Special Report for Andaman News NBT (VHF dial) + FM90.5 Radio Thailand at 8.30am & perhaps relays/repeats on local Cable TV channel 1, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces, & possibly FM108 Mazz Radio 7.30pm in Phuket, Wednesday 3 September 2008 & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ Send comments to AndamanNews@yahoo.com
Intro: It's almost ten years since traditional rice farming seemed to disappear from Phuket. Just on Monday a pilot plot was introduced as a learning centre for the younger generation. Our Thai reporter who is a local, but does not have a clue of how to farm rice, was assigned by the editor to cover the activity. So she said she may as well join in to get a first hand experience. Let's see how she did:
Tape: Being notified of a conventional rice farming activity which involved local villagers, officials and children, our Thai editor assigned our reporter Chantima Somkhan to cover the news as usual. The activity was organized by the provincial Agriculture and Cooperatives Office aiming at educating young people about rice farming so that they can appreciate the rice farmers who had been the nation's so-called 'back bone' until industrial and other developments over grew them.
She said 'I'm in the rice paddy within the community learning centre and I will learn along about the conventional rice farming which faded away from Phuket almost 10 years ago.'
The Mai Khao village located in Thalang district, north of Phuket, is one area where we can still see some buffalo and rice fields. A 20 rai rice paddy belonging to local villagers were designated as a community learning centre for interested farmers. When the harvest comes, the benefit will be shared.
She said: 'This is mud and these are saplings. They must go together as the mud is full of nutritious value to feed the saplings and the ultimate outcome is rice to feed us.'
The saplings must be 25 days old before they can be pulled out and replanted in a prepared paddy field. Our cameraman had to teach Jantima how to do it properly.
After putting the sapling in, then farmers have to wait around 120 days until the harvest.
The Phuket vice governor Smith Palawatwichai hopes that it was a worthwhile experience for the local kids and that the plot can be a learning source for many others.
Not only Chantima got a first-hand experience that day, local students also valued the experiences saying that it was a good outdoor learning activity.
This student said : ' After we learn to do it here, then we are assigned to share with our friends back in class. I find it fun actually.'
Conventional Rice farming is hard, but with the price hikes, many are interested to learn or revive rice farming. Let's hope that Thai rice farmers still have some rice paddy left for them to carry on with this traditional career.
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