By Jantima Kulkit Photos by: SPOPP-CLIMA Project
Despite being retired, Prasert Prateep Na Talang, a former teacher with a spirit of lifelong learning, decided to become a full-time oil palm farmer after ending his teaching career. He poured great effort and resources into developing his own plantation, yet with limited experience and the growing impacts of climate change, his journey towards a stable and productive farm has been far from easy.
Prasert Prateep Na Talang
Trainer at Tubtim & Chaiyo Oil Palm Community Enterprise Network
Prasert is among 50 farmers who joined the latest round of training under the project the Sustainable Palm Oil Production and Procurement Project on Climate Mitigation and Adaptation (SPOPP CLIMA). The three-day course took place on 27 & 28 June at the Hot Spring Beach Resort & Spa in Thai Mueang district, and on 3 September at the Pullman Khao Lak Resort, Phang Nga province.
The ‘Low-Carbon Oil Palm Management for a Green Economy’ curriculum was jointly implemented by GIZ and the Department of Agriculture, with support from Global Green Chemicals plc (GGC). Its goal is to strengthen farmers’ capacity and understanding of low-carbon production principles and enable them to assess the carbon footprint of their palm oil products.
The course is divided into two levels: trainer level and farmer level.
Trainer-level participants serve as mentors, providing guidance and support to farmers in different areas, ensuring that the practices are effectively implemented in the field.
At the farmer level, the focus is on applying suitable and sustainable measures within their own palm plantations. Through this training, farmers are introduced to a wide range of practices and management options that they can adopt accordingly, helping to reduce the carbon footprint and environmental impacts from greenhouse gas emissions.
SPOPP CLIMA aims to empower farmers like Prasert to manage their plantations responsibly and reduce carbon emissions in tangible ways. By equipping them with practical knowledge, tools and practices, the project helps ensure that every palm fruit harvested contributes not only to livelihoods but also to a cleaner, safer and more sustainable future.
To achieve this, farmers must be well-prepared with knowledge, understanding and the necessary resources covering all stages of production: from land preparation, planting and nutrient management to systematic data collection and analysis. It also includes adopting practical measures that can lead to tangible carbon reduction, such as the proper use of fertilisers, soil and leaf analysis, planting cover crops or intercrops to enhance carbon sequestration, efficient water management, avoiding the open-burning of crop residues, and recycling agricultural by-products to minimise waste and enhance environmental value.
Success of oil palm trainers in building farmers’ confidence: in-depth knowledge, clear communication and tangible action
The intensive training has built a strong network of trainers from six farmer groups across four provinces: Trang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Chumphon.
Prasert Prateep Na Talang and Sumetta Vithitpun, who completed the trainer-level course, are now ready to share their knowledge with fellow members of their communities.
“This training has been a truly valuable experience for me,” said Prasert. “It not only deepened my technical understanding but also gave me a real sense of what it means to be a facilitator. I’ve gained a clearer grasp of the carbon footprint concept and the techniques for measuring it accurately. Now, I feel much more confident in communicating this knowledge to other farmers in a way that’s easy to understand and practical to apply.”
He believes that being a trainer, especially in the agricultural field, requires credibility and trust from the audience. That is why he lives by the principle ‘Learn deeply, know it for real’. For him, it is not only about being able to speak but also about demonstrating the practice through real action. He also emphasises the importance of communication skills and techniques, as every participant has a different level of understanding.
Mr Prasert confidently concluded that to gain acceptance from others, one must first have confidence in oneself. He expressed his gratitude to the SPOPP CLIMA project for helping him grow, strengthening his self-belief, and preparing him to pass on this valuable knowledge sustainably to the next generation of farmers.
Learn first, understand first: the secret to becoming a trainer in leading low-carbon palm oil production
At 58, Sumetta Vithitpun, known affectionately as Lek, was originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat before moving with her family to settle in Khura Buri district, Phang Nga province.
She transitioned from her previous career as an auditor to become an oil palm farmer.
Despite the career change, her attention to detail, analytical mindset, and curiosity have remained unchanged.
Her background in auditing, a profession that demands precision, accuracy and in-depth learning, laid a strong foundation that continues to drive her passion for acquiring new knowledge, especially in improving her own oil palm plantation to keep pace with global sustainability standards.
Ms Sumetta is among those who volunteered to take on the role of trainer, a responsibility her peers were confident she could fulfil with great success.
She shared that she felt both excited and grateful for the opportunity to develop herself. Learning and practising facilitation skills on a topic so closely connected to her own life and aligned with global sustainability trends was a meaningful and inspiring challenge. She firmly believes that ‘learning first leads to understanding first’, a principle that continues to inspire her to embrace this role with enthusiasm.
Ms Sumetta also recognises that adapting to climate change and fostering farmers’ understanding of low-carbon palm oil production are crucial goals that require cooperation from all sides.
She pledged that she and her fellow trainers would dedicate their full efforts to raising awareness and driving sustainable oil palm management practices to achieve shared goals.
For her, the ‘Low-Carbon Oil Palm Management for a Green Economy’ curriculum is an essential tool to pass on this knowledge effectively to farmers in her community and beyond.
Fertiliser management: a key measure for low-carbon oil palm plantations
There are various key measures for achieving low-carbon oil palm management, such as accurate soil and leaf analysis to ensure the appropriate use of fertilisers and chemicals, intercropping, efficient water management and obtaining Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification.
These practices not only help improve the yield and quality of palm oil, but also reduce production costs and enhance the credibility of products, making oil palm cultivation both environmentally friendly and economically sustainable in the long run.
Being a farmer from the AJ Reinforce Oil Palm Sustainably Community Enterprise Network, Ekarat Pichayakan, uses cow manure from his livestock as organic fertiliser alongside other types of fertilisers to maximise efficiency, reduce costs and make the best use of available resources.
At the same time, the project encourages volunteer farmers to establish twelve demonstration plots to test and showcase practical approaches to low-carbon oil palm management. Although these plots are still in their early stages, each serves as a learning and knowledge-sharing site for other farmers, while also collecting data on carbon footprints to evaluate which approaches effectively reduce emissions.
These pilot plots mark the first step towards developing scalable models that can later be replicated and expanded to benefit more farmers in the future.
This project builds upon Thailand’s milestone in achieving RSPO certification, advancing further towards low-carbon palm oil production. It aims to open new business opportunities in the carbon credit market and establish truly sustainable agricultural practices.
The project’s implementation is in line with Thailand’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the national greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Paris Agreement, reflecting the country’s strong commitment to addressing climate change.
While the transition to low-carbon production inevitably involves certain costs, the Thai government has introduced ‘Thailand Taxonomy’, a framework for classifying sustainable and environmentally friendly economic activities.
This framework is designed to stimulate investment in green and sustainable technologies, guiding farmers, investors and entrepreneurs towards clear directions for developing low-carbon initiatives that foster long-term sustainability and contribute to a more climate-friendly future.
Next step: from learning to action
Farmers who have participated in the training now feel more confident and ready to put their low-carbon oil palm production knowledge into practice. With close mentoring and continuous support from trainers, they are motivated to experiment with new approaches or improve existing practices systematically – driven by the determination to make a difference and create positive change.
This learning experience marks a crucial starting point for translating knowledge into action, generating sustainable outcomes in production, income and environmental stewardship.
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