Continuing the talks on agriculture youth champions from different parts of the world, Aggie Ps Talk 5.0 Episode 4 features Mr. Panupong Great Tuntirut of Naira Farms in Thailand. 

Aside from being a fruit farmer through Naira Farms, Mr. Great is also the President of the Northern Zone, Young Smart Farmers (YSF), Petchabun. And in recognition of his contributions to the development of agriculture in Thailand, he was awarded the Bank of Agriculture’s NewGen HugBanKerd 2020 for the Innovative Farming and Technology category. 

Mr. Great’s journey in agriculture was not an easy one. He took up B.S. in Telecommunications Engineering in college before he decided to pursue his passion in agriculture or farming, a decision that his parents did not understand at first. However, with his determination and love for the field, he was able to prove that agriculture is a profitable and sustainable business. 

Mr. Great’s advocacy to help farmers by sharing knowledge in alternative energy, automation, and other technologies led him to shift career gears. 

Owing to the fact that he has no background in agriculture, Mr. Great immersed himself in a community of farmers where he learned agriculture. In his talk, he emphasized on how the farmers community has helped him and is continuously helping him grow as a farmer and solve challenges he faces in his farm. 

From being the mentee, Mr. Great is now a mentor to the youth through the Young Smart Farmers Thailand, a government-supported organization that supports and helps train over 12,000 young farmer members. He hopes to one day widen the knowledge sharing in agriculture through expanded collaboration with farmers from different countries. 

Through the Naira Farm Project, Mr. Great continuously pursues his advocacy of building a strong network of youth farmers and engaging them in lifelong learning and sharing about holistic agriculture. He works towards achieving sustainability in agriculture through collaborations and exchange of knowledge. 

The webinar’s goals are indeed reached again through this episode. The participants, through the menti.com survey experience, were able to express how they were inspired to pursue agriculture as a business. The time capsule activity was also continued through the #FutureofAgriCOOLture. 

This is the fifth season of the CAFS webinar series, Rebooting Agriculture in the New Normal: Webfresher Courses. 

Watch the episode through CAFS YouTube Channel: 

By Alyssa Kaye S. Mojar