BANGKOK, THAILAND: TFNet CEO Dr. Desa Hassim paid a courtesy visit to Kanit Likhitvidhayavuth, Deputy Director General of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DOAE), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative (MOAC) on the 17th December 2015.
During the visit, he encouraged the DOAE to join TFNet and represent Thailand as a country member. Thailand is an important producer of high quality tropical fruits that are exported worldwide, including pineapple, durian, mangosteen, longan, mango, lychee, and pomelo. Joining TFNet could open doors for information and technology sharing among the members, strengthening the region’s industry. Other benefits include implementation of research projects, seminars, workshops, and training in Thailand.
Other issues discussed were the development of viable strategies in promoting tropical fruits, post-harvest handling, processing, and facilitation of international trade.
Meeting with AFMA Executive Director
Dr. Desa also take his opportunity to meet Mr. Thirach Rungruangkanokkul, Executive Director of the Agricultural and Food Marketing Association for Asia and the Pacific (AFMA), at his office in Bangkok Food and Agriculture Organization Annex Building. The meeting focused on possible joint collaboration projects for agricultural marketing particularly of tropical fruits.
The main function of AFMA is to enhance a wide range of agri-business development activities, such as improving storage and warehousing, grading and standardization, transportation, processing and conversion and preservation. Similar to TFNet, AFMA conducts programmes such as the green marketing project that assists farming community in marketing their products. AFMA also conducts regional cooperation projects that educate various stakeholders about the issues and factors affecting the market.
After the meeting, AFMA expressed interest in collaborating with TFNet on tropical fruit market outreach and strengthening the value chain of organic fruits and vegetables.
