Green Management Model for Eco-farm in Thailand

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the potential of a local community in producing organic crops and to develop patterns of green management. The instruments employed for data collection included field surveys, in-depth interviews, questionnaires, observations, focus group discussions and a community seminar at Mae-Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The results were that the community had the potential to produce organic plants, as it situates mostly on a flatland by the mountain, with fertile soil abundantly filled with minerals and nutrients. In terms of social dimension, people in the community had three sets of knowledge, namely, organic plantation management, economic community, and the new Theory of Sufficiency Economy. Integrating with their economic and marketing network, they consequently formulated the SALUANG Model which illustrates knowledge and experience sharing of all stakeholders in the agricultural management, transparency of the management that allows everyone to be aware of the original sources and all the process that meet quality and safety standards, integration of local wisdom with modern knowledge that emphasizes in environmentally friendly toxin-free agriculture and participatory resources conservation, understanding of customer needs, accessibility to the knowledge body by focusing at information exchange among members and with outsiders, establishment of a collaborative network comprising farmers who favor green agriculture, good governance, and well-being of the community.