Farmers have been urging government agencies and academics to help improve the cattle-raising system, set a standardised pricing system and create a pilot project to show them better farming methods.

In 1993 there were around 7.24 million head of cattle before the economic crisis caused the number to drop to 4.57 million in 1998. It was believed that figure rose again to about 6 million in 2004 and about 7 million this year.

Two million, or 40 per cent of the nationwide total of local-breed cattle, were raised in the lower Northeast.

TRF director Piyawat Boonlong said TRF-sponsored area-based research on north-eastern-breed cattle raising was conducted with the participation of local farmers, officials, the business sector and academics.

The research dealt with a marketing and consumer study, animal feeding techniques and products, and cattle-raisers, networking and natural resources.

Assistant Professor Somporn Duanyai, dean of Ubon Ratchathani University's Agricultural Science Department, who did the research with masters degree students, said in 2004 the province had 55,432 families raising 278,777 head of cattle - 89 per cent of which were a local breed.

The cattle mostly graze on grass on public land and rice straw, which is in line with local agricultural lifestyle as cow dung is the main natural fertiliser for plants.

Many raisers also let their cattle roam in vast community forests, he said.

If the pastures were not contaminated with pesticides, this free-range system could well lead to natural beef production and if the cattle were fed on organic rice straw - certified by buyer countries - it could also be sold under the "organic beef" product label, he said.

Assoc Professor Jutarat Setthakul, from the Agriculture Technology Faculty at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology at Lat Krabang, said Thailand only had one famous quality beef, namely Phone Yang Kham from Sakhon Nakhon.

This soft and fatty beef was sold at Bt400 to Bt700 per kilogram compared to other local beef priced at Bt100 per kg.

She said beef from lower north-eastern cattle was mostly consumed locally and sold at cheap prices, but it was already high-quality material for meatball food processing. Currently 80 per cent of local-breed cattle are sent to meatball factories.

Jutarat said lower north-eastern beef had the potential to develop into higher quality products - both fresh or processed products - and should focus on the strong selling point of being an all-natural product.

Director of the Ubon Ratchathani Research and Technology Centre Sornnarong Supachaowalit said he was positive about the development towards natural beef products, if provided by sufficient livestock development and a well-planned animal feeding system.

He urged cattle-raisers to be serious, professional and have networks to share knowledge.

Suphee Wongpitak, president of the Nong Haen Cattle-Raiser's Group in Yasothon's Kut Chum district, recalled his experience working with the Phone Yang Kham Cooperative that produced quality, internationally-recognised beef. They guaranteed their cattle were organic and would pay Bt1 million for a cow that failed chemical tests.

Likewise, he urged farmers to continue to apply new knowledge to improve their products and to set a standard for customer acceptance.

Secretary-general of the Progressive Farming Association Montri Kosaiwat said local breed beef development, which would take up to four years before farmers saw the results, must be clear regarding what farmers would gain and have strong quality control.

Thongpoon Rodpai, a resident of Na Wa Village, who had 200 free-range cattle in Ubon Ratchathani's Si Muang Mai district, said he would join the scheme if related parties gave him advice and knowledge. His usual practice of letting cattle roam and reproduce in a mountain-side community forest led to some 10 cattle falling off cliffs and dying each year, he said.

Each time he was visited by a cattle-buyer middleman - about once a year - he would sell up to 50 of his beasts, he said revealing that cattle-raisers were at a disadvantage because the prices were set and often imposed on them by the middlemen.

Thongpoon said he wanted the authorities to set a median price or control over the pricing so the farmers could have some profits.

Na Wa Village headman Sunthorn Mookham confirmed that cattle-raisers were taken advantage of regarding pricing and also urged the authorities to set a standard price.

He said he believed this research would help push farmers to unite and improve their cattle-raising. He also said there should be a pilot project to share knowledge.

Meanwhile, Paisal Thongsong, head of a farmer's group in Trakan Phutphon district, said he wanted a credible organisation to certify that the local breed of beef was totally natural and of good quality.

Anan Paengnoy

The Nation