Revitalizing Cooperatives: Strengthening the System and Moving Toward Digital Innovation
Thailand's agriculture ministry is accelerating digital innovation in the country's cooperative system, with plans to strengthen over 9,000 existing cooperatives serving 11.76 million members through improved technology and governance refor
Deputy Agriculture Minister Piyaratcharya Tiayapairat presided over the 92nd meeting of the National Cooperative Development Committee (NCDC) held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and via Zoom to advance the country's cooperative system development with enhanced strength, transparency, and sustainability. The meeting aimed to gather comprehensive feedback and recommendations from all stakeholders to guide future operations, emphasizing full participation and open dialogue among relevant agencies to produce tangible cooperative outcomes.
Deputy Minister Tiayapairat announced directives to accelerate digital service delivery by improving applications and websites for easier access and user convenience under a "user-centric" approach, alongside inter-agency data integration and innovation partnerships with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI). Cooperative agencies were invited to propose innovation needs to adapt appropriate technologies suited to their local contexts.
The meeting reviewed progress on the Fifth Cooperative Development Plan (2023-2027) for fiscal year 2569, with 45 of 52 projects (86.54%) already advancing. For 2569, priorities include improving limited-capacity cooperatives through transparent management, technology-enabled oversight, and good governance, while enhancing members' quality of life. Four core initiatives target 5,500 cooperatives and farm groups, 2,090 personnel ethics promotions, debt resolution for 3,100 members, and strengthening 3,640 cooperatives with 200 model high-performance cooperatives.
Currently, Thailand operates over 9,044 cooperatives with 11.76 million members and 2,530 billion baht in total business value, representing 13.47% of GDP. Agricultural cooperatives account for 2,992 entities with 6.13 million members. Credit businesses lead at 1,485 billion baht (58.72%), followed by deposit services at 855 billion baht (33.80%), with agricultural product aggregation and processing comprising the remainder.
