“Farmers love safety” TV reality show to start

Bangkok, Thailand – Sep. 12, 2014 – The German Food Partnership (GFP), BASF (Thai) Limited, and the Rice Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have launched Thailand’s first farmer edutainment reality show, entitled "Farmers Love Safety".

 

This TV program is an activity of Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA), which comes under the GFP. This collaboration aims to promote sustainable growth in agricultural production and improve rice value chains, in order to provide farmers with better knowledge on the use of production inputs and access to markets. The project focuses on emerging and developing countries including Thailand from 2014 to 2017.

 

Mr. Chanpithya Shimphalee, Director General of the Rice Department, said BRIA’s emphasis on sustainable development corresponds to the policy of the Rice Department and Thailand’s current national economic and social development plan. Its outcomes will contribute not only to the well-being of farmers in general but also the future security of the country’s national resources.

 

“We want to support as many Thai farmers as possible to stay safe, get better yields and keep their farms at top performance over the long term. A TV reality show on the Farm Channel is the perfect way to bring entertainment and best practices to farmers in Thailand about sustainable rice production and good agriculture practices,” said Dr. Pakorn Suchare, Head of Crop Protection, BASF (Thai) Limited.

 

‘Farmers Love Safety’ will focus on responsible and judicious use of crop protection products. The training sessions will cover important topics such as understanding product labels, proper use of application equipment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary to farmers’ practice in the field.

 

Two teams of key farmers from Suphanburi and Ayuthaya provinces, with five members in each team, will be trained by rice and technical experts at the Farmer School in the Rice Department compound and use the knowledge to train more farmers in their communities following specific criteria under the competition rules. The farmers will also participate in quiz activities, and the total combined scores at the end of the contest will determine the winner. The winner will receive a prize of agriculture products valued at 100,000 baht.

 

“Farmers Love Safety’ is the first BRIA project in Asia Pacific and is expected to encourage Thai farmers to learn how to use crop protection products safely and effectively,” said Mr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, Regional Project Director, BRIA.

 

This show will be aired on the SMILE Farmers program on Farm Channel, every Thursday, 5:30 to 6:00 pm, from October 2 to December 18, 2014.

 

About GFP
The German Food Partnership (GFP) is a public-private initiative aiming at the reduction of hunger and poverty in emerging and developing economies. Currently, the GFP is composed of more than 30 European medium-sized and multinational companies, associations and implementation agencies of German Development Cooperation. The GFP was founded in 2012 under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) On behalf of BMZ, GIZ is coordinating the activities of the GFP. Further information: http://www.germanfoodpartnership.de/en

 

About GIZ
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is owned by the German government and with operations around the globe, GIZ provides services in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development. GIZ also works on behalf of other public and private sector clients both in Germany and overseas. These include the governments of other countries, the European Commission, the United Nations and other donor organizations. GIZ operates in more than 130 countries and employs approximately 17,000 staff worldwide.

 

About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150 years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the world’s leading chemical company, we combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable future. BASF had sales of about €74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com