The Nation October 2 1998

by Chang Noi

Since the King's birthday speech last December, the ''new theory'' of self-reliance and self-sufficiency to combat the crisis has won widespread support. But what does self-reliance mean? Some 550 kms away from Bangkok in the deepest northeast, the villagers have their own version.

''The foundation of self-reliance is knowledge. We have done a survey of our village's economy. Every household. Every detail. Lots of people have ideas about rural development. Officials are always telling us what to do. But these are just ideas, not based on the facts. For the first time, we really understand how the local economy works. And as a result, we know what to do about it.

''There's only a little we can do to expand production. The soil is too sandy and porous and there is no irrigation. We rely on the rain and the rain is not reliable. This year it came very late. That will hit us hard and there is nothing we can do about it.

''We need more discipline about consumption. Over the last ten years, the market has really invaded the village. We have lost control. A lot of our money is flowing out unnecessarily. We're not against the market. But we tend to look outside too much. Our first priority should be the internal market, the market inside the village. With the help of the survey data, we can take back control. We can see where our cash is going. We spend enormous amounts on fish sauce, on cartons of milk for the kids, and on fertiliser. And we don't need to.

''So here's the plan for our own fish-sauce manufacture. It's technically quite easy. It will produce enough for the village needs. We still need to decide where to locate it because it will be smelly. But that problem, we can solve.

''Then the school milk. We've worked out that three milch-cows will be enough. We've sent someone off to learn about it. We all keep beef-cattle already so it's not so different.

''Then there are a lot of things produced in the village and exchanged between families. Vegetables, fruit, tools, baskets, snacks, some cloth. We need to systematise this a bit better, so we are building a community shop. Luckily we still have the tradition of community labour here, so the construction won't cost so much.''

This village is not as poor as many in the northeast. Almost every family has some land. But neither is the village specially rich. There are no flashy new houses, no gleaming new cars. But the village has a tradition of community. And big ambitions.

''What we really need is a rice mill. We are all rice-growers. But every time we sell our rice, we give most of the profit away to the merchants. So we set up a company and sold shares. Over 1,200 families bought shares. We raised over Bt6 million.

''But not one of the cheap little rice mills that the government promotes. That's only good for a small volume and one grade of rice. We want a 200-tonne rice mill which can handle every grade. Modern and computer-controlled. We have already built the building.

''The building is huge. But it's empty. No machinery. After the construction, the capital ran out. There is an office and toilets, built when prime minister Chavalit [Yongchaiyudh] paid a visit. He hinted he would help find the remaining capital. He didn't. But now the project has managed to get a grant from the Ministry of Interior's self-reliance scheme.

''But there's still a problem. The grant has to come through the Tambon Administrative Organisation (TAO). But the TAO may want a cut. The TAO is really being run by the district officer [nai amphoe]. But district officers always want a commission and they are teaching the TAO people bad habits. For projects from the normal budget, the commission is about 36 per cent. If it's a special budget and an MP is involved, it can be around 45 per cent. We can't afford that. Our budget is just enough for the machinery. But we'll get round it somehow.''

The leadership for all this self-reliant activity is coming from a small group. Some are farmers with a reputation for their skill (one achieved triple the average rice yield by ''treating his rice-fields like other people treat their kitchen garden''). One is a retired village headman. Two are teachers. Most of them have spent time outside the village. Until the crisis, around eighty per cent of the farmers went to drive taxis in Bangkok or Ubon for three to six months during the dry season. The city has taught them new attitudes. The teacher is the son of a local farmer. He studied at Kasetsart University and returned to the village. He has a network of contacts that spreads through universities, NGOs, ministries and politics. Such people represent a new spirit in Thai villages. Less subservient. More entrepreneurial. More ambitious. They already have plans to storm the TAO and kick out the contractors at the next election.

Their vision of self-reliance is a 200-tonne rice-mill. This is some way ahead of the vision of the officials and politicians overseeing Thai agriculture.

The retired headman puts a box on the table. It looks like a meal box served on THAI's internal flights. The cover has the seal of the Ministry of Agriculture and the message ''Plant an Edible Fence of Kitchen Vegetables to Economise''.

Inside is a sealed plastic pouch, again reminiscent of an airline meal. Inside the pouch are 16 little sachets, each with 15-30 seeds. Cabbage, tomato, papaya, gourd, coriander, chilli and so on. Plus a 20-page booklet with planting instructions, beautiful colour pictures of ripe vegetables, and a message from the deputy minister: ''Thailand is facing an economic crisis as never before. Everyone in the nation faces difficulty. The Ministry of Agriculture is concerned about this problem, and so has adopted a policy to cure economic problems by supporting our brother farmers and others to reduce their daily expenditure by planting their own kitchen vegetables. This will be of benefit to families and to the nation, as well as being in line with the Royal policy of a self-sufficient economy.''

''This papaya sachet has just 15 seeds. There are more than 15 flourishing papaya trees in this garden.

''Did anyone ask the farmers whether we need garden vegetable seeds? Whose idea was this? If I want such seeds, I can ask my neighbours for a few.

''It's insulting to suppose we need a booklet to tell us how to grow vegetables. And look, these are phrik ki nu [small chillies]. In this region we never use that kind of chilli.

''There's even a television ad with minister Pongphol boasting about this scheme. How much will it all cost? Someone told me hundreds of millions of baht.

''The ministry even imported the seeds! What kind of self-reliance is that?

''If they want to distribute seeds, why do it in such an expensive way? Look at all the packaging? Many times the cost of the seeds. Who do you think got the contract for printing and packaging?''

This village may be a little ahead of most of rural Thailand. But its new confidence and ambition point towards the future. The ministry, by contrast, seems a long way behind. Still in the dark ages. The mental distance between 15 papaya seeds and a 200-tonne rice mill is about one historical era.

Chang Noi is a pseudonym.