Rice cultivation is one of the main pillars of Thai agriculture. On top of the growing adverse impacts of climate change, Covid-19 considerably weakened the entire sector. And with it, the very stability of numerous farming families.

In partnership with a client specializing in supply chains, experts at Ksapa took an active part in mainstreaming good agricultural practices. That way, the program sought to improve smallholder resilience through targeted participatory training programs adapted to the local context.

KEY challengeS

This program was carried out hand in hand with the core client’s sustainability team. Such a configuration allowed our experts to fully understand the salient issues of the rice supply chain and address them through the combination of the following approaches:

  • Evaluating the productivity of rice with a target of increasing yields by 10% per year, cutting production costs by 20% and ultimately increasing farmers’ net income by 15%;
  • Encouraging intercropping of core and complementary cash crops, circular economy opportunities, water savings, soil regeneration and carbon tracking, with a view to ultimately improve farmers’ environmental footprint;
  • Boost positive impact on local populations through the integration of young workers and women in the corresponding economic activities.

OUR APPROACH

The proposed approach was intended to be as holistic as possible. As such, the program relied on a identification, classification and solution delivery tryptic implemented as follows:

  1. 360-degree analysis both on and off the cultivation plot. Our expert proceeded by drawing up an inventory of key constraints and challenges faced by rice smallholders in Thailand. This involved collecting and triangulating bibliographic data and key learnings from likeminded past projects. Quantitative and qualitative data was then collected through questionnaires and on-site interviews with producers in order to establish a market history study in 3 target areas across the client’s 3 priority commodities (coffee, cotton, rice);
  2. Methodology definition. Our expert was instrumental in designing a typology of farmers based on the results of the above 360-degree diagnosis. This proved key in identifying priority levers for change corresponding to each farmer category.

Win-win solutions development. Key solutions were identified for each of the priority farmer categories, emphasizing their respective feasibility and adaptability.

RESULTS & NEXT STEPS

The project is now expected to undergo a scale up phase thanks to the replication of this pilot project in further geographies.

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hatim issoufaly
PROGRAMS DIRECTOR

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