21/05/2015: Colourful Thailand offers coloured rice from organic farms

The world’s largest exporter of rice, Thailand, invited delegates to the Thailand Rice Convention 2015 on a field trip today to the DNA and Genomic Technology Centre which is located at the Rice Gene Discovery and Rice Science Centre on the campus of the Kasetsart University in Nakhonpathom Province some 90km outside Bangkok today.

Some 100 delegates took up the opportunity for a unique insight into this country's philosophy on rice growing, production, processing and marketing.

Established in 2002, the DNA and Genomic Technology Centre is charged with the task of promoting the use of advanced technology in the production of Thai rice to support its products in the global marketplace while ensuring the quality of Thai Hom Mali rice shipment to a purity of over 92 percent.

The group visited not only the university’s-based DNA and Genomic Technology Centre, but also its trial plantings and research fields and a small purpose-built and sophisticated rice mill on the site. The special task of this mill is to process black rice and coloured rice varieties. No other mill in Thailand is providing this service to farmers who want to explore the new market potential of coloured rice.

In fact, the director of the University’s Rice Gene Discovery and Rice Science Centre, Assistant Professor Apichart Vanacichit, says the focus is on providing consumers at a global level with healthier rice options produced on organic farms that have the certification to attract a premium price for farmers in the marketplace.

It appears that the future of Thai rice is firmly based on improved nutritional quality and organic production, which will provide a meaningful difference to the growing group of discerning consumers worldwide.

Read more on this field trip in an upcoming edition of Milling and Grain!

 

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