44
JUN 2017
FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
Thailand 4.0must create
researchand innovation
toadd value to theeconomy
and shift it from
“domore,make less”
to
“do less,makemore”
technology and innovation to add values to goods and services are
conducted in5 sectors;
1.Food,AgricultureandBiotechnology
2.PublicHealth, Health andMedical Technology
3. IntelligenceDevices, Robots, andElectronicMechanical
System
4.Digital Cluster, Internet Technology connecting
Artificial Intelligence andEmbeddedTechnology
5.CreativeEconomy, Cultures andHigh-ValueServices
Thebusinesses in these5sectorswill need tobeself-developed
and self-sufficient. There must also be the national economic and
social development plan that lay out measures in accordance with
the national strategy. The 12
th
National Economic and Social
Development Plan is in linewith these6 strategies;
1.Security for prosperity and sustainability
2.Strong economy and increase competitiveness
3.Social equality and decrease disparity
4.Human resources for strengthening anddeveloping capacity
5.Environment
6.GovernmentAdministration
The Thai government has set to develop Thailand 4.0 strategy
under the philosophy of sufficient economy and readiness to enter
theASEANEconomicCommunity (AEC), whichwill linkThailand to
theglobalcommunity.TheThaigovernmenthaspaidspecialattention
to the agriculture, food and biotechnology sector as Thailand can
develop rapidly - thanks to the advantage in biodiversity. This will
allow the country todevelop itseconomy, andqualityof life for all its
citizens, and closing the social gap. In order to get rid of obstacles
triggering delays and preventing developments in technology and
business, the government has asked relatedMinistries to speed up
theprocess reviewing rulesand regulations.Nonetheless, thisdoes
notmean thatThailand is risking thesafetyofThai people, rather the
workingprocess ismuch-neededdevelopment.TheMinistryofLabour
is taskedwith supportingemployerswithwelfare, aswell asprovide
labours opportunities todevelopnecessary skills and languages for
work such as English, Chinese and Japanese. It also encourages
the exchange of languages inworkplace. Indirectly, thiswould help
workers toupgrade their career path intomanagerial jobs.
Academic institutions must take part in reforming the Thai
economybybecominga technologyand innovationdriven institution
witha strong researchanddevelopment characteristic is, according
to the Prime Minister, a good way to drive Thailand forward on its
own strategy. The institution should promote “active learning” to
encourage students to apply their skills and research results into
practice, and cooperateswith variousorganizations, privateand the
public sector. Thiswill allowSmall andMediumEnterprises (SMEs)
to access and use the innovation to add values to their goods and
services, while farmers can develop intomodern farms - as “smart
farmers” - to lower production costs.
University networks must spread knowledge throughout the
country to flourishandpush for theeconomicgrowth. Locals should
beable towork in theirhometownswithouthaving tomove toBangkok
as therearequality jobsavailable for themathome.Universitiesmust
alsoactasacademic institutionsprovidingknowledgeand innovation
to the society, and help locals and enterprises to maximize their
businesses both in agricultural, industrial and service sectors.
The example of knowledge distribution is “InnoHub Project” by
thePracharat, forwhich thegovernment iswilling togive full support.
This will effectively increase economic and social values. Thailand
4.0 and the publicwill be the core of the development driven by the
