"Tapioca is another important economic crop in the country. Thailand has long been the world's number one exporter of tapioca, but historically Thai tapioca has been unstable, both in terms of shortage and quality of seedlings, including ineffective farming practices. As a result of insufficient production to meet demand, Thailand's tapioca production is expected to decline to 31.7 million tons by the 2023 harvest season from the original forecast of 34.98 million tons (source: Department of Foreign Trade) due to damage from natural disasters. weather fluctuations, including various pests and diseases. While the demand for tapioca production is likely to be good due to the demand for food, especially the health food of the world market. And how can Thai tapioca seize the opportunity to occupy it sustainably?

Driving Thai tapioca for sustainable growth in line with global trends must start with managing a complete organic farming chain, coupled with a new economic model called the "BCG Model", which consists of Bio-Circular-Green Economy, answers to sustainability, and a mechanism to drive towards the goal. It is not just about planting tapioca to produce enough to meet demand, but it is an extension to organic tapioca that promotes an efficient growing process to create a sustainable production system that combines quality, safety and high incomes for farmers by adding value and serving as a raw material for the production of high-value products.

The key factor in driving Thailand's organic tapioca industry under the new economic plan, the BCG model, is the integration of cooperation between government agencies, the private sector and farmers through Ubon Bio Ethanol Public Company Limited or UBE, the country's largest manufacturer and distributor of processed tapioca products as a private company based in Ubon Ratchathani province, it is considered one of the private sectors that has long been committed to promoting and supporting organic tapioca farming in the Northeast S2 area under the Sustainable Supply Chain Management approach. Ms. Karnnaporn Karnnasuta, Executive Vice President of Corporate Sustainability and Government Affairs of UBE commented on the development of Thai Organic Tapioca: "The company operates the tapioca starch business based on sustainable production principles, which gives importance from the beginning to increase the value of tapioca cultivation "Organic Tapioca" through the knowledge transfer project and bring technology to help farmers reduce costs and increase productivity with international organic certification The yield is guaranteed with a higher purchase price through contract farming. The company will obtain high quality organic tapioca raw materials to be processed into a variety of high-quality products. As the implementation of the project enters its 8th year, the company will continue to push the organic tapioca planting project this year. The main goal is to increase the area under organic tapioca cultivation from 10,000 rai to 30,000 rai. Going forward in integrating cooperation with the government both in terms of knowledge transfer in cultivation, use of technology and machinery to reduce costs to achieve output consistent with the principle of market-driven production and it raises the level of sustainable organic tapioca cultivation for farmers. At the same time, the company is focused on making the best use of raw materials and resources; by adding value to the waste generated during production, factors that increase productivity are returned to support organic tapioca cultivation for farmers, resulting in a sustainable circular economy from which all parties benefit."

Department of Agricultural Research and Development, Region 4, Ubon Ratchathani Province, by Mrs. Sopita Somkid, Director of Academic Group, expressed more opinions on sustainable organic tapioca cultivation that "To maintain the strength of being the country's organic tapioca production base. All parties involved, including academics, government sectors, private sectors and farmers. It is necessary to help each other to bring various problems happened in the past as lessons and choose the right approach, because in the future global warming situation and severe weather will intensify, therefore, it is necessary to help prepare farmers in dealing with the prevention and mitigation of such damage that may occur, from the preparation of suitable planting areas for standard control, soil preparation, the use of fresh seedlings from the perfect tree, planting at the right distance, maintenance and pest control, and harvesting at the most appropriate age, 10-12 months, to obtain a high percentage of starch. At the same time, farmers should have the knowledge to preserve the seedlings in order to have clean seedlings, free from tapioca blotch disease, of good quality and in sufficient numbers for planting in subsequent seasons. These are the basic principles of sustainable organic tapioca production.

In the midst of the challenging situation in the production of agricultural raw materials, there are still farmers who grow organic tapioca in Ubon Ratchathani province, who is still determined to move forward in the organic farming way, like Mrs. Urai Kamkaew, a model farmer of organic tapioca, revealed that “She has been growing organic tapioca for 6 years. Before that, she had health problems that she thought might be caused by chemicals, so she decided to turn to growing organic tapioca, starting from 2 rai and the product has a good price, therefore, she gradually expanded to cover the current area of almost 26 rai. Growing organic tapioca may have some steps that need to be understood at the beginning, namely, seeding cuttings, soil preparation, correct land improvement. If everything is done correctly in the first years, it's easy after that, weeding can be done with appropriate machines that are easily accessible. Most importantly, the price of the product is better than that of tapioca in general. The organic way not only brings back good health, and even this year that the production may not reach the target because the weather is unstable, but she is not discouraged, aims to adapt to the situation and is determined to continue growing organic tapioca because it has seen more benefits in many aspects.

It is possible to promote Thai organic tapioca to grow sustainably, only all parties need to integrate cooperation among each other by using marketing-led production principles based on the management of the whole organic farming chain and following the BCG model guidelines, those who are interested in producing organic tapioca for the new season. You are welcome to contact us for more details at Organic Agriculture Promotion Department, Ubon Sunflower Co., Ltd. Tel. 089-962-6544