“Professor Prinya” raises Thai people awareness and calls for the change in food consumption. He persuades hundreds of Thammsat’s people to harvest rice on Asia’s biggest organic rooftop farm. The farm is regarded as an organic farming learning center.
Asst.Prof.Dr.Prinya Thevanaruemitkul, Vice Rector for Sustainability and Administration at Thammasat University, Rangsit campus, professors, students, and more than 100 alumni were harvesting Thammasat jasmine rice. The activity called “Ma Keaw Khao Gun” was held on Asia’s biggest organic rooftop farm, at Puey Park for People, on 16 December 2019.
Asst.Prof.Dr.Prinya reveals that normative Thai agriculture is good but today people use too much chemicals and fertilizers which have health effects on both farmers and consumers. It also makes production cost higher so farmers will be more likely to get poorer and poorer. Asst.Prof.Dr.Prinya says that every change starts with us. Therefore, Thammasat would like to invite people to stop consuming chemical vegetables and fruits. In the long run, it will lead to chemical-free agriculture.
Asst.Prof.Dr.Prinya also emphasizes that Puey Park for People was designed under the idea of “Green Rooftop”. The idea is to cover the rooftop with plants. We plan to plant organic plants like rice, okra, lemongrass, and basil in rotation. Organic vegetables will be sent to food center to serve Thammasat’s first-year students.
“Puey Park for People rooftop is seen as the biggest organic rooftop farm in Asia and the second biggest in the world after New York, USA. Therefore, planting rice on this rooftop is a great strategy to capture people’s attention on good agriculture” Asst.Prof.Dr.Prinya said.
Mr.Ekkachai Ratchasaeng, TU’s Specialized Agriculture Specialist, reveals that the rice that we plant on Puey Park rooftop called “Thammasat Jasmine Rice”. Department of Agriculture Technology, Faculty of Science developed this rice from 105 jasmine rice. Thammasat jasmine rice can be harvested in 90 days and it is suitable for chemical-free planting. “After this process, we will thresh the rice into milled rice and dry it for 28 days. In the next day, we will cook this rice for first-year students” Mr.Ekkachai said.