A study visit to explore modern agriculture at Kubota Farm, Chonburi province, on 30 July 2025

30 July 2025 – GIZ Thailand, through the EMPOWER project, together with an advisory team from the Energy Research Institute (ERI), Chulalongkorn University, brought officials from the Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) to study modern agriculture at Kubota Farm in Chonburi province. The visit was part of the ‘Low-Carbon and Climate Action Training Programme’ curriculum.

Kubota Farm, a project by Siam Kubota Corporation Co., Ltd., was established as a learning and demonstration centre for modern agricultural innovations on an area of over 88 acres. The farm employs a variety of technologies and innovations to enhance agricultural efficiency and sustainability (with a focus on integrated management from upstream to downstream) to improve productivity, reduce costs and increase overall efficiency.

Kubota Farm officials guided the delegation from the DCCE, GIZ and the ERI through various highlighted zones, including:

1.) Precision Farming Zone: Showcasing the use of precision farming technologies, such as drones for land surveying and satellite-guided agricultural machinery.
2.) Rice and Post-Harvest Crops Zone: Demonstrating rice cultivation and post-harvest land management practices.

Precision Agriculture, Rice and Post-Rice Crops Zone at Kubota Farm

3.) New Theory Agriculture Zone: Showcasing the application of the ‘Sufficiency Economy’ philosophy in agricultural land management.
4.) Horticultural Innovation zone: Showcasing the use of technology and innovation in cultivating a variety of horticultural crops.

Horticultural Innovation zone at Kubota Farm

Kubota Farm features a dedicated zone for precision rice cultivation and crop rotation, utilising machinery and technology that shift rice cultivation from traditional flooding to alternating wet and dry (AWD) systems – an important approach for reducing methane (CH₄) emissions from rice fields. The technologies applied in this zone include:

1. Precision Rice Transplanter: Controlling the spacing of rice plants to enable more efficient use of land and water.
2. GNSS (high-precision GPS) system: Guiding machinery operations such as ploughing, sowing and field levelling to ensure even water distribution without flooding.
3. KAS Smart Farm Platform: A farm data management system that monitors soil moisture, watering schedules and rainfall to support AWD planting.
4. Agricultural drones: Used for spraying water, fertilizers, or beneficial microorganisms, helping to reduce the use of chemicals that harm soil microorganisms responsible for methane emissions.

These technologies enhance rice farming by reducing methane emissions while helping farmers increase yields, lower costs and use resources more efficiently.

Officials from the DCCE and GIZ, along with consultants from the ERI, participated in a Q&A session with the Kubota Farm team and discussed a range of topics including the efficiency of low-methane rice cultivation, the practical application of Smart Farming technologies, systematic farm management, and strategies for promoting knowledge to local farmers. The insights gained will help inform future project development and guide the DCCE’s ongoing work.

This study trip is a key activity of the EMPOWER project, aimed at strengthening the capacity of DCCE staff. Its primary objectives are to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, develop climate change response plans and measures, and enhance effective work processes and tools.

For more information about the Empower project, visit https://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/en_US/empower-project