The Driving Process for Increasing the Number of Farmers in Organic Farming by Participation in Mae Mok Community, Mae Mok Subdistrict, Thoen District, Lampang Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to 1) study the factors affecting farmers’ demand for doing organic farming and 2) study the guidelines for increasing the number of farmers in organic farming. The research results found that the reasons why farmers would be engaged inorganic farming were as follows: 1) Health;  doing organic farming would protect them from getting pesticides in their blood , 2) Economy; participation in organic farming network or group not only reduce household expenses significantly but also gives them more income from selling various organic products, 3) Municipal policy; Mae Mok Sub-district Municipality has a clear policy to push the Mae Mok subdistrict into a city of safe food. and 4) Others.

The guidelines for increasing the number of farmers in organic farming are as follows: 1) Look for a farmer who can be a role model of organic farming practice, 2) Organize knowledge and experience sharing, 3) The responsible organizations/government agencies related to organic farming policy at all levels need to look for agencies that can support organic crop production, technology, knowledge and agricultural market, as well as pushing the production and production processes to be certified organic farming standards from relevant agencies, 4) Train or create outstanding farmers in the community to be a role model and lecturer including building a community learning center. Finally, 5) Make the Organic Farming Community Agreement. From the implementation of the guidelines, it was found that the number of farmers participating in the organic farming project increased from 32 to 298.