CP and Royal Foundation Boost High-Value Vegetable Farming in Udon Thani
CP and the Royal Foundation launched a greenhouse vegetable farming initiative in Udon Thani that transformed drought-affected communities into high-income producers, with cooperatives now supplying major retailers like Makro year-round.
Charoen Pokphand (CP) and the Pra Baan Luang Foundation are turning a drought crisis into opportunity by developing a high-value agriculture model that lifts the Kok Lam-Sang Arom community enterprise, generates stable income, and connects quality produce to modern retail markets. "Before, we grew field crops with income only once a year, but now vegetable farming gives us monthly earnings," said Angkanarak Kamathip, a representative of the Kok Lam-Sang Arom vegetable farmers' cooperative in Udon Thani province. This reflects the shift from traditional farming to modern agriculture using knowledge, technology, and precise management, boosting output to modern retail chains and lifting household income and quality of life.
The turning point came after severe drought in 2020, when the Pra Baan Luang Activity Promotion and Development Institute, following royal principles, joined with CP's Goodness and Sustainable Community project in Udon Thani and partner agencies to drive the "greenhouse vegetable farming to solve drought" initiative. The program promotes water-efficient, high-yield agriculture and creates stable livelihoods for local farmers. The Kok Lam-Sang Arom vegetable farmers' cooperative now has 28 members, 15 additional growers in the network, and 52 standard greenhouses with average annual production exceeding 12,000 kilograms.
Angkanarak explained that her family has farmed for generations; her mother sold vegetables door-to-door for over 20 years, growing beans, eggplant, melon, mango, sugarcane, and cassava. Through the program, she received mentoring in soil improvement, greenhouse vegetable farming, plot management, drip irrigation systems, and production planning aligned with market demand. She studied other farming areas and applied this knowledge effectively to her own plot.
Shifting from field crops with annual income to high-value vegetables such as kale, green oak, red oak, butterhead, Swiss chard, and royal tomato, Angkanarak and group members now have year-round revenue, financial liquidity to cover household expenses, and funds to support their children's education. The greenhouse system also controls disease and pests, enabling consistent quality output even during rainy seasons.
Beyond production, the project emphasizes market linkage: developing GAP-certified quality, establishing produce collection points meeting Food and Drug Administration standards, and building retail networks with chains like Makro. Over 90% of the group's produce now sells through Makro continuously, with the remaining 10% sold locally and at community markets, ensuring reliable markets, reduced marketing risk, and fair returns.
The program's cornerstone is applying "precision agriculture, careful agriculture, and advanced agriculture" through greenhouses, raised-bed vegetable plots reducing labour for elderly farmers, drip irrigation saving water, and use of red bean compost to boost soil organic matter, reduce chemicals, and elevate safe agriculture.
