| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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1. The integration of the operation of all sectors involving in the improving quality of life for agriculturalists.
After investigating and understanding the needs and expectations of all groups in the areas, Mr. Weerachai Wirotsaengarun got the conclusion and assigned the ways to solve the problem in beef cattle raising and the way to create peacefulness in agricultural communities, Chang Subdistrict. He therefore supported the taking of the ideas to pilot at the beginning of 2009 with the suggestions that the ideas should be transferred to other local organizations and they should be invited to join in the operation.
As a result, the ideas was taken to extend to officials who work regularly in the local areas by talking, persuading, and convincing them to see the importance and resulting benefits that will occur in the local areas, with the philosophical principle of cooperating that Department of Livestock Development operate. The participants need to have three basic requirements: 1) mutual needs 2) mutual interests and 3) mutual benefits. Basic information obtained from the investigation is that all people in the areas wants and are interests in making their hometown back to peacefulness again for happiness and security in their live and properties of all people together.
All involving officials agreed with the ideas thus they help each other create the guidelines and operating plans as well as extend the ideas to people in the areas by arranging the panel to discuss to inform them to make them understand their right and their opportunities from taking part in giving suggestions, giving opinions, making decision in assigning the approach for the operation, and participating in developing themselves and hometown communities. This started from the panel discussion at the house of the head of the community who is the president of the group. After that taking turns to the houses of other members respectively. Later it was developed to be “The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses”. The activity is designed for all members to get closer and have an opportunity to talk to each other thoroughly. At the start, 29 agriculturalist families and 7 local governmental organizations decided to join the activity by endorsing and making agreement in operation together. Each organization took responsibility according to their context in joining hands in implementing better living and happiness for agriculturalists.
-In 2009 the activity of beef cattle raising was selected to supplement agricultural career. There were 29 agriculturalists. The breeder cow was given to each agriculturalist intended to increase the income. In 2011, it was extended
2. The use of activities which are people’s ways of life for the movement. The villagers then can gain access and open their heart to accept the participation in various activities via “The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses”. The activity was designed to make all members get close to each other and have a chance to discuss with each other thoroughly for both agriculturalists and officials from various organizations. It is held regularly every month and is used as a channel to:
-Follow the progress or the outcomes of various activities that has been assigned in the operation plan.
-Fulfill the knowledge to all members, both agriculturalists and officials, by using the activity of telling the things that each has done in the past month to member friends to share the experience and exchange the knowledge to each other.
-Overtop to give the chance to everyone to present new ideas to develop, improve, and overtop the activities that have been done to make it better for all dimensions: quality, efficiency and effectiveness. The example of the topping up developing from this activity include the fermentation of the manure for energy and take the residue as organic fertilizer for growing plants instead of chemicals and the taking of vegetable and fruit pieces to ferment as a biological extract to be used as biological fertilizer and insect propellants.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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1) Songkhla Provincial Livestock Office is the core organization as an initiator takes responsibility in driving the project as a whole and takes care of duties involving in beef cattle raising such as giving the suggestions and helping agriculturalists in taking care of animal health, preventing animal diseases, breeding animals and managing animal food. The Royal Cattle Buffalo Bank for Farmers takes responsibilities in procuring and lending the cow breeders to agriculturalists, one for each family, to produce a calf under the condition that the agriculturalists need to return the first calf to the bank for extending to other agriculturalists. After the agriculturalist reaches the agreement of five years, the bank will give all the animals, except the first calf, to be under the agriculturalist’s ownership.
2) Land Development Office, Songkhla Province, takes part in responsibility of developing the land of agriculturalists to be fertile and appropriate for growing plants, growing of good quality plant to be animal food (Napier grass, Pak Chong 1) for livestock raising, and procuring water sources for agriculture.
3) Nathawee District Office which is administration unit with Nathawee District Head and village headman to keeping the security in the areas by surveying, investigating, taking care of the safety for agriculturalists and participating officials in the area.
4) Chang Subdistrict Administrative Organization, Nathawee District, which is the local governmental organization to support and facilitate the organizing of group activities for villagers such as meetimg room and vehicles.
5) Nonformal Education Office, Nathawee District, takes care and supports the organizing of the group activities as well as provides speakers for the processing in the activities and “The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses” to help develop agriculturalists to have the capabilities in the process of taking part and leadership as well as taking the agriculturalists for study visits at other places and taking other agriculturalists for study visits and exchanging ideas.
6) Army Livestock Development Unit takes care of the construction and development of basic structures such as public streets in the areas as well as cooperates with Department of Livestock Development in taking care of animal’s health and servicing artificial inseminations for agriculturalists in risky areas
7) Energy Office, Songkhla Province, takes care of topping up the system of animal production by taking animal manure from the beef cattle raising to produce biogas to be used as household gas in the families of agriculturalists to save energy and reduce the pollution in terms of smell as well as insects in the community and topping up to the production of biological extract.
All organizers and agriculturalist group take part in thinking, making decisions, and following up the operation by themselves in all activities under operation via “The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses”.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The creation of Peaceful Agricultural Community amid violence in risky areas in Chang Subdistrict is the activity driven by the integration of organizations carrying out official duties in the areas with clear mutual objectives. All resources are taken from each organization supporting the activities that they take responsibilities, with the cooperation in assignments since the step of designing the activities as follows:
1) Songkhla Provincial Livestock Office makes use of its normal budget. The Royal Cattle Buffalo Bank for Farmers takes responsibilities in procuring and lending the cow breeders to agriculturalists, one for each family, totaled 29 breeders or 348,000 Baht (12,000 Baht each) as well as constructing one model gas fermentation tank of Department of Livestock Development for 6,000 Baht and providing the 5,000 Baht fund for the foundation of animal medicine for agriculturalists.
2) Land Development Office, Songkhla Province, makes use of its regular budget in training 36 agriculturalists to have knowledge about soil improvement and analysis as well as growing plants as animal food (Napier grass) covering the areas of 25 rais.
3) Energy Office, Songkhla Province, supports the budget to construct 4 gas fermentation tanks, 20,000 Baht each.
4) Nathawee District Office, Nonformal Education Office, Nathawee District, Army Livestock Development Unit and Chang Subdistrict Administrative Organization already have the activities to operate in the areas thus can make use of their normal budget in joining the project.
5) Agriculturalists provide their own budget to construct 4 biogas tanks with the model of Provincial Energy Office, 5,000 Baht each.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The completing of the project under the strategy of integration of all operation from all involving sectors as well as the use of the activity in driving the operation based on knowledge and understanding, which can reach the basics of ideas and minds of villagers result in the development deriving from individual inner to express through a number of activities, creating the sharing of ideas and feelings of individual to the group in addition to the fulfillment by governmental resources and personnel. The outcomes can be summarized as follows:
1. Agriculturalists are strong, able to depend on themselves and ready to share and help each other. They are also ready to cooperate with government officials in developing their community to be strong, secured, safe, and peaceful which results from more trust between Buddhists and Muslims, between villagers and government officials as well as the integration of government officials to reach mutual goals.
2. There is a complete cycle of agricultural production system. There is no extra waste or useless residue from production system to result in burden of extra cost for the system in addition to increasing efficiency of agricultural production system, increasing income, reducing cost for agriculturalists, and continuous overtopping development.
3. New knowledge about agriculture has been developed continuously. The learning Center of Community was founded to transfer and share knowledge both within and outside the community such as agriculture without chemicals, alternative energy from manure, new breed of beef cattle with better productivity, new kind of nutritious animal food, and the preservation of animal food to be used during food deprivations.
4. A new way of operation for governmental organizations has been developed which focuses on serving the needs of people instead of only finishing the assigned duties, resulting in the integration in working which has never occurred before.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses has been created through integrated thoughts to design for the best efficiency with reasonable resources and time but resulting in benefits covering all aspects in one activity. The monthly activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses not only create the opening-up of members’ hearts but can also be used in following up and evaluating the operation by interrogating and reporting the progress individually for all members: agriculturalists, government officials, as well as those involved. The communications can therefore be performed in both directions with best efficiency and appropriateness.
Songkhla Provincial Livestock Office monitors and evaluates the operation of this activity monthly by documenting and collecting the data of the outcomes from the operation, progress, impacts, problems, obstacles, and success factors as well as inspects the change of environment, feelings of agriculturalists, community, officials and those involved from all sectors via The activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses to lead to the planning and improvement. The example is that at the beginning the activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses started from taking turn to be the host. The host for each month used to facilitate the place and take care of all expenses from the activity alone. Everyone agreed that it is too much burden to the host. There was a suggestion to help relieve the burden of the host. Finally, it is agreed upon the modification that the host only facilitate the location. All members then prepare sufficient food by themselves to exchange and share.
Other involving organizations can also monitor and evaluate, both as a whole and only the parts under responsibility through the activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses.
Moreover, agriculturalists can monitor and evaluate the progress of the operation of each group as well as the operation of officials.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Initially, by organizing the panel discussion in the activity of Eating at Friends’ Houses, it was found that agriculturalists had no confidence in speaking and expressing themselves due to the fact that they were unfamiliar with speaking in front of a lot of people or felt uneasy when they are asked by the officials which made the activity as a whole not smooth and only little information was obtained. The proceeding of the activity was therefore changed by supporting process speaker from Nonformal Education Office, Nathawee District, to help activity operation for effectiveness and to create friendly atmosphere.
In fulfilling the system of agricultural production by livestock raising, the impacts on community were found including the waste with bad smell, insects, the contamination in water resource for villagers, the lack of animal food in the dry seasons. Those involved brainstormed to obtain the modification by encouraging agriculturalists to build biogas tanks with cattle manure as raw materials and supporting the growing of Napier grass as animal food.
Agriculturalists, officials, and those involved are worried about the sustainability of the activity under operation due to the fact that at the beginning it was the operation by the cooperation at officer level, not at organizational level. Later, it was made into the agreement of 8 organizations.
Purchasers of agricultural products from town lack of confidence in security therefore refuse to go there and buy the products in the areas. Villagers together show them safety in the areas and inform them the movement of the terrorists in nearby areas all the time. They finally have confidence in going to buy agricultural products continuously.
Some agriculturalists are not interested in raising cattle and buffalos because they are too large. Songkhla Provincial Livestock Office also opens up the opportunities for agriculturalists who are interested in raising other animals such as goats and sheep to join the project and join the group activities fro extension.
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