CoGent Network

Thailand

Country information

Genebank

Chumphon Horticulture Research Center
PO Box 3 Amphoe Sawi
Chumphon 86130
Phone: (+66-77) 556073/ 556026
Fax: (+66-77) 556002
Email: chrcsawi@hotmail.com

Contact

Dr. Adisak Sreesunpagit
Director General
Thailand Horticulture Research Institute
Department of Agriculture
Phaholyothin Road
Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900
Thailand
Phone: (+66-2) 9405484/ 5
Fax: (+66-2) 5614667/ 5799545
Email: hort@doa.go.th

Aromatic Green Dwarf (AROD)
(Image: J. Oliver)

The Kingdom of Thailand is a country of Southeast Asia, bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar. Thailand has a population of about 63 million people and a surface area of approximately 513,000 km2.

Coconut is an important subsistence crop in Thailand. Over 200,000 farm families are directly or partially dependent on the coconut industry for their livelihood. The total area under  coconut is about 376,000 ha, which are predominantly planted with local Talls even though high yielding coconut varieties have been released to farmers since 1982. Coconut research in Thailand started in 1960 with the establishment of the Sawi Horticultural Experiment Station in Amphoe Sawi, Chumphon Province, and later renamed Chumphon Horticultural Research
Centre (CHRC). This is the main Thailand’s coconut research centre (Carpio et al. 2005) where over 50 coconut accessions are conserved, including local and exotic varieties. The first hybrid experiment was set up in 1975. The hybrids performed very well under local conditions and a coconut seedgarden was established simultaneously to
keep pace with the demand for planting materials.

In the 2000’s, a survey was conducted in 10 young tender coconut growing provinces with the aim of collecting germplasm with diversified characteristics. During the survey, it was found that two groups of the Green Dwarfs, Aromatic coconut (Nam Hom) and Sweet water coconut (Nam Wan), were widely grown on a commercial scale.

More info: pdf.png Conserved coconut germplasm from Thailand (1.9MB), pdf.png Part 2 (1.8MB)

 

Collaborative Activities between BIOVERSITY/COGENT and Thailand

1. Capacity Building

a) Technical assistance/expert advice
From 1994 to 2000, seven specialists have been sent to Thailand on five technical assistance missions.

b) Training and human resources development
From 1999 to 2007, five local staff of partner agencies and institutions in the country underwent BIOVERSITY-COGENT-sponsored staff development training on technical/proposal writing and seminar presentation, coconut data analysis, embryo culture techniques, MSPGR; the STANTECH; Socioeconomics and Participatory Approaches to Reduce Poverty in Coconut Growing Communities; and Markets and Market Development for the project on Overcoming Poverty in Coconut Growing Communities.

c) COGENT meetings/workshops
From 1996 to 2005, one workshop and three meetings have been hosted by Thailand, including the 11th COGENT Steering Committee Meeting held in Bangkok.

 

2. Research Projects

Eight projects have been carried out in the country, with the Chumphon Horticulture Research Centre (CHRC) as the implementing agency.

 

3. Financial Support and Funding

Donor funding support for projects in Thailand amounts to US$ 127,626, mostly from ADB, APCC, DFID and IFAD; while national government counterpart financing amounts to US$556,893.

 

4. Summary of Activities and Accomplishments, Thailand

  1. Capacity building

  a) Technical assistance provided by experts to Thailand

  Expert

Dates

Purpose

  P Batugal

July 1994

Assess R & D capability, assist national programme identify common problems, opportunities and projects for network collaboration

  TKG Ranasinghe

Oct – Nov 1998

To identify marketable alternative products of the coconut (apart from copra and coconut oil) and to identify suitable varieties suitable for processing into identified marketable products

  CIRAD (L.Baudouin, R.Bourdeix, J. Ollivier)

Feb – Apr 1999

To evaluate COGENT’s collecting strategies, identify gaps in germplasm collecting and recommend ways to improve conservation effort.

  Erlinda Rillo

18 – 25 October 2000

To assist the laboratory set-up and embryo culture experiments in Vietnam and Thailand

  Peyanoot Naka

20 Sep – 31 Dec 2000

Identifying researchable constraints and opportunities to enhance income and reduce poverty in coconut growing communities in Thailand

  b) In-country training courses conducted with Thailand research participants

  Schedule

Course/Training Activities

Venue/Host

No. Trainees/

Countries

Funding

Agency

  None

-

-

-

-

  c) Local researchers trained in other countries

  Name

Dates, Country

Training Course

  Chulapan Petchpiroon

19 – 28 June 1995, Indonesia

STANTECH Trainers' Course

  Chulapan Petchpiroon

30 Aug – 3 Sep 1999, Philippines

Technical Writing/Seminar Presentation and Proposal Writing Course

  Chulapan Petchpiroon

6 – 10 Sep 1999, Philippines

Coconut Data Analysis Training Course

  Somdej Woralakphakdi

9 – 14 Oct 2000, Philippines

Hands-On Embryo Culture Training Course

  Wilaiwan Paenkhao

Oct 2000 – Oct 2002, Philippines

MSc PGR scholarship

  Wilaiwan Paenkhao

2 – 7 Apr 2001, Philippines

Coconut STANTECH Training Course

  Peyanoot Naka

12 – 14 June, 2006, Bogor, Indonesia

Training Course on Technical Writing, Seminar Presentation, Public Awareness and Proposal Preparation

  Wilaiwan

  Twishsri

15 – 17 June, 2006, Bogor, Indonesia

Training Course on Socioeconomics and Participatory Approaches to Reduce Poverty in Coconut Growing Communities

  Peyanoot Naka

2-3 July 2007, Hainan, China

Training course on Markets and Market Development for the project on Overcoming Poverty in Coconut Growing Communities

  Wilaiwan

  Twishsri

2-3 July 2007, Hainan, China

Training course on Markets and Market Development for the project on Overcoming Poverty in Coconut Growing Communities

  d) BIOVERSITY-COGENT meetings/workshops held in Thailand

  Date

Activity

Location

  26 - 29 September 1996

Workshop on User’s Perspective to Promote Multi-Purpose Uses of the Coconut

Chumphon, Thailand

  30 September – 2 October 1996

CGRNAP Annual Review and Planning Meeting

-do-

  25 – 28 June 2002

11th COGENT Steering Committee Meeting

Bangkok, Thailand

  9 – 13 May 2005

IFAD funded project training workshop and inception meeting

Hatyai, Thailand

  2. BIOVERSITY-COGENT projects in Thailand

Project Title

Host Institute

Budget/ Funding Agency (US$)

Budget/ National Funding (US$)

  a) Coconut germplasm collection and establishment in field genebank in Thailand

Chumphon Hort. Research Center

13,800/ADB

208,353

  b) Varietal improvement for sap yield

-do-

13,000/ADB

10,200

  c) Supply of computer, printer software and peripherals

-do-

3,326/ADB

-

  d) Screening varieties for sugar production and improvement of the quality of granulated sugar

-do-

30,000/IFAD

315,540

  e) Assessment of performance of coconut hybrids and farmers’ varietal preferences

-do-

2,000/APCC

1,000

  f) Feasibility studies on coconut palm sugar and coconut shell handicrafts production

-do-

5,000/IFAD

2,500

  g) Catalogue of Conserved Coconut Germplasm

-do-

500/ADB

250

  h) Establishing a framework and selecting project sites for a nationwide deployment of coconut-based poverty reduction interventions in coconut growing communities using COGENT’s 3-pronged strategy in Thailand

-do-

1,500/DFID

750

  i) Application of COGENT Upgraded Coconut Embryo Culture Protocol using 3 Thai Coconut Varieties

-do-

1,500/DFID

750

  j) Overcoming Poverty in Coconut-Growing Communities: Coconut Genetic Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods in Thailand (2005)

Horticulture Research Institute

33,810/IFAD

11,050

  k) Overcoming Poverty in Coconut-Growing Communities: Coconut Genetic Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods in Thailand (2006)

Horticulture Research Institute

18,110/IFAD

5,750

  l) Overcoming Poverty in Coconut-Growing Communities: Coconut Genetic Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods in Thailand (2007)

Ditto

5,080/IFAD

5,750

  TOTAL

 

127,626

 

561,893

 

As of November 2009

Prepared by:
Yeow Giap Seng, COGENT Programme Assistant