Disrupting Thailand’s Agricultural Sector Positively

Thailand may be known as one of the go-to destinations for vacationers, but there’s more to this Southeast Asian country. Believe it or not, Thailand has a sprawling agricultural sector that has a considerable share in the global agricultural market. The country is one of the major exporters of rice, exporting about sixty percent of the crop that amounted to more than 5 billion in 2018. As such, it would be apt to say that agriculture is one of the greatest strengths of the country, and the sector has undergone major transformations in recent times thanks to the contributions and efforts of some revolutionists.

One key magnate to have brought about these noteworthy transformations in Thailand’s agricultural sector is Suparatana Bencharongkul. Let’s get to know more about her in this article:

Who’s Suparatana Bencharongkul?

Success comes to those who work hard and have good intentions. This fact is epitomized by Suparatana Bencharongkul, popularly known as Nina. She is a notable agriculturist and lifestyle influencer from Thailand who has changed the face of agriculture in the country with technological innovation. She is the daughter of Boonchai Benchaongkul, who’s a powerful and influential tycoon in the telecom sector. He’s known as the founder and chairman of DTAC, which is a renowned mobile service company in Thailand. Bencharongkul is the General Manager of the subsidiary company of Benchachinda Group, called Rakbankerd Ltd. Co.

Bencharongkul pursued an executive MBA from the Sasin School of Management. Her career started in the family-owned telecom business, where she learned the ropes of the domain. But, it didn’t take her very long to step into the waters of agriculture with the help and support of her father. She certainly gives credit to her father for inspiring her to love farming and agriculture at a tender age. She holds the same belief as her father that farmers are an irreplaceable component of our society because they perform a very important job, which is to feed the world.

Her role in Thailand’s agriculture

Bencharongkul loves our planet earth avidly. She follows her father’s footsteps when it comes to philanthropic activities, such as rebuilding temples and art museums and providing scholarships to rural kids. But, when it comes to being an agriculturist, she has certainly raised the bar. She pioneered agricultural technologies, including robotics, unmanned aviation systems, artificial intelligence, to bring together the innumerable benefits of smart farming to Thai farmers. She is the mind behind a number of agricultural tech applications, such as Sabuymarket, Farmer Info Application, Farmmanyam, Allbio, Fulfield Initiatives, and Rakbankerd Products, all of which aimed at uplifting the condition of Thai farmers.

As the head of Rakbankerd, she has brought together a team of specialists who undertake various tests, collect and analyze crop samples, and report on various factors that influence Thailand’s agricultural production. Her tech disruption in agriculture is seen to deliver remarkable results in terms of alternative farming methods, predictive analysis, and disease prevention. She leverages her distinct telecommunications platform to educate Thai farmers, suppliers, and other stakeholders about potential developments that can boost the profitability and efficiency of the farming business.

Over the years, Rakbankerd has been channelizing whopping sums of money towards developing a hi-tech Thai agricultural sector. Under the unwavering leadership of Bencharongkul, the company has been able to target safe and clean food production and help in the production of a variety of spices, fruits, and vegetables. The country’s agricultural model has undergone a massive transformation owing to the company’s investment. Thai farmers have found the much-needed support to participate in the production chain and secure their farming business by bridging the gap between their produce and end consumers with reasonably stable prices.

Navigating through challenges

Just like it is for most others, Suparatana Bencharongkul’s journey in the agricultural realm wasn’t free of challenges. Introducing a new way of farming wasn’t easy for her because the current techniques have been followed in the country for a considerably long period now. Thai farmers, who weren’t acquainted with such techniques, always relied on poor estimations and guesswork while undertaking various agricultural activities. So, she had to educate and train the farming community so that they are able to reap the benefits of such a transformation. For ensuring the new techniques are adopted widely, Bencharongkul had to take aggressive measures to promote them.

However, she did not waver in the face of such challenges. She was fiercely positive that her efforts would deliver the desired results. Her agri-tech initiatives created solutions that led to higher yields per acre. Not to forget, she was also able to increase farming productivity by taking the following measures:

• Increasing the quantity and quality of the farm’s produce.
• Ensuring optimal and efficient utilization of resources such as water, chemicals, fuel, and fertilizers.
• Mitigating and eliminating various farming risks.
• Reducing the ecological impact of various farming practices.

Bencharongkul is one of the earliest social media influencers in Thailand. She is a notable lifestyle icon who uses social media to spread awareness extensively about the significance of technological disruption in the agricultural realm. Using social media, she could not only showcase her content and splendid life but also disseminate information about her initiatives and educate people about the latest technologies and means of livelihood. She has been able to reach out and inspire thousands of farmers to adopt advanced agricultural technology, not just to boost their yield but also to transform their lives.

Bencharongkul’s website, www.rakbankerd.com, has become a signature of the love she has for her motherland. Over the years, it has become a vital selling point that focuses on delivering quality agricultural products. The website has a “Thai way” of presenting product prices, agricultural information, and products, such as herbal soap, jasmine rice, and tea, all of which give the Thai people a great sense of pride. The website manages to garner more than 900,000 visitors a month because of its sheer diversity in content and product offerings.

As such, Bencharongkul’s efforts to combine traditional farming and modern-day agricultural technology greatly improved the lives of Thai farmers and created an enormous amount of jobs—something that’s going to stay embedded in the minds of people for times to come. The rate at which her initiatives and projects are being adopted is nothing less than impressive. She has achieved peerless feats in optimizing agricultural production, improving the management of operations, and increasing crop yields and monetary returns for Thai farmers.

Despite coming from a super-wealthy family and relishing a glamorous life, Bencharongkul has been able to make significant contributions in the field of agriculture and the Thai society at large. Hopefully, stories of her noble work ripples across the globe and are able to inspire agricultural revolutionists in various countries to make similar contributions to their agrarian communities.