The Deputy Minister of Agriculture has issued a policy to elevate cooperatives across the country, highlighting the use of technology and innovation to reduce costs and increase the value of agricultural products, aiming to solve debt problems and sustainably improve farmers' lives.
Ms. Piyaratch Tiyapairat, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives. She revealed after chairing the opening of the project meeting on driving the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ policy to strengthen cooperatives and farmer groups that cooperatives and farmer groups are key mechanisms for developing the agricultural sector and grassroots economy. They play a role in promoting production, marketing, management, improving members' quality of life, and strengthening farmers. The ministry thus prioritizes enhancing the capacity of cooperatives and farmer groups to manage efficiently with good governance, applying technology and innovation in operations, and connecting collaborative networks across sectors. The goal is to build farmers' and agricultural institutions' capacity to adapt to change, promote added value of agricultural products, reduce production costs, and improve farmers' quality of life in all aspects.
“I have issued policy guidelines for working together to strengthen cooperatives and drive work according to government policies. Work must be integrated with agencies within the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to enable cooperatives to be competitive and recognized. I urge everyone to push government policies into tangible practice. This meeting is an important opportunity to convey policies, exchange views, monitor progress, and jointly set directions aligned with the ministry’s policies. I emphasize working together to upgrade cooperatives in development, business promotion, and supervision to prevent operational problems, as well as listening to and resolving farmers’ difficulties,” said Deputy Minister Piyaratch.
. Mr. Nirun Multhida, Director-General of the Department of Cooperative Promotion. He said the purpose of this meeting is to build knowledge and understanding about the ministry’s policy directions and to monitor the implementation of key plans and projects of the Department of Cooperative Promotion. It also aims to exchange ideas and experiences in field-level work to foster integrated cooperation that leads to practical implementation. The department will drive work according to government policies by focusing on developing strong cooperatives and farmer groups, upgrading cooperative capacity, supporting production and marketing equipment, encouraging cooperatives to support members’ occupations to increase income, resolving debt problems, and improving members’ quality of life. Good governance is the main guideline, alongside applying technology and innovation in cooperative operations and developing standardized agricultural production and processing. This will create jobs and sustainable income in communities, leading to a stable agricultural sector in Thailand.
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