White paper on sustainability of Thai sugarcane industry released

11th August 2017

Opportunities & challenges in Thai sugarcane industry identified

We’re pleased to announce the publication of a new white paper on the sustainability of the Thai sugarcane sector. Co-ordinated by Bonsucro, and written by FairAgora, this study was initiated and funded by PepsiCo with support from Corbion.

It provides a high-level overview of the Thai sugarcane industry and identifies key opportunities for driving the sustainability agenda forward using the Bonsucro standard as a reference framework. The report is based on data collected from a desktop review of market intelligence, technical data, and government policy, as well as from insight acquired through stakeholder engagement. An additional workshop session was included as part of Bonsucro’s Technical training week in Thailand.

The paper identifies critical social, economic, and environmental challenges that need to be addressed in the Thai sugarcane industry, as well as key opportunities to drive the sustainability agenda forward. To address some of the biggest challenges in the sugarcane industry, improved stakeholder engagement and collaboration is needed across the supply chain.

“We are very grateful to FairAgora for all their hard work in pulling this paper together,” said the Regional Director for Asia, Rick Lyu. “We have already used findings from the paper to shape our Thailand Accelerator Plan and prioritise actions on the ground. We hope to continue our working partnership with FairAgora and other key stakeholders who are also committed to improving the sustainability of Thai sugarcane industry.”

Highlights/findings

The importance of engaging with farmers to build capacity and improve production and compliance was highlighted as a priority issue, as was access to financial support for the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.

Actions identified by stakeholders as having the potential to positively affect the sugarcane sector in Thailand included:

  • Mechanisation of harvest
  • Dedicated investment schemes for improvement
  • Environmental monitoring and management
  • Increased economic research and financial risk modelling
  • Farmer training in good agriculture practices and data collection

Through our collaborative platform, Bonsucro will be working with stakeholders wishing to improve economic, environmental and social sustainability in the sugarcane industry in Thailand through our accelerator plan.

Email quality PDF (1.8mb)
Print quality PDF (20mb)