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Going organic: Challenges for government-supported organic rice promotion and certification nationalism in Thailand

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  • Baird, Ian G.

Abstract

There is increasing interest in organic lowland rice cultivation in Thailand. Farmers are becoming more wary about the human health and environmental impacts of using herbicides and pesticides. In addition, consumers are increasingly demanding rice cultivated without the use of chemicals. There is also more interest in accessing international and local organic rice markets. Thus, in 2017 the government of Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives rolled out a project designed to promote organic rice farming through subsidizing the conversion of one million-rai (160,000 ha) of lowland rice farms to being organic over a three-year period. Although the initiative was well intended, and constitutes local agency, the project has faced serious obstacles because the organic certification standards associated with the project do not align with international standards. This has negatively impacted the structures that support organic farming, by giving farmers unrealistic expectations regarding what is required to produce organic rice for the international market. The Thai certification system also has different ecological implications compared to other certification systems, because value systems always affect certification systems and their material implications. Applying a political ecology approach—with an emphasis on political relations, economic structure, ecological change, and scalar politics—this article examines the one million-rai project. It is contended that ‘certification nationalism’ is manifesting, and that there are important lessons to be learned about planning and implementing such certification initiatives.

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  • Baird, Ian G., 2024. "Going organic: Challenges for government-supported organic rice promotion and certification nationalism in Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:173:y:2024:i:c:s0305750x23002395
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106421
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Siamwalla, Ammar, 1975. "A History of Rice Policies in Thailand," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University, Food Research Institute, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18.
    2. Vandergeest, Peter, 2007. "Certification and Communities: Alternatives for Regulating the Environmental and Social Impacts of Shrimp Farming," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1152-1171, July.
    3. Roitner-Schobesberger, Birgit & Darnhofer, Ika & Somsook, Suthichai & Vogl, Christian R., 2008. "Consumer perceptions of organic foods in Bangkok, Thailand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 112-121, April.
    4. Rigg, Jonathan & Salamanca, Albert & Phongsiri, Monchai & Sripun, Mattara, 2018. "More farmers, less farming? Understanding the truncated agrarian transition in Thailand," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 327-337.
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    6. Krittinee Nuttavuthisit & John Thøgersen, 2017. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 140(2), pages 323-337, January.
    7. Sununtar Setboonsarng & PingSun Leung & Junning Cai, 2006. "Contract Farming and Poverty Reduction: The Case of Organic Rice Contract Farming in Thailand," Chapters, in: John Weiss & Haider A. Khan (ed.), Poverty Strategies in Asia, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Pandey, Sushil & Suphanchaimat, Nongluck & Velasco, Ma. Lourdes, 2012. "The Patterns of Spread and Economics of a Labor-Saving Innovation in Rice Production: the Case of Direct Seeding in Northeast Thailand," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 51(4), pages 1-24, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dayet, Alexia & Diepart, Jean-Christophe & Castella, Jean-Christophe & Sieng, Sreymom & Kong, Rada & Tivet, Florent & Demenois, Julien, 2024. "Can organic rice certification curb the pressure of the agrarian transition in Cambodia? A farming system approach," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).

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