ERICH PARPART ‘THENATION { COLLABORATIONisoneofthekeys rto success in agro-food business, {cthrough the exchange ftechnology and lower research costs, experts told F qmajor foram yesterday. | _ Moreover, education can help { cuange the hegative mindset that ‘Thai students have towards agricul- turebusinesses, withtheirheightened ‘interest ultimately increasing the Geitite: of aled workers 18 the sindusty. 2 Peal he presnttont the | “thailand ‘Competitiveness },Conference 2014 arranged by the patent Management Asodaton, Roger van Hoesel, managing director of ‘the Netherlands-based Food: Valley, said collaboration between universities, companies and the gow- exnment, or public-private partner ship, wouldenhancethedevelopment, the agro-food industry "This would ental the ansitionof classroom studies into applied prac- tieal use ~ while students cat also learn from thereal needs of the mar { Ket and the problems withia the | industry, which can be used to rove their research criteria, he Specialised education pro- grammes can also further the con nectionbetween theeducational sec- torand thebusiness sector, headded, “The challenges that are there for the food industry are huge, complex, and they are specific for the country, Which requires collaboration between industry, knowledge suppliers and government within the country, at the regional anq intemational lev els, in order to overcome ther’ sald van Hoesel Intemational collaboration between private firms and networks of clusters can lower the cost of Fesearch and development and encourage the exchange of ideas and tarket information, said the Dutch basinessman. Subhrajit, Bhattacharya, pro- ggrammehead at [BM, said that while there were huge opportunities with- fn the food industry, the negative mindset that students in India and ‘Thailand have towards the agricul ‘ture sectorhastobe changedinorder | to enhance the development of the industry. “Thavefound vast opportunitiesin ‘the food and agriculture industry, since the world’s population sisi and isexpectedtoreach billion peo- ple in the year 2050, which means that the food output of the world wouldhavetoincreasebyS0 percent | Ufrom today’ level] to support this | growth,” he said. { Bhattdcharyasaidthe future ofthe food and agriculture industry start. ed with children, and the education: al system must therefore make the | sector more exciting and profitable | in order torencourage them to study and find work within the sector, Because tis woud ensure thatthe country made better use ofits agei- | cultural land. ae ‘The education of farmers is also oui for the agriculture iadusts | because it can lower and even erase ‘cate some of the major problems in the industry, such as excess use of chemical fertilisers that are pollut ing the landscape, and soil degrada tion ducto overuse and impropriate farm management, whichhavecom: bined to reduce the amount of land that can be used to grow crops, he explained. “The impact of unsustainable practices will grow with the inerease in food demand, and climate change will exacerbate the effects of unsus. tainable farming, which means that sustainable practices are required to reduce losses and fend off future catastrophes” he stressed, Implementing and monitoring jolicies to reduce unsustainable Erming practices would be cater © farmers were educated and under- stood the need for regulations, he added ‘Thailand ranks 4th giobally as an. exporter of food, shipping around BES billion worth of produce last year, accounting for 8 per cont of the ‘county's gross domestic product. Mean ie 0 etcetera materialsused formal L ues are sourced from within the Kingdom, and some 40 million De worciathe great soa Bed Sector atthe moment, theconference was told. ANAWdOTSAIC AMLSAGN! YOS dIHSYANLYVd SLWAId-IMENd 4O4 STIWD 3x4 AITIVA GOOS yesoqe}}0) JPPl} POoj-ou8e 10} }eNND 1: udl uoljenpa SAENANOW aren