Association president Veeraphong Panchavathanakul said that chicken breeders had been encouraged to change to enclosed-operations and apply stringent farm-management and disease prevention measures as required by the Livestock Development Department.

"All chicken producers have to operate their farms according to the same standard, from chick farms through slaughterhouses. In all processes, the movement of chickens from one place to another will require a license," he said, adding that the regulations would apply equally to small-, medium- and large-scale farms.

Grass project mulled

The Agricultural Land Reform Office signed a cooperative agreement yesterday with the Seed for Animal Feed Producers Club of Thailand, in Kalasin province, to produce seed for animal fodder under a contract-farming arrangement.

The office's secretary-general, Anant Phoositthikul, said farmers in the Kalasin sufficiency-economy estate would be encouraged to produce seed for grasses that are used for feeding animals.

Thirty farmers with a combined 9.6 hectares of growing area will participate in a pilot project. The club will purchase all seed produced by the farmers at prices ranging from Bt75 to Bt100 per kilogram, depending on the species of grass.

Fashion photo books

Until the end of this month, the Bangkok Fashion City Project will host the "Finale Photo Exhibition" to showcase the best photographs from all six publications in the "Bangkok Fashion Now and Tomorrow" series.

The publications, launched in 2005, are photography books aimed at promoting top Thai fashion designers among local and overseas audiences, as part of efforts to make Thailand a fashion centre. The exhibition will be held at the fashion trend centre in CentralWorld.