About two hours from Bangkok is the province of Ratchaburi, where the Nongpho Ratchaburi Dairy Cooperative is located. Nongpho Ratchaburi Cooperative Limited (Under the Royal Patronage) is one of two sites visited by the participants of the 8th ASEAN Cooperative Business Forum on 27 February 2019.
The participants, which includes farmers and farmers’ organizations under the AFOSP-MTCP2 program, were toured around the cooperative’s museum where they learned about the history of the cooperative. The delegates also went to the production site to see some of the operations and production processes of the cooperative. They were also able to had a learning session with board members of the cooperative as well as try their milk products.
Nongpho Dairy Cooperative has been in existence for 40 years now. It has been operating to fulfill the royal wish and expectation of Thailand’s King Bhumibol. The cooperative produces pasteurized and U.H.T. milk and supply various milk products to the entire country.
A notable feature of the cooperative is that part of the shares of the members is used to fund the education of their children.
As of May 2018, the Nongpho Dairy Cooperative has 4,930 members and a share capital of 308,929,430 baht (USD 9,687,409).
The cooperative is engaged in the following businesses and activities:
- Credit and Savings Business. Members of the cooperative are encouraged to save. This also serves as their source of funds for expanding dairy farming business.
- Petrol Station. Across the Nongpho Dairy Cooperative factory is a gas station that mainly serves to sell fuel for their members’ vehicles as well as to the general public.
- Dairy Hut. Adjacent to the factory are a couple of cafes that serves and sells dairy products such as milk and ice cream.
- Convenience Store. Located beside the Dairy Hut is a store where various products such as food and other day-to-day goods are sold.
- Agricultural Extension Services. The cooperative also provides extension services to its members in the areas of dairy farming and farm management.
- Animal Feed Factory. The cooperative also operates a factory of animal feed that are sold to the members at reasonable price.
When asked if they plan to transform the cooperative into a company o a corporation, one of the board members of the cooperative answered that they do not have a plan yet to transform to a corporation and that they are happy to stay as a cooperative because this way, they are able to provide more benefits to their members.
Right now, the cooperative only accepts members who are into dairy farming and are residents of Ratchaburi.
This year’s ACBF themed “Enhancing the Competitiveness of Cooperative Products in the Market and Cooperation among Cooperatives in ASEAN Countries” was hosted by the Cooperative Promotion Department (CPD) of Thailand.
About AFOSP-MTCP2
AFOSP-MTCP2 is a capacity building program funded by the European Union with co-financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The program is being implemented in seven ASEAN countries through the consortium Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC). AFOSP-MTCP2 supports the strengthening of national farmers’ organizations (FOs) and their national platform towards improving their institutional capacity to deliver economic services to their members as well as to effectively engage them in policy processes. At the ASEAN level, the consortium AFA – LVC works in partnership with the ASEAN Foundation in expanding the spaces for the engagement of FOs in ASEAN processes.
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