ASEAN Bluenumber initiative extends its footprint in Thailand through ‘1 Rai 1 San’ project
Signing between University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Global Compact Network Malaysia signals combined efforts to promote ‘Sufficient Economy’
Bangkok, Thailand 11 May 2016 - Coming together in a partnership that is intended to establish long-term solutions to food sustainability and income equality, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) and Global Compact Network Malaysia (GCLN–MY) today signed the Memorandum of Understanding at UTCC‘s campus, Bangkok. In signing, Sauwanee Thairungroj, President of UTCC and Ramesh Kana, President of GCLN–MY, seeks to further the reach of UTCC‘s ‘1 Rai 1 San’ project amongst the farming smallholder community by providing access to the United Nations supported Bluenumber initiative.
The ‘'Bluenumber‘' project, with long-term goals to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition through sustainable agriculture provides a platform for farmers and agri-businesses to connect to buyers looking for partners using sustainable practices. This also promotes traceability throughout the supply chains, potentially helping governments to better where aid can be most effectively targeted to boost developing-country trade: across different products, geographies and producer attributes.
GCLN-MY in its role as the ASEAN lead for the Bluenumber initiative, finds an ideal partner in Thailand with UTCC‘s ‘1 Rai1 San’ , set up to accelerate the adoption of sustainable farming practises inspired by His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s ‘Sufficiency Economy’ programme. Designed to promote self-reliance through sustainable farming, the partnership signed today recognizes the ‘1Rai1San’ value of building a ‘good and stable foundation’ by assuring that the rural people has enough to subsist first.
By working with smallholders, UTCC aims to reinforce the ‘Sufficient Economy’ method of producing efficiently within limitations farmers typically face. Through grassroots capacity building and in using existing resources first, the farmers can improve their ability to control the production themselves and reduce associated risks from not being able to efficiently control the market system.
More information on Global Compact can be found on unglobalcompact.org and science.utcc.ac.th for details on ‘1 Rai 1 San’.
