Page 187 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Community enterprises are important public organizations that contribute to grassroots
economic development. Registering as a community enterprise provides formal recognition for

local groups and enables them to access various forms of government support to help develop
their operations. Furthermore, strong, dedicated leadership with marketing expertise is a key
factor in the success of community enterprises, as demonstrated by the Ban Phueng Subdistrict
Rice Processing Community Enterprise in Nakhon Phanom Province, which has grown into an
international organic rice exporter (see Box 6.2).

Box 6.2
Ban Phueng Subdistrict Rice Processing Community Enterprise, Nakhon Phanom Province

The Ban Phueng Subdistrict Rice Processing Community Enterprise was registered as a community
enterprise in 2014. It was formed by members of occupational promotion groups, women’s agricultural
groups, and individuals interested in cultivating pesticide-free and organic rice. The goal was to
introduce modern production and processing technologies to replace traditional methods, moving away
from conventional rice farming focused solely on selling unprocessed paddy. This practice often led to
low-quality yields, market oversupply, and declining prices. The group transitioned to safe, chemical-
free rice farming and eventually advanced to organic rice production. It purchases paddy rice from
network members and produces a range of products, including organic jasmine rice, brown rice,
germinated brown rice, and hang rice, along with rice-based goods such as rice germ, rice bran oil, and
various by-products like processed bananas, sugarcane, mangoes, and santol grown on their farms.
These products are marketed under the “Khao Suk” brand, which has received Good Agricultural
Practices (GAP) certification from the Department of Agriculture and is in demand both domestically
and internationally.

The enterprise’s leader explained that registering as a community enterprise made it easier to
coordinate with and apply for support from government agencies. This included funding for
constructing storage facilities and improving sanitation, upgrading product standards for export, and
obtaining certifications such as GMP, FDA/GMP, Codex, ISO, and Bioagri certification. As a result, the
group works with multiple government and private agencies, including the Rice Department, Provincial
Industry Office, Food Institute, Provincial Public Health Office, Ministry of Agriculture, Department of
Community Development, National Innovation Agency (NIA), Ministry of Higher Education, Science,
Research, and Innovation, and the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT).

Currently, the Ban Phueng Subdistrict Rice Processing Community Enterprise has a management
committee of nine members and a network of over 6,000 farmers. It offers 38 products and produces
organic rice for export to Europe, the United States, and Canada. Of its revenue, 50% is allocated as
capital to purchase rice from farmers in the following year, 20% goes toward farmer development and
field inspections, 10% is set aside for social contributions such as donating 10–30 tons of rice to
childcare centers and 11 schools across three provinces, and the remainder covers operational
expenses. Its development and success are attributed to the leadership’s strong commitment,
marketing expertise, and product development skills, which have enabled the group to achieve
international organic certification. Being a registered community enterprise has also helped secure

the Development of Community Enterprises, Community Enterprise Promotion Division, Department of Agricultural
Extension, 2022.
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