Safe food, health lose out to chemicals

A tiny hut nestled in the hills of Nan province, denuded for cash crop plantations. (Photo by Sanitsuda Ekachai)

Why is it so difficult for organic farming to grow in Thailand? Is it the farmers' resistance to wean off chemicals for fear of low productivity? Is it consumers' unwillingness to pay more for safe foods? Is it the expensive logistics and the government red tape that prevent small organic farmers from reaching consumers?

Those questions popped into my head while I was visiting a group of organic farmers in the mountainous Nan province.

Despite their belief in growing safe food, they are in the minority. Most of their peers are still growing corn plantations, clearing precious rain forests to grow food for cattle and poultry with support from the feed industry.