Bang Bua Thong: Narumon highlights the strengths of Thailand’s agricultural sector, pushing forward with a proactive policy to develop a ‘low-carbon food system’ on the First Movers Coalition stage organized by the World Economic Forum, stating that Thailand is ready to cooperate at the global level to create a sustainable and fair food system for the future. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Narumon Pinyosinwat, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, revealed after chairing the opening of the regional meeting “First Movers Coalition: Regional Meeting on Aggregated Global Market Demand for Low-Emission Agricultural Commodities” that Thailand, as an agricultural country, has an important role in driving the “climate-smart food system” that emits low carbon by emphasizing the creation of common standards, traceability systems, appropriate financial mechanisms, and cooperation at both the regional and global levels.
According to Thai News Agency, the First Movers Coalition for Food (FMC for Food) is an initiative by the World Economic Forum in December 2023 to accelerate the transition to a low-emission agricultural production system, particularly in six key product groups: rice, field crops, beef, milk, soybeans, and palm oil, which account for 70% of food sector greenhouse gas emissions. There are currently more than 50 partners worldwide, covering four product groups: beef, milk, rice, and field crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat.
The Minister of Agriculture added that Thailand has an important model from the Thai Rice NAMA project, which helps increase farmers’ income, save water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Alternate Wet and Dry (AWD) rice cultivation technique, which has reached more than 25,000 farmers in the central region. It is moving into a new phase with the “Thai Rice: Strengthening Climate-Smart Rice Farming Project” worth 118 million euros, supported by the Green Climate Fund and global private sector partners such as Mars, PepsiCo, Olam Agri, and Ebro Foods, to expand access to smart farming technologies to more than 250,000 farmers.
Thailand remains committed to driving proactive policies, technological innovations, and cooperation between the government, farmers, and the business sector to develop sustainable agricultural systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support small-scale farmers to grow in a green economy. Let today’s meeting be a symbol of our shared commitment to transform the food system for future generations, said the Minister of Agriculture.