SKY Irrigation Project / Vegetable Bank

Vegetable bank is a project that aims to promote vegetables cultivation to increase income for rural, supported by 2 main projects which are SKY Irrigation Project and private sector under the Social Business Project (TBIRD)

The concept is to store groundwater or water from ponds or streams that are surface water sources in a large concrete tank, then delivered the stored water to the agricultural plot, 800 square meters per plot, that has been allocated to the villagers

SKY Irrigation system bring underground water to store in 4 rainwater tanks, each tank size is 11.3 cubic meter, and develop the public area of ​​the village, arrange a vegetable plot of 800 sq.m. for the villagers to participate in the project.

One SKY Irrigation system will have about 30 members,PDA set a goal for 1 member to produce and sell vegetables 100 baht per day in an area of ​​800 square meters or 3,000 baht per month.

Vegetable Bank Project Providing opportunities for villagers who are poor and lacking land for farming to definitely have an income without having to rely on rain, and help prevent villagers from evacuating the village to find work in Bangkok and big cities.

Objective

  1. To create incentives for the poor, who do not have land to earn income and able to self-sufficient
  2. To applying technology appropriately
  3. To achieve a learning process in exquisite agriculture and water consumption with regard to environmental protection
  4. To create a group of villagers’ organizations for community development

 

Benefits

  1. The villagers have more income.
  2. local organizations are created.
  3. Reduction of labor migration
  4. The quality of life of the villagers has improved.

Number of system

170 systems (as of December 2019)

 

Number of beneficiaries

170 villages, 5,100 households, 25,500 people are earning income from the cultivation of vegetables from the project.

Operating procedures

Village selection

The water source selection

  1. Mainly uses groundwater and the well must be near to the electrical system
  2. The amount of water is about 30 gallons / minute. The pumping rate is 6.8 cubic meters / hour. Or having sufficient surface water resources
  3. The water is fresh water and the amount of contaminants are in accordance with water standards for agriculture

 

Area selection

  1. A vacant private area that can do agriculture
  2. Project area must not be less than 10 rai, divided by members to do activities

3.The area not more than 1.5 kilometers from the pumping point (artesian well)

 

Member selection

  1. Must have a minimum of 15 members
  2. Members have a career in agriculture, diligence, honesty and poverty, who do not have arable land or unusable land.
  3. Must have a domicile in the operating village

 

Community preparation

Project meeting / membership recruitment / member selection

 

Water Testing / Groundwater Well Drilling

After selecting the target village,the quantity and quality of water in the village will be tested to find whether it is suitable or not. Area and water resources surveys will be conducted together with the cooperation from the agency responsible for the water source and Nang Rong Integrated Rural Development Center.As for groundwater sources, 2 sources will be considered, which are

  1. Groundwater wells that are already present in the village such as groundwater wells of the ARD and the Department of Mineral Resources. In this regard, the water quantity and quality must be inspected to be suitable for agriculture,and must obtain permission and consent from the relevant authorities first
  2. Newly dig artesian wells from using the project budget

 

System construction Consists of the following steps

1.Building a water tank

2.Pipe laying

3.Automatic control system installation

 

Selection committee for management

Select from members and Holding the position for 1 year,after selecting the executive directors, there will be a management training.The committee have a responsibilities to manage groups according to project objectives. The members participating in the project must be involved in the following activities.

  1. Membership fee, 500 baht / person
  2. Members must work together to complete the construction of system
  3. Members have to pay for the cost of establishing a water system in the form of monthly installments of approximately 280 baht per month (water system fee of 130 baht, an average water bill of 150 baht per month) for 36 months
  4. In the event that there are more people interested in becoming members than the number of vegetable plots, members will be able to use the plot for 2 years before switch out for another members.

 

The training

There will be a training on fund management for the executive committee and member,who training in the field of cultivation and marketing

 

Promote cultivation

As for members who do not have funds for activities, there is a loan of not more than 2,500 baht per person.

 

Supervision and work tracking

Supervision and work tracking will be conducted by the staff of the center continuously and consistently.