Conclusions? Notes from the Alternative Market Discussion

On December 3rd, SFS and Rice Fund Surin hosted a discussion focusing on our alternative market work. P Than, manager of Rice Fund, brought us together to examine past experience and think about the future: Where do we go from here?

For the first hour, P Than gave a history of SFS’ philosophy, as it has sought to connect sustainable community development with alternative market. The goal of developing alternative markets was to solve problems in the Thai economy through sustainable, fair agriculture. It is work aimed at society: Fair Trade, safe food, a safe environment and preserved ecology. Rice Fund works to create strong farmers’ groups - through production and marketing – alternative development has emerged. The Kao Hom Store was opened in 1994 to sell Rice Fund members’ organic rice in the city and connect with consumers (The latter, however, has come later than expected: with the Smiley Garbage project, as consumers connect to SFS through weekly food scrap recycling and newsletter updates). The Green Market was opened almost 6 years ago, because selling rice is only one part of the farmers’ economy – they only sell once a year – selling produce weekly at the Green Market helps to deal with debt and save money for family use. Initially, SFS assumed that women would be the sole vendors, but it has grown to include husbands and children, helping sell goods, and prepare treats. The Green Market has also been an opportunity for children to learn about markets. In recent years, the Green Market has come to focus on local food and community resource issues – it is about the energy crisis and environmental issues, as well as food security and food safety. The markets’ development also comes from producer-consumer relationships, through requests for certain vegetables and produce. The Green Market has also connected with other organizations like NET Foundation, the Herbal House, as well as the local government, and the public health office.

P Than's history was concluded with two points. First, for consumers, what does the producer-consumer relationship mean? Second, how do we expand and improve alternative markets? Create policies? Work towards the “consumers’ cooperative” idea?

P Eyat responded with some fire. In managing the process, it can’t just be “green” - there needs to be “red” and “blue,” as well (what did these colors refer to, by the way?) The burden on NGOs is that we have the farmers' products and we need to build a bridge to connect with consumers: it will be about food sovereignty, community-oriented markets - not just expansion – we need to continually think about what needs improvement. What else is connected to alternative markets? Do we need to think more about the role of the state?

P Eyat later continued by distinguishing between the Western thinking (a mono-thinking) and Eastern thinking (an integrated thinking) about agricultural systems. He questioned Fair Trade: is exporting white rice only connecting with “Western thinking?” Seasonal foods and diversity, or what plant varieties are beneficial, consumers don’t understand these concepts and the new generation isn’t used to local varieties.

P Dtoh responded that changing producers and consumers ways of thinking is a movement. The alternative market is not just a market, but it’s a movement, one in response to the changes of the Green Revolution (chemical abuse, industrialization, ecological destruction). The Green Market, for example, needs to be distinguished from other ostensibly “community markets” that sell goods bought at Makro or Tesco. It is also a rural-urban movement, as the Thursday mobile market connects farmers with news and information. Thankfully, P Dtoh also clarified the meanings of “green,” “red,” and “blue.” “Green” means alternative, “red” means communist, and “blue” means capitalist. Though these could be read in a variety of other ways…

Dr. Sonchai suggested that the name “Green Market” be changed to something like the “Clean Vegetables Market.” Using the Chinese vegetables sold by farmers as an example, he pointed how they sell quickly because they are what consumers are used to. Further, after the Green Market, consumers go to the conventional markets to find what they can’t buy at the Green Market. He questioned how much consumers actually ask of farmers – do they really question how it was produced or where it comes from? Consumers aren’t looking enough at the process and look only at the final product. A lot of “Green Market consumers” also go to Big C and Tesco because prices are low, and they need to drive motorcycles and cars to get out to the edge of the city. But they don’t think about how this is a waste of fuel and time. In this way, the alternative market becomes: “buy here or not, whatever,” and this is an “alternative.” We need to continue to examine: why do consumers come to the Green Market?

He also discussed how capitalism is made up of both money and knowledge, and the latter must be better established with Green Market consumers, as this is a powerful way to compare the Green Market with conventional markets. Make produce safety the basis for the market, to distinguish it, make it clear, true and believable.

P Nok joined in, pointing out that the Green Market is a tool in the movement, though it isn’t clearly showing how society’s thinking about food and agriculture is changing. People know the market is made up of organic agriculture, but beyond that its unclear. Further, logos (EU/NOP, Fair Trade) aren’t really representative of the movement, of an alternative.











P’ Jamlong, of the Province Organic Standards office commented that the market is difficult on producers – it continues to push mono-production and solving this problem is increasingly difficult. Consumers have expanded beyond the reach of producers – they determine what is to be produced and sold at markets.

P’ Kanya, a Rice Fund committee member, responded to critiques of consumer behavior by pointing out how much has changed in the village. Her farmers’ group has grown from 8 to 50 members, so though consumer might not fully understand, farmers are beginning to see something in their alternative approach. "Have we been successful? Using the family as the basis for learning, and given that we’ve learned a lot, I think we have had success." In agreeing with Dr. Sonchai, she pointed out how her produce is for everyone and it is fair, but it is important to get consumers understanding what is behind the produce. If consumers truly understand, they’ll keep coming to the market, and we'll generate more value in the process. Further, the market is a space for all parties to come together – NGOs, government and farmers – and this is a true alternative.

P' Pakphum, a Rice Fund member and organic inspection committee member, questioned the use of the market to solve the problems in society. Consumers and new generation farmers all like Chinese vegetables, but they are really difficult to grow – they are risky to produce and farmers need to use a lot of chemicals. It is an unsustainable market with too much pressure of producers. The problems in society - growing these crops because of market demands, then taking urban employment and leaving the community because of debt – need to be solved by creating alternatives oriented at solving them, not just creating an alternative. Then, in terms of information and news, farmers need to be able to produce what requires the least investment and can be grown in season – this is the information that supports alternative markets. Conventional production for the market uses information, but it’s not beneficial to the producer – Fair Trade rice comes with information, but local produce doesn’t yet do the same.

P’ Yae, the AAN Surin representative (and fellow blogger!), added to distinguishing the Green Market, in that it can serve to distribute movement information and the substance of the movement is significant. We agree on the future for the Green Market: we need to raise the level of local food in the city – show how our pork is different from CP pork. We can focus on an issue with power and a lot of energy right now – local food – and bring consumers in.










P' Tip pointed out consumers need to be not just consumers of food, but also consumers of information. The Green Market has created consumers’ groups like “Smiley Garbage.” People in this meeting had critiqued that there’s “no diversity” at the Green Market, but farmers used to plant cabbage, Chinese veggies and carrots and it destroyed local ecology in the past. We've tried to plant them organically, but with no success. This is something we simply cannot respond to in terms of consumers' demands. We need to develop a way of distributing information about what our movement means. If we give information about the use of chemicals (spraying carrots with herbicides and pesticides), consumers may not go to the conventional market for them.


So, while there was a lot of interesting discussion about what the alternative market has been, currently is, and could be, it's difficult to come to any clear conclusions. Further, the discussion was far too focused on the Green Market. In the coming months, we're planning to develop informational brochures or labels for vegetables to get information to consumers about why Green Market vendors grow the things they do. At the Kao Hom store, we're hoping to expand into a consumers' center, with information and places to sit, learn and discuss different issues. Surin lacks a permanent forum to educate others about our food and agriculture system, hopefully last week's meeting will contribute to establishing a real alternative for consumers.