"Suriya" urgently directed "Srawut" to advance the Ban Khok Kham beef cattle community enterprise in Nong Khai, aiming to upgrade agricultural products to high value by promoting a meticulous raising model and supporting standardized slaughterhouses.
Mr. Srawut Nueangjamnong, Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, revealed after visiting and monitoring the operations of the Ban Khok Kham beef cattle community enterprise in Nong Khai Province, to jointly establish development guidelines and promote the farmers' group towards becoming a high-value agricultural product. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, under the main policy “Innovative Agriculture for Sustainable Thai Farmers,” aims to shift traditional agriculture to modern technology or Precision Farming, increase income and develop farmer potential through value-added processing, and prepare farmers to keep up with new global trade rules. This is alongside enhancing capabilities via Reskill and Upskill courses to transform farmers into skilled agricultural entrepreneurs, from technology use to household accounting management, including market-led production to address overproduction and price drops by aligning production planning with true market demand. The Ban Khok Kham beef cattle community enterprise is a successful model, evolving from traditional free-range cattle raising to a “refined feedlot system” alongside strong group management, with Mr. Sunthorn Panurak as group chairman and Ms. Jiraporn Duangdee as secretary and accounting officer playing key roles in managing data and production cost accounting.
During this visit, guidelines were provided aligned with the ministry's policy covering the entire production system in three phases, including:
Upstream: cost reduction and standardization. The Nong Khai Provincial Livestock Office was assigned to promote knowledge about animal feed management and raising skills to control costs and establish hygienic farm standards.
Midstream: infrastructure. Considering proposals from the farmers' group, economic feasibility will be assessed with related agencies to support a “standard slaughterhouse” locally, with attention to long-term management capacity.
Downstream: processing innovation and marketing. Plans include integrating efforts with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Industry to develop products like fermented meat and sun-dried beef tailored to modern consumer market needs, and linking logistics routes.
“The Ban Khok Kham beef cattle community enterprise has strong potential and readiness in all aspects. The Ministry of Agriculture is fully committed to support elevating this area to be a learning center and a high-value livestock model in Nong Khai Province, creating stable and sustainable income,” Mr. Srawut stated.
He also emphasized the importance of “production-led accounting,” collaborating with the Nong Khai Cooperative Auditing Office to develop financial skills for group members, enabling them to understand true costs, ensure transparency, and strengthen the grassroots economy for steady growth.
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