Kamphaeng Phet Researchers Boost Egg Banana Yields, Revive Industry
Researchers from Kamphaeng Phet Rajabhat University have revived the province’s declining egg banana industry, boosting yields and quality through improved farming practices. Farmer collectives have established guaranteed‑price purchase points, a true‑sucker seed bank and processing facilities, raising annual output from 30‑40 tonnes to 60‑80 tonnes and linking with national retailers and Bangkok hotels. The initiative also aims to upgrade the banana to GAP standards and develop value‑added products such as massaman curry ingredients and banana‑in‑syrup.
The team also distinguished the authentic Kamphaeng Phet egg banana variety from those brought in from Tak and Nakhon Sawan provinces, noting its distinct sweetness, strong aroma, firm texture, lack of sourness, and the appearance of dark sugar spots on the skin when fully ripe—a sign of sugar breaking through the peel—though its thin skin and rapid ripening remain weaknesses. They presented their findings and recommendations to the Kamphaeng Phet governor, resulting in the province’s first five‑year development plan for egg banana (2023‑2030). Meanwhile, twenty farmers formed the “Tin Turtle” collection point in 2025, guaranteeing purchase prices, which later expanded into a produce‑gathering and grading centre, a sorting and packaging facility for fresh vegetables and fruits, and efforts to upgrade the GI banana to GAP standards. A “True Sucker Bank” was established to buy genuine suckers from members, preserving the authentic Kamphaeng Phet egg banana lineage while attracting young Smart Farmers to exchange knowledge with veteran growers and produce organic bananas sold to nine Bangkok hotels at 90 baht per kilogram. Lower‑grade produce is channelled through the provincial commerce office, chamber of commerce and emerging entrepreneur groups for processing into bakery items and vacuum‑fried banana chips sold province‑wide, and the Tin Turtle centre also purchases discarded banana stems at 0.50 baht per kilogram to ferment into organic fertilizer, cutting the group’s annual chemical fertilizer cost from 1,000,000 baht to 200,000 baht. Nopphon Thepprahtom, a pioneering farmer who founded the “Community Enterprise for Reviving Kamphaeng Phet Egg Banana”, said the research helped create a standardized production system with uniform watering and fertilising schedules for all 20 growers, leading to higher yields, consistent product quality and easier marketing. This has facilitated business matches with several national retail chains, raising output from 30‑40 tonnes previously to 60‑80 tonnes per year within two years. The group also collaborates with a women’s processing team to turn the lowest‑hanging, uneven “Tin Turtle” banana hands into a richly flavoured ingredient used in massaman curry to attract tourists, and is developing a banana‑in‑syrup product to extend shelf life.
