Siam University gives importance to local farmers and food producers. We have initiated many projects relating to urban farming, BCG economy model, eco-farming and food security in local communities. As for food producers, members of the Department of Food Science, Faculty of Science have been researching on food technology. Many research projects have been undergone with partners such as More Meat Innotech Co., Ltd. At present, we have managed to produce “Plant-Based Products” such as minced pork, chicken, and pork belly from plants and also introduced sweet condensed milk from plants. The products (plant-based meat) can be cooked in various way, such as meat balls and pork mince, and taste very close to natural meat. In addition, we have also managed to produce “Ready-to-eat Products” such as “Pad Thai” in retort pouch and sticky rice with coconut milk and banana.
In addition, our students have participated in hackathon of the Thailand Sustainability Expo (TSX), initiated by Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (“ThaiBev”) every year. The event was organized this year during June 17-19, 2022 under the theme “Food Sustainability”. Our student team, “Ai Farmer”, proposed their project about “Smart Organic Farming” which is their volunteer work in Ban Mae Job, Chimplee Subdistrict, Talingchan district, Bangkok. The team was selected as the Top 50 of TSX Youth Award.
Plant-based Products
Plant-based Meat
Plant-based Chicken
Plant-based Belly
Plant-based Sweet Condensed Milk
Top 50 TSX Youth Award, 2022 Thailand Sustainability Expo: Food Sustainability Challenge
Non-Degree Program in Food Innovation and Smart Farming
Siam University has offered non-degree program in “Innovative Food Products and Digital Marketing” by the Faculty of Science and “Design and Implementation of a Connected Farm for Smart Farming System” by the Faculty of Engineering which received attention and collaboration from our public and private partners. The program has been supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
International Green Gown Award on Urban Farming
Poonbumpen community, one of social living lab of Siam University in Phasi charoen district, was affected by the covid-19 pandemic like other communities. During lock down, scarcity of clean and healthy food was one of the pain points. Despite their attempts to develop empty areas to grow vegetables in order to generate income and produce food, the cultivation was unsuccessful. Our faculty members in the Faculty of Nursing have been working with the community in many projects before and were impressed by their farming skills. In the pre-pandemic time, we were planning to organize weekend market but the lock down made it impossible. The community leaders and members in the Poonbumpen community have been trying to develop their own home areas to grow more agricultural vegetables by transferring knowledge to help each other in planting. Unfortunately, the cultivation yielded less and was not prosperous, due to the flowing of sea water into the area and the lack of agricultural knowledge. However, the community is still determined to develop efficient farming areas, along with preserving the identity of “Khon Khlong (Canal People)” farming methods that emphasize organic agriculture without chemicals as well as creating and distributing income to the community according to the concept of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy of the late King Rama IX.
In order to survive this hardship, we decided to help the community turn empty spaces into farming areas, develop innovative techniques for growing quality and safe vegetables, and improve the management of community agricultural products. Community members were provided with training sessions such as soil preparation, growing seeds and using compost, and preparation of products for sale. The project also adopted the concept of BCG (Bio-Circular-Green) economy to promote the green market project which serves as a sustainable food bank for urban living.
The “Urban Farming” project was undertaken in collaboration with voluntary and community organizations. We worked in cooperation with many partners; 12 members from the community committee and 2 government representatives; namely, the Government Savings Bank (GSB) and Phasi chareon District Office.
Members of Siam University worked on connecting and empowering the community members to participate in decision-making and selecting the local SDGs with consideration to the socio-economical aspects of the decisions. Regenerative agriculture has been used as a base to live in harmony with nature. This 10-month project, starting from April 2021 to January 2022 was successful. The community were able to produce far more than they needed since they managed to develop an organic farming area planting more than 30 different types of vegetables. To make the farm sustainable, a food bank in which vegetables and fruits are shared, was established with the hope that it will lead the locals to become self-reliant on food. It was reflected that the project has raised awareness of environmental protection, and community ecosystems, including concern for the pollution in the canal which has been damaged by all kind of organic and inorganic wastes. The locals are now thinking to become a “zero waste community”. Their community food bank has played a major role in food security. Not only that the project responds to the policies of the country and the global call for poverty reduction, it has also become an exemplary for surrounding communities.
The “Urban Farming” project was selected as a finalist in the 2022 International Green Gown Awards organized by the UN Environment Program with collaboration from Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI), the Association of Commonwealth Universities, EAUC Alliance for sustainability Leadership in Education, International Association of Universities (IAU), and Allianz Global Investors.