Potentials of Community Rice Seed Centers in Developing Towards Self-reliance in Seed: A Case Study in Phayao Province

Abstract

Farmers’ deficit of quality rice seed is being considered one important factor affecting low rice yield in Thailand. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) has launched community rice seed project nationwide with the establishment of “community rice seed center” to promote self-help production of quality rice seed by farmers. The objective of this paper is to present the establishment of community rice seed center (CRSC), its operating process, and capability to achieve the desirable goal of self-reliance in rice seed.  The research case study was conducted in Phayao province by analyzing secondary information and field surveys combining participatory rural appraisal and structured interview of 33 CRSCs. One farmer workshop was conducted consisting of key leaders of CRSCs throughout the province during the research period from December 2005-August 2006.

Majority of CRSCs in Phayao province were established during 2001-02. A few had stopped operating after the MOAC  withdrew its support. At present, only 33 centers, distributed over 9 districts, continue to function by producing registered seed (86.21 percent) and certified seed (13.79 percent) for the farming communities within Tambon and its neighborhoods. The centers produced seeds of three major rice varieties, namely KDML 105 (51.35 percent), RD6 (27.03 percent) and RD 15 (21.62 percent). However, the centers are still not be able to achieve self-reliance in quality rice seed despite their promising potentials. Lack of government support in seed certification scheme and marketing arrangement had weakened the CRSCs. A few competent CRSCs had been identified and could be used as benchmark for improving capacity of the others.