ton.
They also buy non-organic rice to sell to Thai jasmine rice exporters, which amounts to about 1,500 tons per year.
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