10 INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURE
A fruitful education – Changing the lives of durian smallholders through agricultural training sessions Bayer
As par t of Bayer’s commitment to food security and sustainability and the company’s support for more than 100 million smallholder farmers in developing countries by 2030, Bayer aims to provide greater access to sustainable agricultural solutions.
The BayG.A.P. service programme, a collaboration between Bayer, Kasetsart University and the Thai Department of Agriculture, Region 6, supports farmers in their efforts to be certified and connected to the food value chain. The Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P.) programme was introduced in Thailand in 2019. Since then, hundreds of smallholders, have attended BayG.A.P. training sessions and fast-tracked their local G.A.P. certification process. When China announced new certification requirements for durian fruit imports in July 2019, Thai farmers were left unsure of how to adhere to the new, strict regulations on the use of crop protection products, soil quality control, water use and more. However, if they want to continue to expor t fruit to China, meeting these regulations is necessary. Access to the Chinese market is crucial for Thai smallholder farmers is crucial, since China is the largest importer of Thai durian and therefore provides a major source of income. In addition, Chinese consumers rely on these transactions as Thailand supplies 80 per cent of fresh durian, their favourite delicacy, each year.
Challenging beliefs through training As of today, more than 1,000 farmers in Chanthaburi, an important durian growing area in Thailand, and other nearby provinces have participated in ongoing BayG.A.P. training sessions. BayG.A.P. designs its modules as straightforward, hands-on experiences. The training includes a mixture of theory discussions and in-field demonstrations together with exercises and an examination at the end of each module to evaluate the par ticipants’ comprehensiveness.
UPDATE 2/2021
