It is still early morning but already the temperature is almost 40 degrees Celsius at the Aromatic Farm in Damnoen Saduak district, Ratchaburi province. Despite the heat, a group of Thai coconut farmers are enjoying talking to each other outdoors while drinking coconut water to quench their thirst and beat the high summer temperatures. It is the first reunion for these farmers since they took part in a pilot training on regenerative organic agriculture late last year. Now they are sharing their experiences and the lessons learnt while implementing regenerative organic agriculture practices at their farms over the past few months.

Since its launch in June 2020, the Regenerative Coconuts Agriculture Project (ReCAP) has provided coconut farmers in pilot provinces of Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkram, Nakhon Pathom and Ratchaburi with a series of training courses in regenerative organic agriculture. The first batch of 13 coconut farmers have so far learnt practical techniques to enhance the sustainability of their coconut farms while remaining profitable.

The project showcases Thailand’s first collaboration between Danone Ecosystem Fund, Harmless Harvest and GIZ. The aim is to transform the conventional practices of coconut farmers into regenerative organic practices, thereby reducing their impact on climate change and strengthening the livelihoods of farmers and local coconut farming communities.

Coconuts are one of Thailand’s most important crops with 90.61 tonnes exported to the top three markets of the United States (582.23 million baht), Hong Kong (221.74 million baht) and Germany (83.31 million baht) based on an export value of 3.39 billion baht in 2019. Nowadays their consumption continues to increase rapidly as a result of global health trends. Thailand – the world’s main exporter of aromatic coconuts – has seen its export value increase dramatically during the past year. Most coconut farmers rely on coconuts as their only source of revenue and have turned to chemical-laden monoculture crop farming just to boost their yields in order to meet the skyrocketing demand.

“Organic agriculture can bring a healthy future not only to the farmers, but also consumers and our planet. The key success in doing regenerative organic agriculture is to let the nature take care of itself. As a farmer, we should not stop learning new and diverse agricultural knowledge to improve ourselves and our business,” said Nuanlaor Dherdkiattikun, the owner of Aromatic Farm and a member of the first batch of ReCAP pilot farmers.

Agung Bimo Listyanu, Danone Ecosystem Fund regional coordinator, said: “We are excited about the project and its progress towards Regenerative Agriculture practice. The reunion will help reconnect our farmers so they can share their best-case practices and we should do it more often.”

Chaichana Rodcharoensuk, one of the 13 pilot ReCAP farmers, said he started adopting waste management and stingless bee farming at his coconut orchard in nearby Samut Sakhon’s Ban Phaeo district. He has also put into practice the techniques learnt and is growing intercrops and cover crops to enhance soil nutrients.

After attended the ReCAP training, the 58-year-old coconut farmer has implemented practical advice and various techniques from the project.

“I cannot really say my farm is 100% regenerative yet. However, with the support from ReCAP staff and the knowledge gained from the training sessions, I have more confidence in myself to transform my coconut orchard into sustainable farming in the long run,” he said.